User:Vegayazmin/ Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries

Introduction

Feder uses logical reasoning and factual evidence to debunk myths and/or claims, in order to find the closest truth about the past of humankind. The tone of the book is humorous, yet informational. In the preface, there is information about why the book has reached its tenth edition, as well as special features added and changes that were made in each chapter. Some of the special features include the Pseudoscience Cheat Sheet, the Frequently Asked Questions at the end of each chapter, and Critical Thinking Exercises incorporated.

Chapter One : Science and Pseudoscience

Feder begins by pointing out the difference between Science and Pseudoscience. He states,

“Science, after all, is merely a process of understanding the world around us through the application of logical thought.” (pg 5)

As for pseudoscience, he acknowledges the authors of The Morning of the Magicians and their extreme claims about human abilities, life of the past, and extraterrestrial life.

Feder also warns about the motives of pseudoarchaeology such as money, fame, nationalism, racism, religion, romanticism, and horror entertainment. He also acknowledges that some bizarre and extreme claims come from the imagination of crazy minds.

He claims his purpose for writing the book is his own passion and curiosity about the human past. Feder states, “I find the misrepresentation of what we actually know about that past to be genuinely aggravating and attempt in these pages to respond to some of the more egregious examples. Simply stated, my purpose here is to provide the perspective of a professional archaeologist on unsubstantiated claims made about the human past as well as on extreme claims made concerning how we can learn about that past." (pg 12)

He leaves us with a critical thinking exercise, questioning how we know the material presented on a website is legitimate. Encouraging readers to check sources and credibility of websites, so we are careful to not fall gullible to outrageous claims.

Chapter Two : Epistemology - How You Know What You Know

Feder focuses on what we think we know and how we know it. He tells us to think about how we know the things we do and how we learned for those things to be true.

He claims that people generally collect information in two ways, one would be directly, through personal experience, and two, indirectly, through specific information sources such as friends, teachers, parents, books, TV, the internet, etc.

However, we must be skeptical about the reliability of our own eyes and relying on others for information. Sometimes we can be confused about things we are experiencing and come up with our own reason for it, even if it seems a bit irrational. And relying on other people can also be concerning, because sometimes people lie or exaggerate, and we cannot account to how reliable they are.

Feder explains this when he brings up the “Lamia”, an imaginary creature that is male and female and is a hideous combination of mammal and fish. He states that people have claimed to have witnessed this Lamia, although, they could not have because the creature does not actually exist.

Since we can’t believe just anything, then how do we know what we can believe? Feder claims that the Laws of the Universe (or Scientific Law) and the scientific method are the best tools to use when wanting to find the truth about how things work in our world.

Using science and the scientific method has helped solve many medical issues that have arose in the past. For example, Feder uses the Childbed Fever (or Postpartum infections) case to show how the application of the scientific method was able to decrease the mortality rate of women giving birth inside the Vienna General Hospital in 1848. There were four different suggestions made about why so many women were dying when they gave birth in the hospital, and once the doctor induced the necessary implications of each, he found that none of the suggestions were reasons that the women were dying. It wasn’t until another doctor had cut himself during an autopsy and died with similar symptoms to women who were dying after childbirth, that the first doctor realized that there was some “bad stuff” on the hands of physicians and medical students when they worked with dead bodies. Then they transmitted that bacteria to the women and ultimately made them deathly ill.

His biggest point here is that science saves lives.

Chapter Three : GIANTS! Anatomy of Archaeological Hoax

There are people who claim to have found the bones of giants, which seems to be enough evidence that giants really existed. However, Feder refers to the work of Andy White and Jason Colavito to debunk the claim.

The bones that were thought to be giant humans were most likely misidentified and were bones of extinct animals. In some cases, there were giant bones of human beings. Some were rather tall but still within the range of modern people, or their heights were miscalculated or exaggerated.

Feder uses, The Cardiff Giant : The Goliath of New York, example to show how people will use pseudoscience to make a profit and throw the public off the right course to the truth. It was on Stub Newell’s farm that the Cardiff Giant was found in 1869. People were so interested in examining the giant, they were willing to pay 50 cents just to see it. But soon, the truth about the giant came to light. Not only did Newell brag about how much money he made from fraud, but P. T. Barnum went out and had a duplicate statue made and claimed that it was the original and Newell had the copy.

Eventually, the whole things blew up in their faces when trained observers and professional scientists had viewed the giant and realized it was impossible for this giant to be human.

Feder also mentions that there are way to recognize frauds and what the real deal archaeology is all about. For instance, there are ways to identify the authenticity of an object or carved tool from the past. Some people make objects that look similar but use technology that was unknown to ancient inhabitants. (pg 62)

REFERENCES

1. Stothers, D.International Social Science Review; Winfield, Kan. Vol. 66, Iss. 3, (Summer 1991): 139.

2. Feder, Kenneth L.(2020)"Frauds, Myths, and Mysteries : Science and Pseudoscience in Archaeology". Oxford University Press.