Convicted Molester Claims He Was A Victim of Bigfoot

OK, this has nothing to do with information literacy. However, Convicted Molester Claims He Was A Victim of Bigfoot is the most bizarre headline I have seen in the mainstream media in some time. This is not from the National Enquirer or Weekly World News. Just thought I would share...

Is Bigfoot on Mars?

NASA has captured some images on Mars. They appear to show a Bigfoot type creature walking on the surface of the red planet. (I am not making this up! Check out Bigfoot on Mars? NASA captures alien figure. I believe this news site is a credible source.)

I imagine this is probably an optical illusion and the image is of a rock. However, this photo could be used as a teaching tool for critical thinking. Take this picture and compare it in class to other long range purported photos of Bigfoot. There are many out there to be found by doing a Google Image search on Bigfoot or Sasquatch. Find a few that look similar to the NASA Mars photo. Ask the students if the Martian photo is Bigfoot. Then ask the students if the Earth photos are of Bigfoot. I believe this could generate some good discussion and allow the instructor to introduce critical thinking ideas.

Introducing the Autism Blog

My wife (Julie Lorenzen) has started work on a new blog. It is the Autism Blog. She has a good start and I think this will be a successful blog.

As a (I hope) good husband, I am helping to introduce it here. As Autism has been such a big part of my life, I do not mind posts such as Bigfoot in the Woods. Yeah, I was bigfoot...

From the site:

My name is Julie Lorenzen. As a parent of a child with autism, I want to make a positive difference in our community and beyond. Volunteering has its positive rewards, and my reward would be making this place a better world for my son and other individuals with autism or Asperger’s Syndrome by exploring issues and hopefully educating the public beyond the basics.

Bigfoot research makes professor a campus outcast

Bigfoot research makes professor a campus outcast. This story at CNN caught my eye. Jeffrey Meldrum is a tenured professor at Idaho State University. He is a bigfoot researcher. This annoys other science faculty members at Idaho State to no end. Some want his tenure revoked.

Thankfully, academic freedom will protect Dr. Meldrum. This is the reason academic freedom exists. The research of a professor should not be subject to the popularity of the research being conducted.

Is bigfoot out there? The burden of proof is on those trying to prove the existence of bigfoot. Are people still seeing a bigfoot creature? Yes. Hence, whether bigfoot is real or not is worthy of study. Why shouldn't academics investigate it?

The real message here is that unpopular science research will keep academics from getting hired in the first place. If they are hired, they will not get tenure. If they get tenured, they will not get promoted. And regardless, they will be subject to a backlash. So, do not do research in anything that will offend mainstream science.

Of course, mainstream science is not always right. Fringe theories sometimes become mainstream. And sometimes the outcast rebel academic becomes a hero who overcomes bias and shows the academy that there are new ways of thinking that enlightens the scientific community.

Is Jeffrey Meldrum one of these? Maybe not. But this kind of attack on a scientific researcher helps no one and only teaches other academics to conform to the status quo. I hope you find bigfoot Dr. Meldrum.

'Lost world' found in jungle

'Lost world' found in jungle. I was excited to find this article about a "lost world" found in an isolated Indonesian jungle. But alas, they have yet to find any dinosaurs! What kind of lost world does not have dinosaurs? Most of the jungle has yet to be explored though so there is still hope. If they can find 20 new species of frogs, I am sure there is hope they can find at least one dinosaur species. Or maybe Bigfoot.

Giganto: The Real King Kong

Giganto: The Real King Kong. I watched this show on the History Channel Thursday night.

Here is the official description of the program, "Commissioned from distributor CABLEready and produced by Bosch Media/White Wolf Entertainment, Giganto: The Real King Kong uses modern science/technology to probe the mystery of a giant ape named 'Giganto Pithecus', known to exist between 40,000 and 400,000 years ago - and determine if a present-day descendent still roams the earth."

Which means, it also explores if Bigfoot is real and whether the Giganto Pithecus still is alive today.

Naturally, I am a skeptic. Yet, I have always been torn by the Bigfoot evidence. There is a lot! There are just too many credible witnesses to dismiss it out of hand. Further, the possibility of a small North American ape population which remains shy to humans is not unbelievable.

But, where is the body? Give me a Bigfoot corpse and I will believe...

The show is clever. It constantly uses the term Giganto Pithecus to refer to Bigfoot. And it uses the term Bigfoot sparingly. As such, it shifts the language from Bigfoot (which conjures up images of UFO's, Elvis, and Atlantis to many viewers) to one of a scientific possibililty.

