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SKEPTOID BLOG:

Santa is Real ?

by Stephen Propatier

December 26, 2012

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Donate Since this is the day after Christmas in the United States I thought it would be fun to do a little"tongue in cheek" thought experiment. Is the widely celebrated Santa Claus; Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Weihnachtsmann, Kris Kringle, Grandfather Frost et Al... REAL?

Most Adults would say NO. Yet some of those Santa deniers have no problem with; Bigfoot, Aliens visitors, Nessie, Reptoids, etc. They are very confident are that they are 100% real. Using evidence standards in the UFO and Cryptid communities it could be proven that Santa is real.

What evidence would a Cryptozoologist require to believe in Santa Claus?

"Wikipedia DefinesCryptozoologyas” the search foranimalswhose existence has not been proven.”You could reasonably define Santa as a primate, at least upon superficial exam at the mall. Santa Claus isdefinitelynot a plant as far as I can tell. Iwouldn'trecommend trying to examine Santa further without taking proper precautions. Since I have been as close to Santa as any Loch Ness monster witness. I can say with reasonable cryptozoological certainty that Santa appears to be a mammal. He appears to be reclusive at times, active at others. Much of his behavior is unknown throughout the year. Diet, mating, and food is unclear (some reports of milk and cookies).

” Cryptozoology contends that because species once consideredsuperstition,hoaxes, delusions, or misidentifications were later accepted as legitimate by the scientific community, descriptions and reports of folkloric creatures should be taken seriously.”Santa seems to qualify given that description. Based on my conservative estimate there appear to be enough Santa Claus to qualify as a species. The Cryptozoologist Henry Gee is quoted as saying” The 2003 discovery of thefossilremains ofHomo floresiensiswas cited by paleontologistHenry Gee, editor of the journalNature, as possible evidence that humanoid cryptids like theOrang Pendekandyetiwere "founded on grains of truth." "Cryptozoology," Gee said, "the study of such fabulous creatures, can come in from the cold.".”

Itdoesn'tget much colder than the North Pole, and there is good evidence thatSantais a humanoid cryptid.

Even the critics of Cryptozoology might agree that Santa is in fact a cryptid.From Wikipedia“Cryptozoology has been criticized because of its reliance on anecdotal informationand because Cryptozoologists do not follow thescientific methodand devote a substantial portion of their efforts to investigations of animals that most scientists believe are unlikely to have existed.”

Santa fits right in with that definition. There are plenty of anecdotes and most scientists are unlikely to believe that he exists. I think a Cryptozoologist would be hard pressed to exclude Santa from a list of unknown reclusive primates. A primate that shuns people(mostly), lives in isolated regions, and occasionally interacts with humans. As a plus for Cryptozoologists it is far easier to get a clear picture at the mall than other cryptids. Santa as a cryptid sure, butSantaas an alien visitor silly. Right?

Let’s see if we can get Santa ontoMUFON’swebsite this year.

MUFON or Mutual UFO Network defines a UFO as” an apparent unidentified flying object, origin unknown.". MUFON's expanded definition," The best scientifically accepted definition of a UFO is probably that provided by the late astronomer J. Allen Hynek, who said that the UFO is simply "the reported perception of an object or light seen in the sky or upon the land the appearance, trajectory, and general dynamic and luminescent behavior of which do not suggest a logical, conventional explanation and which is not only mystifying to the original percipients but remains unidentified after close scrutiny of all available evidence by persons who are technically capable of making a common sense identification, if one is possible." (The UFO Experience: A Scientific Inquiry by J. Allen Hynek, Henry Regnery, Chicago, 1972, p. 10.)”.

Santa in a Sleigh pulled by Reindeer certainly seems to qualify as a UFO given the criteria.

UFO or Cryptid enthusiasts would easily point to the complete lack of "reliable" evidence for the “Real Santa Claus”. I would tend to disagree. Anecdotes appear to be compelling evidence for cryptid, and UFO enthusiasts.I easily found plenty of websites filled with anecdotes about “The Real Santa Claus”. For example onAbout.Com, there were “Genuine” reported sightings of Santa Claus. Anecdotal events by seemingly reliable people across a decade at different locations. The reports I read were as least as convincing as any Chupacabra sighting. The anecdotes are very similar to many UFO anecdotes on MUFON's sight. There was reliable eyewitness testimony and even photo's. The same high quality anecdotes and images found on UFO and cryptid enthusiast webpages.



This You Tube Video Santa video convinced me.http://www.youtube.com/watchThe Real Santa Claus on Video.

Of course I don't really think that Santa is making a list and checking it twice. The wide error bars in Cryptozoologists\Ufologists "evidence" allows for belief in Santa Claus. Some probably do. I am sure some would admonish me for making lite of what they consider very serious science. Their poor evidence standards allow me to point out that you can prove just about anything. Santa was fun, I could just as easily have done the Tooth Fairy.

If you asked me if Santa was"Real"? I would say that there is no scientific evidence for Santa Claus. Anecdotes are not reliable, the video appears to be hoaxed, the laws of physics and properties ofaerodynamicswill not allow reindeer to fly. The picture is peridolia. Last time I checked my bank account, I didn't see elves helping me with toys. Plus the guy in the Red suit charged me 20 bucks to take a picture with my son.

So if you are a Cryptid enthusiast or UFO enthusiast sleep well on the Christmas holiday. You are just a likely to see Santa, as you are Bigfoot or a flying saucer(IE: a guy in a suit or a visual illusion).

Happy New Year!

by Stephen Propatier

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