There's a sucker born every minute VIII

Let's keep on with our discussion regarding the long hoax of Piltdown Man.

     Why did it take so long for anthropologists to discovery that Piltdown Man was basically some jerk who fused together the jaw of an orangutan and the skull of a modern human?  I know it's easy to look at this with hindsight and say "how could people be so foolish?" but there is another factor to consider here which plays into the hands of fraudsters.

     Everyone is familiar with the story of "The Emperor's New Clothes" (a story we will revisit in the future).   I will not go into it on this post.  But, we know that everyone could see that the Emperor was naked and only the revelation from a small boy who, unburdened by social pressures, was able to blurt out that the Emperor had on no clothes.  Once he did this, of course, everyone else felt fine to make the same proclamation.

     Science sometimes works the same way.  Entire careers have been built on mistaken assumptions and, although science is supposed to be self-correcting, sometimes even scientists are reluctant to admit that their professional careers are sometimes built on false foundations (forgetting, of course, that science often advances as much by learning what is not is true by learning what is true).

     Fraudsters often rely on the well known psychological base that people will sometimes do everything to avoid looking foolish, even innocently continuing a fraud.

   So - back to Piltdown Man - the answer is that some people did indeed build their careers on Piltdown Man and were reluctant to admit that it was a fraud, even when it became obvious.

Have a great and fraud-free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

------------>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

There's a sucker born every minute VII

OK - let's look at one of the two main reasons that the Piltdown Man hoax lasted as long as it did.

    First, as discussed, anthropology was still in its infancy.  One of the basic and accepted ideas of anthropology was that although evolution was accepted (more or less) as the preferred method to explain how humans (and other living creatures) arrived on this planet, there were large gaps in the fossil record.  So, any new discovery was viewed as a potential way to close this gap.  Further, although it was discussed, there was still no acceptable way to explain the differences between apes, monkeys and other primates with humans.  So - the idea of a "missing link" was viewed as a necessary way to explain this discrepancy.

     With Piltdown Man, this missing link was apparently found.  The Man had the jaw structure of an ape, but the brain structure of a man.  This could be the way to explain how one pattern (ape) shifted to another (man) in one fell swoop.

    Keep in mind, one of the hallmarks of any acceptance of fraud is the willingness to believe and the voluntary suspension of disbelief.  If we are willing to believe something, then our critical faculties sometimes take a back seat.  Many people have a built in "skeptical" radar and for something to get past that radar, our notions of disbelief have to be suspended.  Anthropologists and other scientists that were looking for some way to verify their theories on a missing link found what they were looking for in Piltdown Man.

     We will continue this tomorrow.

Have a great and fraud free day

http://www.tauskvega.com

------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

There's a sucker born every minute VI

OK - as promised - here is the evidence that spelled the end of the hoax of Piltdown Man:

In November 1953, Time magazine published evidence gathered variously by Kenneth Page Oakley, Sir Wilfred Edward Le Gros Clark and Joseph Weiner proving that the Piltdown Man was a forgery and demonstrating that the fossil was a composite of three distinct species.  It consisted of a human skull of medieval age, the 500 year old lower jaw of a Sarawak orangutan and chimpanzee fossil teeth.  The appearance of age had been created by staining the bones with an iron solution and chromic acid.  Microscopic examination revealed file marks on the teeth and it was deduced from this that someone had modified the teeth to give them a shape more suitable to a human diet.

   So, by 1953, the game was up.

Have a great and fraud free day.

http://www.tauskvega.com

----------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk

One more time II

Sorry - having trouble posting the link.   I will fix it or type it out myself tommorrow.

-------------->>>>>>>>>>>>gene

One more time

In November 1953, Time Magazine published evidence gathered variously by Kenneth Page Oakley, Sir Wilfred DeGras Oakley and Joseph Weiner proving that the Piltdown Man was a forgery ^[7] and demonstrating that the fossil was a composite of three distinct species. It consisted of a human skull of medieval age, the 500-year-old lower jaw of a Sarawak Oragutan and chimpanzee fossil teeth. The appearance of age had been created by staining the bones with an iron solution and chromic acid Microscopic examination revealed file-marks on the teeth, and it was deduced from this that someone had modified the teeth to give them a shape more suited to a human diet.

Sorry

This happens from time to time:

Here is the Wikipedia post:

In November 1953, Time published evidence gathered variously by Kenneth Page Oakley, Sir Wilfrid Edward Le Gros Clark and Joseph Weiner proving that the Piltdown Man was a forgery ^[7] and demonstrating that the fossil was a composite of three distinct species. It consisted of a human skull of medieval age, the 500-year-old lower jaw of a Sarawak orangutan and chimpanzee fossil teeth. The appearance of age had been created by staining the bones with an iron solution and chromic acid. Microscopic examination revealed file-marks on the teeth, and it was deduced from this that someone had modified the teeth to give them a shape more suited to a human diet.

And, tommorrow we will investigate why issues of nationalism kept the Piltdown Man hoax alive.

There's a sucker born every minute VI

So - what gave away Piltdown Man?  What exposed this fraud?

Once again, Wikipedia:

"In November 1953, Time published evidence gathered variously by Kenneth Page Oakley, Sir Wilfrid Edward Le Gros Clark and Joseph Weiner proving that the Piltdown Man was a forgery ^[7] and demonstrating that the fossil was a composite of three distinct species. It consisted of a human skull of medieval age, the 500-year-old lower jaw of a Sarawak orangutan and chimpanzee fossil teeth. The appearance of age had been created by staining the bones with an iron solution and chromic acid. Microscopic examination revealed file-marks on the teeth, and it was deduced from this that someone had modified the teeth to give them a shape more suited to a human diet."


    In other words, although Piltdown Man had been suspected to be a hoax from the very beginning by certain individuals, it was the continuous investigation of the "Man" that led to it being declared a fake.  This is not unusual in science: theories are discarded all the time.  But, as stated earlier, it was a pretty good run for a hoax.


   Tommorrow we will address the nationalist issues that led to Piltdown Man being accepted for so long.


As always, have a great and fraud free day.


http://www.tauskvega.com


------------->>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>gene tausk