Oh, I also was surprised to learn that the original name for Cairo was El-Kabira, from the Arabic for Mars. An interesting coincidence, I suppose. Hoagland presents hypothetical relationships, speculations, scenarios and ruminations in an effort to understand the why and wherefore of this possible monument. Five hundred million years definitely is a long time. In modern physiology, for example, we identify these processes by the terms catabolic and anabolic.
Arrogance is a human attribute.
Unwillingness to be influenced by fact and empirically based rational conjecture is a form of arrogance. It is everywhere in the history of science because it is everywhere in humanity. Open-mindedness is unnatural. Possibly, it was an aspect of the consciousness of the pyramid builders, the Sphinx builders, the Face builders. It seems that only by striving for this mental attitude will we ever be able to answer any of these questions.