The Gralien Report Podcast for February 25, 2013
on February 25, 2013 at 11:33 pm
On this week’s edition of The Gralien Report Podcast, the gang looks into the anatomy of a hoax, and why people go to great lengths to pull the wool over the eyes of the gullible among us. Which has really gotten us wondering… what is REALLY going on with the Melba Ketchum study? For instance, when she cited that paper in her scientific study on Sasquatch DNA that was an obvious April Fool’s joke, had she been aware of it, or has she been masking (until now) an otherwise cleverly played joke of her own?
The Gralien Report Podcast for February 25, 2013
To help us make an assessment, Sharon Hill of Doubtful News joins us to share her perspectives… and in doing so, helps remind us that there’s a big difference between a reasonable (and well-informed) skeptic, and the confrontationalist “snarktics” that like to troll the Interwebs. We enjoyed Sharon’s perspectives, and we’re certain you will also… and below, we’ve included links to the usual story roundups, news, and other content contained within the weekly Gralien noggin-scape and complimentary condiments of the audible variety:
Sharon Hill asks what Ketchum’s paper is trying to prove
Zombie hackers take over the Emergency Broadcast System
…Which reminds us a bit of this famous prank from 1977 in the UK
Soviet Defense Ministry releases “X-Files”
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I’m aware that Pravda is a pretty unreliable news source, but that Soviet X-Files article made a lot of sense to me.
To address William’s consternation about DA14′s steep south to north motion, DA14 was traveling at about the same speed around the Sun as the Earth. It was DA14′s 11° orbital inclination that accounted for the south-north motion. It’s analogous to two cars driving down the freeway at the same speed and one car changes lanes; relative to the other car, the car changing lanes is moving from left to right but they are both moving in almost identical directions and speeds.
The orbit of The Great Russky Meteor of 2013 has been preliminarily determined: Astronomers Calculate Orbit and Origins of Russian Fireball -Universe Today
Is Dr. Ketchum putting forth an elaborate hoax? Previous DNA evidence could not survive scrutiny as it was discovered to be contaminated with animal and/or human material. She solved that problem rather handily by creating an entirely new narrative of what Sasquatch is (part human) while simultaneously invoking a novel origin for the new species/race (recent hybridization with a human female). That was some smart thinking because it swept away all objections over samples harboring human DNA; Sasquatch must harbor human mitochondrial DNA as a consequence of its emergence through human-hominid interbreeding. Provided you do not think about the evidence too much, it serves well as an explanatory hypothesis (myth).
How about this idea? An investigator who wants so much for an idea to be true that she contrives a complex story to make it seem plausible. She can then take the data she has and interpret it in the most hopeful light possible for her theory. Not a hoaxer, just another scientist who has failed to recognize the grave threat posed by confirmation bias.
The onus is on Dr. Ketchum to produce for full inspection the data that confirms her version of events is not fanciful, but factual. It is troubling that she and her co-workers seem so reluctant to facilitate that part of the bargain.