All posts tagged: Skeptical

The Cryptoterrestrial Hypothesis

The Cryptoterrestrial Hypothesis

Published by Sam Flores

The primary claim of the cryptoterrestrial hypothesis is that all the unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) sightings that were immensely popular in the media during the summer of 2023 do not come from above, they come from below—or to the side. The nonhuman intelligences are from Earth and represent a wide variety of different possible sources. This is according to an article published in the Journal of Philosophy and Cosmology (Lomas et al. 2024). I want, right away, to establish the difference between what is possible and what is probable. I’m not going to give the deepest philosophical definition, but I want to say that something is possible if it is not necessary that it not be the case. Possibility means that there is no contradiction in it happening. It is not possible that a door can be both open and closed at the same time. It must be one or the other. Probability is a very different creature. An idea has to be possible before it can be probable, but an idea does not have …

Bigfoot Documentary’s Devastating Debunking

Bigfoot Documentary’s Devastating Debunking

Published by Sam Flores

The most famous film of Bigfoot has been conclusively revealed as a hoax in a new documentary film, Capturing Bigfoot. The iconic 1967 footage taken in Bluff Creek, California, by Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin is said to show a female Bigfoot (dubbed “Patty”) walking across a riverbed. The 16-mm film has been the subject of controversy and debate for half a century and is routinely cited as the gold standard for Bigfoot footage (even some fifty-five years later, which is deeply suspicious given the ubiquity of high-quality smartphone cameras since then). Though the footage is blurry, one thing is clear: it’s either a hoax or a Bigfoot. It’s not an optical illusion, misidentified bear, or anything else. It is no exaggeration to say that the film is a foundational pillar of modern Bigfoot belief. Sure, there are plenty of anecdotal sighting reports (typically at dusk and from great distances), ambiguous tracks, “strange” calls in the forest at night, and so on. But nothing compares to the Patterson/Gimlin film for sheer pop culture influence. Its …

This Isn’t about Bigfoot

This Isn’t about Bigfoot

Published by Sam Flores

Like many skeptics, I’m fascinated by things people believe in—ghosts, psychics, astrology, reiki—but I’m even more intrigued by why they believe in them. In my experience, everyone believes (or has believed) something that’s a little “out there.” So, when my husband and I learned about a nearby Bigfoot museum on a recent road trip, I had to go. Our GPS led us on quite the adventure through farms and woods and onto increasingly remote gravel roads. We finally found a driveway and discovered the “museum” was in someone’s house. After knocking to no avail, I called the number on the window. The woman who answered told us we were the only visitors, but she could let us in shortly. Jan, a lifelong Bigfoot believer since a childhood sighting, met us with infectious enthusiasm. (“Jan” is a pseudonym to protect her privacy.) She had spent most of her life collecting “evidence,” which she had documented both in a book and across four buildings on her property. The Evidence As the local “Bigfoot expert,” Jan had compiled …

50 Years of Skeptical Inquirer Columns

50 Years of Skeptical Inquirer Columns

Published by Sam Flores

While there have been hundreds of one-off or occasional writers for CSICOP/CSI whose work is important and valued, Skeptical Inquirer columnists have shown a special dedication to skepticism and the organization. They repeatedly contribute unique insight and information, often by deadline. In my capacity as an editor at SI, I’ve had the privilege of editing and working with some of the best and brightest skeptics in the world. From an editorial standpoint, while articles typically require much more lead time between submission and publication—sometimes a year or more—columns are (usually) shorter, timelier, and often more personal and idiosyncratic. Columnists have a bit more license to pick their own topics and share their stories. This often results in delightful slices of life, from Martin Gardner reminiscing about meeting Ernest Hemingway on a New York sidewalk to Joe Nickell discovering his unknown daughter, from Stuart Vyse’s European travelogues to Robyn Blumner’s youthful interest in ancient aliens. All these reveal a more personal side of skepticism. As Craig Foster reveals in his own SI column, The Time Warp, …

Fifty Years of Inquiry!

Fifty Years of Inquiry!

Published by Sam Flores

In the fall of 1976—fifty years ago—philosopher and secular humanist Paul Kurtz organized the meeting in Buffalo, New York, that led to the development of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP). That same year, CSICOP published a journal called The Zetetic. The journal opened with this definition:             ZETETIC 1. adj. proceeding by inquiry. 2. n. skeptic, seeker; specif: one of a group of Pyrrhonist philosophers. —Webster’s Third New International Dictionary The journal’s editor, Marcello Truzzi, was joined by an impressive editorial board including Kurtz, James Randi, Ray Hyman, Martin Gardner, and Dennis Rawlins. In Truzzi’s opening editorial, he wrote, “As a name for the journal it reflects our belief that the proper attitude of science toward unusual claims should be one of balance between openness to new facts and skepticism with critical attention toward facts which are anomalous.” The journal’s second editor—and longest serving by over four decades—Kendrick Frazier ushered in a name change to The Skeptical Inquirer while maintaining the tone of open-minded skepticism. So began fifty …