Killing Bigfoot with Bad Science
Is anyone doing any justice to the Bigfoot claim?
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| Skeptoid #11 December 03, 2006 Podcast transcript | Listen | Subscribe Also available in Japanese |
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Today, we're going down a dark forest path on the trail of Gigantopithecus Americanus: the North American Sasquatch.
I see many cases on both sides of the Bigfoot debate where bad arguments, bad science, and just plain weirdness is being put forth, doing great disservice to their own side of the argument. There are intelligent and productive ways to explore a subject and present a case, but I don't see it being done very often on either side of the Bigfoot debate. I'm going to present what I consider the top three ways that each side of the Bigfoot claim is shooting themselves in the foot, beginning with the skeptics.
1. Saying that the guy who confessed to making tracks disproves the entire thing.
In 2002, a Washington logger named Ray Wallace died, and his family produced the carved wooden feet that he used to make Bigfoot footprints all over the Pacific Northwest, beginning in 1958. The newspapers and TV tabloids lapped it up, reporting that the entire Bigfoot phenomenon was now proven to be a hoax perpetrated by Wallace. Well, I feel the time has come for me to come clean about something that I've wanted to get off my chest for decades. When I was a kid, I once made some fake Bigfoot footprints too. The cat's out of the bag. Bigfoot is now doubly proven to be a hoax.
Obviously, anyone who has any kind of basic understanding of research methodology can't accept Ray Wallace's story as proof that Bigfoot is a hoax. Sure, he made fake prints. So have a thousand other guys. They were doing it before Ray Wallace was born, and they're still doing it today. Anyone can be making those tracks. Anyone...
2. Saying the Patterson-Gimlin film is "the worst fake ever."
I'm not a Bigfoot believer but I will give credit where credit is due. The Patterson-Gimlin film looked like a real animal to me. The Discovery Channel's "duplication" of it looked ridiculous. It looked nothing like a real animal, and certainly didn't remotely resemble the subject shown in the Patterson-Gimlin film. Chewbacca looked more real than the Discovery Channel's Bigfoot suit. Hollywood's state of the art in gorilla suits in 1967 were Planet of the Apes and The Galileo Seven episode of Star Trek. Two loggers with no previous gorilla suit experience made a suit that was better than today's state of the art, and certainly light years ahead of the 1967 state of the art. I'm not saying the film's real, I'm saying give credit where credit is due, and admit that if it is a fake, it's astounding. If you disagree then go through a stabilized version frame-by-frame as I have.
The half dozen or so Hollywood special effects artists who have since "come forward" to claim that they were responsible for the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot suit, and the dozens of guys who have "come forward" to claim that they were the guy wearing the suit, are no more evidence against the film than Ray Wallace's wooden feet are evidence that no real Bigfoot footprints exist.
Critics of the film also say that the creature's behavior is unrealistic. I have no knowledge of what a real Bigfoot's behavior might be, but I have encountered bears half a dozen times, and they acted exactly like the Patterson-Gimlin creature: just walked away, unconcerned, with maybe only a look or two back.
3. Criticizing good scientists like Jeff Meldrum.
I've read old and new criticism of Dr. Jeff Meldrum of Idaho State University, and I'm only mentioning his name in particular as one example. There are several prominent tenured professors at legitimate accredited universities who have done Bigfoot research. They are probably far, far outnumbered by professors who have done psychic or other paranormal research, but let's stick to the subject.
Dr. Meldrum is not the obsessed Bigfoot guy who lives and breathes it 24 hours a day, and exhorts his students to become believers. Rather, he has a long list of publications and edited volumes, none of which pertain to Bigfoot; he teaches six courses, none of which pertain to Bigfoot; he's an Associate Professor of Anatomy & Anthropology; he's an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology and the Department of Occupational and Physical Therapy; and he's the Affiliate Curator at the Idaho Museum of Natural History. He's not the Professor of Bigfoot. He carries as great a load of academic work in non-Bigfoot related studies as any professor. He's a real scientist doing real work. On top of all of this, he studies casts of Bigfoot footprints.
