CNN article

Thank you for posting a link to this article. It's funny that most university professors pride themselves with having "open" minds who often hold extremist views on many subjects. But they consider Meldrum's work to be equal to research on Santa Claus. They are nothing but hypocrites and elitists....

I've got no problem with him doing research. He gets private money to do his research.
It's no different than Ford or GM giving a grant to a public university to do research.

It's funny how the professors are the most clique-oriented group of people. A conservative on the faculty would be treated the same way. But get some whacko Fecal-matter-artist on the faculty and they are worshipped.

I know! You'd think they'd love Meldrum because he's outside of the mainstream....but I guess he's either too far or not far enough (but which??). Maybe someone should mention to the other professors that he does, on occasion, study poop!

The story spreads (it is an AP story.)
http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/feeds/.../ap3144443.html

And Google lists stories at websites including those of the Boston Globe, the Houston Chronicle, the LA Times, and the Washington Post.

Thank you for posting the link...I've emailed the ISU staff to give them a piece of my mind. It's pathetic that these so-called scientists are so close-minded and down-right maliscious.


Here's the link, if you care to comment...

http://www.isu.edu/feedback.shtml?http%3A/...u/faculty.shtml

Peace!

How could the unnamed author get this part backwards?

Meldrum was also described as being "a hulking figure" who "gets funny looks and the silent treatment from other scientists, and is not invited to share coffee with the other science professors."

Meldrum hardly strikes me as looking like The Hulk.

The article seems to rather biased, but at least Meldrum appears to have the university's dean of arts and sciences, John Kijinski, on his side, and that's what counts.

"On campus, Meldrum - himself a hulking figure, with a mop of brown hair, a bristly silver mustache, and a black T-shirt with a silhouette of a hunchbacked, lurking Bigfoot - gets funny looks and the silent treatment from other scientists, and is not invited to share coffee with the other science professors."


Reminds me of the song lyrics "They would'nt let poor Rudolf join in any reindeer games", well we all know how that turned out dont we.
NS

Rather than using the prospective student question form (as linked above), I'd recommended contacting the office of the ISU President Arthur C. Vailas directly if you have a complaint. His email address is vailarth@isu.edu.

If Jeff would state: "I have proof Bigfoot is an Islamic radical." The other professors would fall all over themselves protecting its civil rights to exist!

Dan

LOL...

I've said it before and I'll say it again...there's more convincing proof of Bigfoot's existance than there ever was of Weapons of Mass Distruction in Iraq...yet, thousands are dying because of it...

Peace!

Google News now lists 82 different links to news organizations around the world which have picked up the AP story.

Just a reminder... keep the discussion on BF. Don't stray into religious or politcal discussions.

Not surprising...it's a negative article.

In spite of John Green's best efforts to draw attention to it using his newspaper contacts, not one newspaper picked up Theo Stein's excellent Denver Post article from a few years ago. Bad news sells.

The beauty of the fourth estate...

Ain't it the truth.

Heck, why don't they just put him under house arrest for life or burn him at the stake?

Another example that proves: The majority is not always correct.

Sunflower

Sounds jealous to me




I am sure LMS producers would be overjoyed to realize this seems to be talking about their show. I have never seen him say anything stronger than he believes in the PROBABILITY based upon the physical evidence. If he has, so what, he has shown scientific data, so let him be



I believe there are still skeptics out there challenging the moon landing? I wonder where that physics prof is on that topic??? There are skeptics of EVERYTHING, so a skeptic does not necessarily a false arguement make...
Funny, the newspapers I have seen go back to before the 1840's, and if they are talking about the PGF....they need to see their eye doctor, the quality is no different than any other film of the time, and where is the monkey suit??? Phony footprints stamped into the ground with giant molded feet???? :2504: :bsflag:

Wow, anybody else totally disappointed in CNN? Looks to me like they have taken a case of academic sour grapes, a professor who couldn't get private funding or public airtime for himself and is jealous of Dr Meldrum's publicity ( well earned IMO) and given it a public forum. I hope this prof is producing, and has a few original ideas...... I haven't heard his name garnering $$$$$ for the University

SK

I must again point out that CNN as well as the rest of the media outlets, are carrying an Associated Press story.

Do you still have that article? :eek3dance:

You can reach this guy as well:

http://www.physics.isu.edu/~hackmart/

"Himself a hulking figure"
It sounds like that was lifted from an article on Krantz.

"grainy film footage of someone in a monkey suit"
He talks as though Heironimus's claim is privileged, because it tickles his debunker's bone, and is to be swallowed forthwith. He regurgitates the incorrect "grainy" claim because it makes him (and skeptics) feel superior to sneer.

"locked joints and a narrow arch"
He got things backwards--Meldrum no doubt said that he thought prints were authentic because they didn't have such characteristics, but the reporter, consulting his scribbled notes later, saw only "lck jt & nar. arch". (He should follow Long's practice of taping his interviewees.)

You can find Stein’s Denver Post feature article here, and the companion article about Julie Davis’s Colorado experience here.

However, I doubt that Stein's article, even if Meldrum's critics were to read it, would make much of a dent in their cynicism, contempt, and condescension.

