Rocket Surgeon
Guest
Indiana Jones was conceived as an intelligent professor, who knows his science and can deduce a hoax. Half the time he's dealing with hoaxes, (whether on screen or not). Not only in terms of taboos but also in terms of antiquities.
Interpretative difficulties face all archaeologists. As interpretative theories are proposed, they are tested against the full knowledge base. If one or more parts of the puzzle do not seem to fit then an honest archaeologist will reject the theory.
There is no real alternative to this methodology. More than once two experts will arrive at conflicting conclusions from the same data, from the same archaeological site. Without an audible voice from the past to help us, archaeologists will propose and keep proposing non-testable theories, but it is all we have at this present time.
We've put a lot of mileage on ancient aliens and soon the minds who have inspired our science. As Michael Shermer laments, superstition will always be with us. What are some of the outlandish hoaxes or interpretations you've encountered in your own travels? Hopefully the focus of the thread will be perception and its confirmation or its refutation.
Interpretative difficulties face all archaeologists. As interpretative theories are proposed, they are tested against the full knowledge base. If one or more parts of the puzzle do not seem to fit then an honest archaeologist will reject the theory.
There is no real alternative to this methodology. More than once two experts will arrive at conflicting conclusions from the same data, from the same archaeological site. Without an audible voice from the past to help us, archaeologists will propose and keep proposing non-testable theories, but it is all we have at this present time.
All our science, measured against reality, is primitive and childlike — and yet it is the most precious thing we have. Albert Einstein
<object width="446" height="326"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/MichaelShermer_2010-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MichaelShermer-2010.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=884&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=michael_shermer_the_pattern_behind_self_deception;year=2010;theme=evolution_s_genius;theme=how_we_learn;theme=how_the_mind_works;theme=new_on_ted_com;event=TED2010;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/MichaelShermer_2010-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/MichaelShermer-2010.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=884&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=michael_shermer_the_pattern_behind_self_deception;year=2010;theme=evolution_s_genius;theme=how_we_learn;theme=how_the_mind_works;theme=new_on_ted_com;event=TED2010;"></embed></object>It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas. If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you. You never learn anything new. You become a crotchety old person convinced that nonsense is ruling the world. (There is, of course, much data to support you.) On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish the useful ideas from the worthless ones. If all ideas have equal validity then you are lost, because then, it seems to me, no ideas have any validity at all. Carl Sagan
We've put a lot of mileage on ancient aliens and soon the minds who have inspired our science. As Michael Shermer laments, superstition will always be with us. What are some of the outlandish hoaxes or interpretations you've encountered in your own travels? Hopefully the focus of the thread will be perception and its confirmation or its refutation.
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