Dr. Meldrum is responsible for drumming up his own grant money from private donors to fund any Bigfoot research that he chooses to do. In some cases, he has received small amounts of matching funds from the university. If you feel this was a bad expenditure, then criticize the university regents who decided to write the check, don't criticize the person they gave the funds to. The work of responsible scientists like Dr. Meldrum is exactly what true skeptics should be asking the Bigfoot community for, not criticizing him for it.
Here is the way for a responsible skeptic to handle the Bigfoot claim. It's to say "You're making an extraordinary claim. Show me extraordinary evidence, and I'll believe it. Until then, I'm not convinced." Occasionally candidate evidence has come forward, like hair and stool samples, or the skull cap from Tibet. This evidence has been properly tested, and so far no new great ape species has been proven (and if I'm wrong about that, I invite your comments on the web site). A responsible skeptic's obligations do not extend to poking fun at the people who are looking for evidence, considering the lack of evidence to be proof of no evidence, or making personal comments about people. That's not good science. In some cases, Dr. Meldrum, and other scientists like him, are being better skeptics than the skeptics.
And now, I'd like to say a few words to those who mean to support Bigfoot but do themselves more harm than good with bad arguments. The wrong ways to support Bigfoot:
1. Stating that Bigfoot is an extraterrestrial, or comes to us from another dimension.
If Bigfoot claims are going to make any headway into mainstream science, it will be through zoological channels, not supernatural channels. Such claims are the most extreme form of counterproductivity, setting Bigfoot claims backwards all the way into the Dark Ages.
2. Being delusional: Seeing detailed Bigfoots in a blurry photograph that shows no such thing.
Half the Bigfoot web sites out there show numerous photographs of bushes and wooded areas, with certain areas circled. There's nothing within the circled area except other bushes; maybe a shadow, or a dark branch. But wait! Here's a detailed sketch of what's hiding inside that shadow. I'm not a psychologist so I won't presume to affix a label to this phenomenon; but seeing things in pictures that aren't there, and then obsessing over it, does not strike me as healthy. It's certainly more effective at raising concern for the claimant, than it is at convincing anyone that Bigfoot exists. If all you have is bad evidence, you're better off not presenting it.
3. Doing bad science: Seeking to support a preconceived conclusion.
Science doesn't work by starting with the goal of proving something and then assembling whatever evidence you can find that supports it. That's doing propaganda, not science. Start with a testable hypothesis, and then form a theory based on the evidence revealed by the data. Of course, following this method is going to make it pretty hard to come up with a theory that's supportive of Bigfoot, but that's what it's going to take if Bigfoot supporters hope to prove their point.
I know you're going to listen to all of this and conclude that I'm the pro-Bigfoot guy. I'll admit to being a Bigfoot hopeful (a hope based more on emotion than on any actual likelihood), but certainly not a believer. My point is simply that both sides of every debate contain a lot chaff along with the wheat. Both sides of every skeptical issue believe that they're right, but even those on the side that is right (and by that, I mean whichever side you're on) can probably stand to clean up their act a little, no matter what the issue is.
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© 2006 Skeptoid.com
References & Further Reading
Alderman ,Jesse Harlan. "Bigfoot studies render academic an outcast." MSNBC. MSNBC.COM, 3 Nov. 2006. Web. 5 Nov. 2009. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15548356/>
Autumn Williams. "Bigfoot Photo and Picture Gallery." OregonBigfoot.com, The Legend Lives. Autumn Williams, 1 Jan. 2009. Web. 18 Nov. 2009. <http://www.oregonbigfoot.com/gallery.php>
Daegling, David J., and Schmitt, Daniel O. "Bigfoot's Screen Test." The Skeptical Inquirer. 1 May 1999, Volume 23.3: 3.
Davis, Marlon K. "M.K. Davis' frame by frame rendition of the Patterson Film." Bigfoot Encounters. Bobbie Short, 1 Dec. 2005. Web. 15 Nov. 2009. <http://www.bigfootencounters.com/files/mk_davis_pgf.gif>
Eagan, Timothy. "Search for Bigfoot Outlives The Man Who Created Him." The New York Times. 3 Jan. 2003, New York Edition: Section A, page 1.
