This morning on Cryptomundo (www.cryptomundo.com) I learned that one of the scientific community’s staunchest opponents of the Homo Floriensis fossils, Prof. Teuku Jacob has passed away in
Java, Indonesia.  While anyone’s passing is sad news on its own, Jacob’s conduct in the Floriensis debate is also a sad discourse on one of the more sinister traits of pseudoskepticism.

In one of my previous blogs I listed ten characteristics commonly encountered in pseudoskeptics.  There are of course considerably more than ten, and I picked what I felt were the most common traits one might see when dealing with these people.  Prof. Jacob’s methodology reflects another trait that I see becoming more widespread among the pseudoskeptic community in dealing with what it sees as “pseudoscience”:  the willingness to actively suppress evidence and actively discourage investigation into a particular subject.  It is also the trait that is probably the most indicative of the pseudoskeptics’ true motives.

(Read on …)

By now you have probably noticed that many skeptics (both the genuine as well as the pseudo-variety) have as the underlying premise of their skepticism  of Bigfoot the idea that “somebody would have done something by now”.  This is tied directly to the prevailing belief of mainstream science that the powers of its observation are so perfected that nothing could possibly escape it’s notice, either by technique or by sheer force of numbers of observers. 

(Read on …)

Well, it’s that time of year again.  Spring is once again upon us, cleverly disguised as summer. The woods are alive with new foliage, the whole world smells like honeysuckle and the call of the wild unknown echoes through your mind with every waking thought.  You spent the winter working out the design of your latest camera trap, haunting the various internet forums and blogs, swapping calls and emails with your close research pals and getting all your gear ready for that first weekend when you finally hit the bush again.  Yes sir, for the next few months it’s all about The Big Monkey.

Leave it to me to throw a bucket of cold water on you right at this moment.  But not really, so don’t worry.  However it’s important to remember that along with the enthusiasm to get back into the woods again should be a renewal of understanding of just what it is that we as researchers are up against. That way we can be sure that we carry out our chosen studies the right way.  In that vein, let’s continue our discussion of pseudo-skeptics and their ways.

(Read on …)

There is a Great Divide in Sasquatchery. It has always been there I think. It has been there from the time when the first pioneers swapped stories of “Wildmen” around the campfires. It has been there since the newspaper report of “Big Foot Prints” found in California at a road construction. The divide widened after two Washington state cowboys filmed a large, bipedal “something” walking across that sand bar. It seperates believers and doubters. It seperates skeptics and romantics. It seperates believer from believer and most everybody in the community.  (Read on …)

All of us who consider ourselves serious researchers should respect the proper application and usage of scientific methodology. Unfortunately the problem of “pseudo-science” is indeed a big one in not only our chosen field but in our society as well. Scammers and charlatans of all description pass off their ill-conceived or downright deceptive practices under the guise of “science”. Many who are well-meaning but ignorant of experimental methodology or prior studies of their subject also fall into this category. I’m afraid that most claims of the paranormal or mysterious kind rightly fall under the scope of pseudo-science, simply for the way they are conducted. But there is also a flip-side to the pseudo-tag coin that is seldom if ever acknowledged, and it is just as much a part of the dark underbelly of intellectual pursuit as any suspect scientific claim: the realm of pseudo-skepticism, the pursuit of skeptical inquiry with no semblance of objectivity, respect for different viewpoints nor any attempt to hide a predisposition toward a certain interpretation of a phenomenon no matter where else the factual evidence or logical discourse would go.

(Read on …)

Not too long ago I posted here about a “blob” that we had captured on a game camera. The entire point of that little exercise was to prove that, given the right amount of time and lighting, a simple static object like a tree can take on a much more sinister appearance. This becomes even more true when that portion of an image is taken out of context. What happens though when the blob moves? (Read on …)

Mutant dogs in Maine…..You have gotta be kidding? That is my response after reading a set of articles revolving around a certain puppy who was found deceased along a Maine road. Poor little fellow left the world due to a vehicle hit, which is unfortuantely how alot of animals meet their demise in this old world, but please…..a Mutant dog?? I sit back in my old office chair, place my hands behind my head, stare out the window and ponder whether this unfortunate victim of vehicular canicide is sitting somewhere in a doggy heaven, looking down at us with that cute little pooch grin dogs get and is having a good laugh at us foolish mortals. Laugh? Well, yes….laugh. You see this pooch is a victim of a human imposed fifteen minute fame run(more like a five-and-a-half) and the result from the publicity is well humerous, but also a sad measuring stick showing the depth of cryptic desperation. (Read on …)

Yesterday I received in my email a monthly e-newsletter published by a group called the Sasquatch Research Initiative. It contained links back to the group’s website, and while browsing the site came upon an article entitled “Is Bigfoot Dead?” written by David Osborne. While I understand and in some respects sympathize with Mr. Osborne’s position and I have heard similar laments from quite a number of people over the years, I would like to offer another viewpoint on what ails the “Bigfoot Community”.

(Read on …)

Sometimes the biggest projects start with the smallest ideas. I’m sure the Pyramids began this way, as most of the world’s greatest monuments surely did. After all, even the grandest and greatest vision is nothing more than a sketched mental image to start. For some time now I’ve had my own mental sketch, a way of taking information from a research area and turning it into a usefull aid for future investigations. Thus it was that something that started out as simply as an idea to coordinate information would turn into something that I can only now refer to as “the big ass map”. (Read on …)

I’m currently working on updates and additions to the blog.  Because of this, readers may experience difficulty in accessing the pages.  Hopefully this will all be over shortly.