You probably right and what a shame because it is an excellent article that I'll be passing around, thanks man.

I always appreciate the way you point this stuff out Roger. To me the real humor in the story is the formulaic half-assed attempt at getting the actual facts straight. They almost got it right...but not. I'm bettin' the writer was one of those same kids that won a big 7th Place ribbon in the "What I Did On My Summer Vacation" essay contest in junior high. I bet his/her parents are so proud.

It's sad that such biased dribble can be allowed in print.....
You know what this means? Lots of laymen are gonna pick up the paper and read this article and think "What a whacko. Good thing the newspaper tells me what's real and what's not." I'm betting that we lost a couple hundred potential believers.

Some physicist look at the mathematical uncertainty in quantum mechanics(apparently) and professes the mathematics indicate that there are an infinite number of simultaneous dimensions in the universe. A person who is so far removed from reality is considered a great physicist. It sounds like nonsense in a cheap science fiction novel. I didn't believe anybody would seriously consider such nonsense(JMO) until I heard Steven Hawking state this in his explanation of why black holes don't remove information from the universe. Apparently physicists don't like anything interfering with their equations and they don't like matter being eliminated from the universe in black holes. Steven Hawkings says that there are alternate universes where there are no black holes and the information is not eliminated and their mathematics are preserved.

Are these the people casting stones at Dr. Meldrum for believing a species of extremely reclusive primate may have survived until present? I think some in "science" are engaging in fantasy and wild speculation but I don't see how Dr. Meldrum's work can be said to be so far fetched as many of the "legitimate" physicists.

You're probably right about that.



I'd be careful using the word "believers". IMO, the use of that label could be seen as doing as much(or more) damage to this field as the above-cited article has managed to do.

I think you're right

I don't think they realize how many people are going to read this article and wanna know why they want to revoke his tenure... why they think he's an embarrassment... why Meldrum's research is such a "joke."?
They'll want to know why someone of this caliber is doing what he's doing. They'll want to understand his version of rational.
They'll dig and find out things that they didn't already know... maybe they'll stumble over a piece of evidence that makes them think twice. And maybe they'll see there's more to that old "grainy film footage".

I'm sort of disgusted with the lack of objectivitity the media treats this subject with. Most people (general public) are looking at this article and are picking up where the last major article left off....you know where the patterson film was debunked with the monkey suit that was a different color etc. :icon_bang: It is really time to get some good evidence. Makes me wonder what we are exposed to every day from the media.

Its a shame that someone gets ostracized for his beliefs. But thats how thw orld works. Id love someone to plop a 800lb dead bigfoot in the teachers lounge , i bet theyd belive then. :new_lmaosmiley:

Oh, I'm sure Dr. Meldrum's reply to the story will make headlines all over the world. :new_whistle:

I wonder how many of his critics at Idaho State have bothered to examine his cast collection, or read his book.

I see his page is still on the site:

http://www.isu.edu/bios/Professors_Staff/meldrum_j.shtml

It's scary to think his livlihood can be threatened because of his research; Krantz didn't get tenure and he figured his interest cost him over $100,000 in lost wages and expenses.

Good morning BFF folks....

Excellent commentary since this story broke overnight on the "tabloid" of broadcast journalism...CNN..

I wonder how many sasquatch habituate Ted Turner's vast land holdings in the Western United States?

A polite concise email of support to the University and the purchase of Dr. Meldrum's book....are the best ways to show our support...JMHO

To those who are capable of financial and logisitcal support, or underwriting research efforts...NOW is the time to write that check or donate equipment to the researcher or group of your choice...JMHO

No Bucks...No bigfoot...

Steve Summar

(my bolding)

Words that seem to haunt the 'science' of bigfootdom. Skeletal determinations based on nothing but footprints, inconclusive DNA/hair-testing results, videos/films that get picked to death, etc. etc.

Though I don't agree with everything in the article, I think a few points were bang on:



It's not so much that Dr. Meldrum believes that, but some of his loudest supporters seem to walk that path.



:new_thumbsupsmileyanim: 'nuff said.



Shouldn't that be what science is all about? :eek3dance:

So no, I don't agree with lofty scientists who poo-poo Meldrum's enthusiastic approach to solving the bigfoot mystery. Having said that, it's necessary to adhere to scientific principles when addressing any evidence that's presented concerning bigfoot. Without a foot to examine, skeletal determination is speculative at best. Inconclusive means exactly that, and no amount of wishful-thinking will make something conclusive.

I guess that's the main reason I've become increasingly skeptical as the years fade by -- the evidence never seems to get any better. There's been no real scientific step forward in the past 30 years or more concerning bigfoot. It would be wonderful if someday I get to eat a bucket of crow, but in the meantime I ain't getting any younger, and bigfoot continues to be treated like a myth...

RayG

RayG wrote:




Amen to that, bruddah.

