Cryptozoology Hoaxes

With the GA Bigfoot fiasco shown to be what it is (i.e., Bullshit), and the completely ridiculous obfuscation, lies, and downright sneakiness of the squatchdetective radioshow (available here, courtesy Bigfoot on Ice; if you ARE going to listen to it, fast forward to around 70 minutes or so...everything before there is powerfully boring filler that serves as a powerful, sleep-inducing narcotic), it might pay for people to think about WHY people perpetrate hoaxes.

Loren Coleman, on his Cryptomundo site, has an (old) post regarding the 10 Reasons Why People Commit Hoaxes. It is a pretty straightforward list, with all the ole standbys there (i.e., money, fame, etc).

I think it is important, however, to recognize that the reason why people CAN perpetrate these hoaxes is because the cryptozoology community has a bizarrely credulous nature. I think that a big part of this is the fact that these crypto-folks have dangerously misinterpreted the scientific method, perhaps in an attempt to present themselves as rigorous. The philosophy of cryptozoology seems to be one of blunt, literal objectivism, treating all claims equally until proven differently (as evidenced by this GA Bigfoot episode).

I'll let everyone in on a little secret...scientist DO NOT treat all claims with equal weight, which is why we always want to see careful documentation of the observation and data related to any problem. Scientists make their living by being SKEPTICAL about claims, including (and especially) their own.

Cryptozoology needs to discard this willingness to sit back and observe, but instead needs to begin acting like the respectable field they claim to be: start evaluating claims skeptically and rigorously, with the recognition that extraordinary claims require extraordinary support.