Meldrum, Jeff. Sasquatch: Legend Meets Science. New York: Forge Books, 2006.
Napier, John Russel. Bigfoot: The Sasquatch and Yeti in Myth and Reality. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1972.
Reference this article:
Dunning, Brian.
"Killing Bigfoot with Bad Science." Skeptoid Podcast. Skeptoid Media, Inc.,
3 Dec 2006. Web.
9 Feb 2010. <http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4011>
Discuss!
5 most recent comments | Show all 24 comments
Remember, you should always read with skepticism the comments of anyone too lame to put their real name & city.
I do not believe that it is such a far stretch of either science or anthropological reality to accept that there is a reasonable possibility that a heretofore undiscovered species of a hominid exists. The Pacific northwest from Northern California to the coast of Canada and beyond would be more than an adequate environment to both hide and feed a population of these individuals. Professor Grover Krantz was of the persuasion that a fairly large population of some 1300 could reasonably survive in the wilderness regions of the northwest Pacific coast alone.Unfortunately Doctor Krantz did concede that until a Sasquatch was shot and killed then brought to the eyes of the public and anatomists to dissect, this would be the only evidence that the scientific community would accept.
Skeptics are always so predictable. "It can't be therefore it isn't!" "Don't bother me with the facts. My mind is already made up!" The same is indicative of the UFO phenomena.
Doc Vega, Plano, TX
May 21, 2009 11:13am
Actually, Patterson's film is the Best Fake Ever
Bifgoot, Alive in Georgia
June 12, 2009 1:02pm
I used to think the Patterson-Gimlin footage was of a guy in a gorilla suit. Then I saw History channel's much criticised show MonsterQuest's "Critical Evidence" episode which examined the footage in detail, brought in a creature suit expert who with computer technology was able to determine the height and proportions of the subject in the footage. On top of this, Dr. Jeff Meldrum revealed a finding in the plausible footprints he has studied called a "meta-tarsal break" which means a foot that is hinged just forward of the ankle but well before the toes. The MonsterQuest findings made no claim of spotting this but I am reasonably sure I saw this feature at play in 2 of the subject's footsteps just before its feet were obscured by foreground objects.
Data summarised:-
* Footprints allegedly from the film site indicate a meta-tarsal break (characteristic of primates but not humans)
* Subject in footage does not conform to human skull & limb proportions nor mechanics
* Subject's fur moves realistically - not like a fabricated suit in 1967 would
* Subject appears to have an observable meta-tarsal break not once but twice
* Computer analysis of scale indicates subject to be between 7'2" & 7'6" tall
Applying Occum's Razor, is it more likely a large, misshapen human using a periscopic/camera device to see, with a broken pair of feet to fake an extremely rarely known feature of primates - yet able to stride confidently - was wearing a masterfully tailored suit or is the footage real?
Johnny Burrows, Sydney, NSW, Australia
August 08, 2009 10:18am
Sorry guys, but no matter what tabloid shows like "Monsterquest" say about the PGF, the fact remains that it is a man in a suit. Al DeAtley, Roger's brother in law, funded the whole thing. He ADMITS that the film is bogus.
J Smith, California
December 24, 2009 9:32pm
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Sorry, but the Patterson/Gimlin IS bad. It was thrown together by Wah Chang's group in 1967. Roger used the $700 he "borrowed" from the Radfords to have the costume made for the movie he was making. "Patty" used simple 1940's era ape suit methods: a helmet with a jaw and teeth surrounded by a latex and hair mask with eyeholes. It's not nearly as difficult as POTA was. It's no different that what Charlie Gemora did - it's just a different mask. The muscle masses moving are simply foam muscles under the skin. All of this is way out of focus and degraded. You have never gotten a clear close-up look at Patty as you have other ape suits and you never will.
John Doe, California
May 12, 2009 9:34am