Is Bigfoot real? Produce a body of a Bigfoot and I will agree. Until then, I will leave it as a possibility with the burden of proof on the Bigfoot (Giganto Pithecus) proponents.

The Skeptic's Dictionary

The Skeptic's Dictionary. This is a very nice Web site which was also recently published as a good reference book. I have been reading both the web site and the book and have enjoyed both very much. It takes a skeptics approach to a variety of topics including bigfoot, UFO's, Noah's Ark, ghosts, dreams, etc. It also covers a few topics that are usually not addressed by skeptics such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator.

The Skeptic's Dictionary cherry picks the evidence for the most part and only reports studies that prove the skeptical point of view or reports articles which are easy to use straw man arguments against when the author believes something that the site/book author does not. Despite this, the articles are well written and make sense.

A good information literacy/critical thinking assignment could allow students to examine a topic from the Skeptic's Dictionary site. For example, the teacher/librarians could have the students read the entry on Myers-Briggs. Then the instructor could pass out a scholarly article from a good journal which makes the case for Myers-Briggs. The students could then discuss the differences and draw their own conclusions. I think this would help students develop skills required for critical thinking and information literacy.

From the site:

The Skeptic’s Dictionary provides definitions, arguments, and essays on subjects supernatural, occult, paranormal, and pseudoscientific. I use the term “occult” to refer to any and all of these subjects. The reader is forewarned that The Skeptic’s Dictionary does not try to present a balanced account of occult subjects. If anything, this book is a Davidian counterbalance to the Goliath of occult literature. I hope that an occasional missile hits its mark. Unlike David, however, I have little faith, and do not believe Goliath can be slain. Skeptics can give him a few bumps and bruises, but our words will never be lethal. Goliath cannot be taken down by evidence and arguments. However, many of the spectators may be swayed by our performance and recognize Goliath for what he often is: a false messiah. It is especially for the younger spectators that this book is written. I hope to expose Goliath’s weaknesses so that the reader will question his strength and doubt his promises.

Another purpose of The Skeptic’s Dictionary is to provide references to the best skeptical materials on whatever topic is covered. So, for example, if that pesky psychology teacher won’t let up about “auras” or “chi” being inexplicable occult phenomena, you can consult your Skeptic’s Dictionary and become pesky yourself with more than a general skepticism. You may not change your teacher’s mind, but you may take away some of his power over you.

The Skeptic’s Dictionary is aimed at four distinct audiences: the open-minded seeker, who makes no commitment to or disavowal of occult claims; the soft skeptic, who is more prone to doubt than to believe; the hardened skeptic, who has strong disbelief about all things occult; and the believing doubter, who is prone to believe but has some doubts. The one group this book is not aimed at is the “true believer” in the occult. If you have no skepticism in you, this book is not for you.

Search for the Skunk Ape: An Information Literacy Quest

Search for the Skunk Ape: An Information Literacy Quest. This is a fun information literacy tutorial created by Florida Gulf Coast University. I think using the skunk ape (AKA bigfoot in Florida) will hold the attention of most students. I sighted bigfoot when I was a teenager in Ohio so I have belief...

From the site:

Search for the Skunk Ape: An Information Literacy Quest" is a self-guided web tutorial that you can use to enhance your library and research skills. Intended for students who are at the beginning of their college education, the tutorial is part of a comprehensive plan the FGCU Library has developed to help our users take advantage of the wealth of resources we provide.

If your instructor is requiring you to complete this tutorial for your class, you will need to create an account. In addition, you will also need to complete a brief survey, take a pre-test, and take a post-test. If you have any problems, you'll find that help is available from our Reference Staff in person, by phone, or by e-mail.

It may be more effective for you to work through the tutorial from beginning to end in one sitting. If you wish, however, you can leave the tutorial and come back to it at your convenience as many times as necessary. If you are completing this tutorial as part of a course assignment, and you log off before you have completed it, the computer will return you to where you left off the next time you log on.

Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization

Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization Is Bigfoot real? I hope so but despite centuries of sightings no one has bagged real evidence to prove it. There are a variety of Bigfoot sites on the Web. Some are pro-Bigfoot and some are more skeptically inclined. This is the second ranked site for Bigfoot on Google on August 12th, 2003. (The top ranked site is a software company. How many people want software when they type in Bigfoot? Very few. Google needs to tweak a little for this word.) The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization is of the opinion that Sasquatch probably is real. And it would also like to sell you a variety of items. Comparing well done anti-Bigfoot sites with well done pro-Bigfoot sites could make for a good class discussion on how evidence is presented on the Web. Which side has the burden of proof in this matter? Notice how differing viewed sites treat the same 1967 Patterson Bigfoot film...