Can Bigfoot Teach Us About Science?

Does Gordon himself believe in Sasquatch? “I actually say I’m a fence-sitter. I’m not going to say there isn’t a Sasquatch—because people could find one tomorrow, and I’d be wrong,” he tells me. “But the bottom line is I wouldn’t go to court with any of the evidence people have gathered so far.”

Even the most compelling evidence—the 1967 footage from Bluff Creek, Calif., which portrays a large apish creature sauntering through the wilderness—is easy to poke holes in once you go looking for flaws. “There are lots of amazing stories out there,” Gordon says. “But what’s most interesting to me is the sort of fundamentals of science that aren’t lining up . . . I want to inspire people to be better field researchers.”

In his book, published by Mountaineers Books, Gordon first describes Sasquatch-related legends and lore from near and far. Then, should you find yourself inspired to go look for a Sasquatch, he outlines the principles of natural science for the layperson: tips for mounting a search (including the three basics—planning, persistence, and patience), for gathering evidence (from taking field notes to interpreting footprints), and for sharing your discoveries (“with other honest and ethical Sasquatch seekers in the hopes of collectively resolving the mystery of the Sasquatch once and for all”). The book’s last section provides recommendations of where to hike for the best chances of Sasquatchian scientific success.

Truth be told, however,whether or not you come home with irrefutable proof of Bigfoot’s existence is just a side note to Gordon’s main point. “What I’m really trying to get people into is systematic observation,” he says. More than a means to an end, to Gordon the search for Sasquatch is the end itself—a tool to get people outside and learn how to observe as a naturalist does. “If I wrote a book about a citizen science project looking at snails, for example—which is actually a subject I’m interested in as well—I don’t think it would have the same immediate appeal.”

Citizen science, Gordon writes in the book, “is a win-win proposition.”

“People get training in scientifically accepted techniques for collecting, sorting, and, sometimes, analyzing data. In return, they share their insights about observable phenomena—for example, the migratory patterns of wild birds or butterflies, or the waxing and waning of local amphibian populations—natural phenomena that may be happening, quite literally, in their own backyards.”

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Thanks http://bigfootevidence.blogspot.com/

Check out more contributions by Jeffery Pritchett ranging from UFO to Bigfoot to Paranormal to Prophecy.