Despite the flak, Groneman enjoys his role in the controversy. I don't really feel like sitting back and letting someone else get the last word. The University of Texas-Austin is now testing the manuscript for authenticity anyway. But history's really messy. The destruction of the island is based solely on a Platonic account of a utopia gone bad.
Most scholars think it's a fable.
Yet the search for Atlantis is the historical mystery cottage industry. Scientists allow that Plato could have been inspired by the Minoan civilization of Crete, which declined rapidly after a nearby volcanic eruption. The rest, most say, is hooey. So is the urge to keep looking for something that can never be found. Most determined are the Bimini searchers, spending copious amounts of their own money and vacation time on their quest.