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Two years ago I recorded a podcast interview with Dr. Donald Prothero and asked him, “Why do people believe in monsters?” Don Prothero and Daniel Loxton answer this question and many more in their new book, Abominable Science! Origins of the Yeti, Nessie and Other Famous Cryptids.

The authors begin by discussing the abominable science behind cryptozoology, including problems with eyewitness testimony and the lack of evidence from the fossil record. The book then takes a different turn and examines the folklore, history and hoaxes of a selection of infamous cryptids and tells us what science has to say about them. Don and Daniel tackle the Loch Ness Monster, Yeti, Bigfoot, and their many incarnations. They discuss the searches, sightings and evidence that have been presented over the years, including the infamous Patterson-Gimlin footage and the “body” of the recent Georgia “Bigfoot”. (Speaking of Bigfoot, check out my recent article about “Bigfoot Language” for the Scientific American Mind blog.)

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Recently I served on a jury for a criminal case here in San Diego. I’ve served beforeBlind Justice in New York City, on both a civil case and a criminal case, and in both instances we reached verdicts. Jury duty isn’t what I would call fun, or even pleasant, but it is interesting, challenging, and once it’s over, I have always felt it to be immensely satisfying. It’s the best of ourselves – or at least the opportunity to be – the best of us performing a genuine civic duty, one that requires more effort that voting and that has very specific impact on other lives in our communities. Thinking about the experience calls to mind Dorothy Parker’s famous comment about writing: “I hate writing. I love having written.” That’s kind of how I feel about serving on a jury (and also how I often feel about writing, now that I mention it).

This time around I was put on the jury but was selected as an “alternate.” As it was a criminal trial, twelve jurors are required but three alternates are also sworn in as jurors, to be available to take the place of any juror who for any reason does not complete serving for the trial. For me this aspect was a frustration, in that I was required to attend all of the trial with all the expected and appropriate diligence, but in the end I was sent home once the jury began to deliberate on a verdict. I imagine for some this might be a relief, as the trial is the easy part, it’s the deliberation that can be extremely challenging, as you try to get twelve very different people to form a unanimous agreement on multiple issues that are both weighty and complex. But for me it felt like juris interruptus.

That having been said, the trial, which included about three days of testimony and counsel’s opening and closing statements, was a criminal case, with a single defendant charged with buglary and robbery of a private home. Because the victim came home and discovered the burglar in the process of the crime, it becomes a robbery charge as well as burglary because the owner of the stolen items is present.

You might be surprised at the extent and variety of testimony we heard over the course of a couple of densely-packed days. There were two eyewitnesses, including the victim herself. There were various forensic, technical, and scientific experts. A type of plant, called a Kangaroo Paw plant, was discussed at length, because there were several around the crime scene and subsequently there were pods from the same plant species found on a shirt at the suspect’s home, and so we heard from a botanist among others. There was testimony about DNA analysis in order to tie the shirt to the suspect. We heard testimony from a number of experts on cell phone technology, because cell phone records were subpoenaed which tracked the location of the suspect’s cell phone during the time of the crime. And of course there was the expected parade of police officers, detectives, evidence and crime scene technicians, all of who had something to do with some portion of the “chain of custody” of the evidence used at trial.

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Here is a rundown of the superstitious, the monstrous and the Biblical claims made this past week that you may have missed in the news, but shouldn't. People really believe this stuff. 

It's summer and it's time for Shark Week on cable TV, just in time to scare you out of visiting the beach. The Discovery Channel, who brought you the mermaid "documentary", are now speculating that giant sharks (the extinct species called Megalodon) may still be alive. Cue the computer graphics imagery.   

Also back in the news with a vengeance every summer are stories about sickly animals with skin diseases, now known officially as "chupacabras".

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Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo-woo in medicine.

The difference between science-based medicine and CAM (David Gorski)  http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/the-difference-between-science-based-medicine-and-cam/ Complementary/alternative medicine is akin to religion, based on belief; but it craves the imprimatur of science. Science-based medicine has a long history of identifying treatments that are ineffective and abandoning them. A recent review found that 27% of medical journal articles addressed an established practice and of those, 40% were reversals, while only 38% upheld standard practices (The rest were inconclusive). No CAM practice has ever been abandoned as a result of research and randomized clinical trials showing that it doesn’t work.

What Doctors Feel (Harriet Hall)  http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-doctors-feel/ Doctors are often accused of being unfeeling automatons who treat the disease and not the patient. In a new book, Danielle Ofri demonstrates that doctors have feelings too, and she explores the impact of emotions on medical practice. Among other issues, she discusses problems with the medical education system and the effect of malpractice suits.

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This is my latest installment of "The Honest Liar" video commentaries:



In which I consider why villains like phony mediums still like what they see when they look in the mirror, thanks to the workings of cognitive dissonance. From psychic frauds to faith healers, talk-to-the-dead mediums, or even the filmaker Vikram Gandi who posed as an Indian fakir for him documentary film, “Kumare” (about which I also comment in greater depth here), with the help of cognitive dissonance, nobody looks in the mirror and ever sees a villain.

While I’m at it, if you missed my debut “Honest Liar” video, about homeopathy, it’s called “Money For Nothing”:

  1. Scammers get the hammer and cats attack: This week in Doubtful News
  2. Last Week In Science-Based Medicine
  3. The Winchester Mystery House
  4. Legitimizing Nonsense