Tuesday, July 19, 2011

A Word From Ivan T. Sanderson

"Most of us dislike having to change our opinions. So, while facts are facts, objectionable ones are often deliberately misinterpreted."

Ivan T. Sanderson


The above quote is pulled from Sanderson's book Abominable Snowmen Legend Come to Life.

Sanderson had grown quite frustrated by the lack of movement on the subject of the yeti and the sasquatch by the scientific community and had little use for skeptics who could not back up their views. He went on to write:

"Besides being dull, most professional skeptics are insufferably conceited, and in this affair have never even bothered to collect the facts or examine them properly...The pronouncements of most of the scientific skeptics and experts are not caused exclusively by boneheadedness on the part of those who make them; some are deliberately misleading and designed to promote further skepticism, without any regard for truth."

Keep in mind that Sanderson's book was first published in 1961. Unfortunately, the climate has changed very little since then. Those of us who have come to the conclusion that the sasquatch does exist are, more often than not, dismissed out of hand as being "loonies." Most skeptics dismiss the possibility that the species could exist without ever seriously examining the evidence that has been collected. They don't have to, you see, because it just isn't possible for such an animal to exist. This way of thinking is totally unscientific and, unfortunately, all too prevalent.

Scientists who come to conclusions, in any discipline, that are different from those that are accepted by the majority of their peers are often ridiculed and vilified. Don't believe me? Ask any scientist who questions whether global warming is a man-made phenomenon.

The bottom line is that if the evidence points in a certain direction, regardless of whether or not it is a popular direction, it needs to be tested and examined closely and not ignored and ridiculed.

Let's hope that day is coming soon

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