I saw this today on my CNN page also. What a disappointment and possible set back for the bigfoot community.....this sure portrayed Dr. Meldrum as a "quack" so to speak and saying his research is a "joke" is very negative, except a few comments....was very biased against his work and him in general, they describe him as some kind of weirdo or the like......this really made me mad!!!!! :new_grrr:

This sort of comment always flusters me. Because you think that Meldrum is wrong on some point and some us think he’s right, that’s worship? I’m sorry, I don’t attend the Meldrum Church on Sunday. However, if he says black and you (and anyone else on this forum) says white, I’m more apt to believe Meldrum because he educated, skilled, very intelligent, and he hasn’t let me down yet. Do I think he’s infallible, no…no one is, but he’s more likely to be right in his interpretation of a footprint, etc. than folks who have no background in anatomy or primates or early man. Never confuse respect for worship…they aren’t the same thing.



So, we should all go home and call it a day? How many sciences are there out there that don't have a damn bit of hard evidence in their hands but make scientific determinations all the time? Black holes? Planets outside our universe??? Seti, anyone? How about how dinaosaurs? They get that stuff wrong all the time and have to readjust their thinking on all hosts of topics (and they have bones!). The point is, you CAN'T make any progress unless you are studying what we do have and determine if its possible evidence of a bigfoot or not. Until a dead bigfoot falls into someone's lap, that's what we got to work with. If you don't accept that as a basic premise, why are you here?

If you are in the public eye...especially involved in a fringe subject; you will have critics. You\'ll have people call you a quack. Comes with the program. I\'m sure Dr. M expects stuff like this and it probably will not phase him.

A quick review of Google News shows over 170 media outlets have now picked up the AP story, including organizations in France, China, Canada, the UK, and Australia.

Most of the time the media can't even spell a person's name right, let alone give objective and accurate information. I have learned not to take anything at face value anymore.

Yeah... the article seems negative, so what? I wouldn't expect anything else. Their (media) aim is to piss everyone off at the same time. If it didn't ruffle your feathers, you'd forget all about it by the end of the next page. It sells papers... attracts advertisers... makes money.

I don't think this article could change the thinking of a person either way. Most people already have their minds made up. You could expose them to anything... they're either open minded or they're not. This just leaves more people subjected to idea that there are well educated people out there that have an interest in this. That this subject is not just tabloid fodder for all the gullible sheep out there.
I think the percentage of open minded vs. closed minded would stay about the same no matter how many people read this or any other article written on the subject of Bigfoot/Sasquatch. Closed minded will go their way, while the open minded will be left scratching their heads.

I wonder if the BFF member count will spike from this? I guess we'll see.

As Tugbotwa reminded me/us, this story has been picked up by the AP and is spreading, we have two very positive, what we believe to be fairly written articles, that seem to have gone nowhere.... and one malice ridden, dismissive POS that to some of us reads like a scandal rag.... that is getting international circulation, I question why is this? Anybody have any idea how this can occur? I don't think it affects 'believers', what it does affect is the lay person who may have access to some of this 'evidence' both sides lament is rare.

When highly credentialed and educated people are so cheaply criticized then it in effect silences a much larger group.


And I for one, am not against Dr Meldrum being criticized, as far as his work.....show me some of your science that contra indicates his conclusions, using the same original data, and if it makes sense, I'll respect you. When it comes down to personal attacks, that is just plain wrong in a scientific manner, and rude as far as people go..... so I am against that.

SK

A reporter interviewing a physicist about anthropology?
Why not have a physicist interview an anthropologist about journalism?

That's sad. Dr. Meldrum doesn't deserve that, he's just doing research.

Did anyone notice that it was the physics department that did most of the complaining? Maybe I missed it, but I didn't see anyone from the biology and anthropology departments take a shot at Dr. Meldrum. I don't see how wormholes and alternate universes can be less "out there" than bigfoot. The physics department probably lost some funding and they're lashing out at a convenient target. Keep up the good work Dr. Meldrum.

As somewhat of a skeptic but someone who wants to believe, I think the article could've been worse. The Santa Claus quote was very lame and mean spirited which alienated me from his point of view completely. I thought the quote from the dean and from Goodall's representative effectively answered his critiques. While the article wasn't obviously the best piece of PR (they could've at least pointed out Meldrum's new book for those who would like to read more on his findings--actually, they absolutely should have mentioned it), it could've been worse. Could've been better of course:) I think some curious people will look more into the subject though, the only thing that reawakened my interest was the Beef Jerky commercials!

Ahhg. You're right. Sorry about that. "believe" sounds like it's religious or something, but what word could I use to replace it.

It looks like some good news out of this for Dr. Meldrum. At 5:33pm Pacific time his book was number #676 in sales at Amazon.

Good point.

I always had a lot of respect for Krantz, because he was a professor and put his butt on the line, same as Meldrum is doing now.

And I'll bet the university gets some good publicity from his efforts as well, and you can't tell me the administrators there don't like that. :wink:



(emphasis mine)

That's about it in a nutshell for me.

:icon14: Excellent. You point out the blatant 'hypocrisy' in it all. How would 'investigating' Bigfoot™ - scientifically - be so much different than the previous millions of seperate/distict instances of 'scientific investigation' that led nowhere? And despite that many were probably doomed from the start, I bet there's been very little 'spilt milk' (whacked peepees) over the fact they turned up nothing. So they check it out and find nothing. They gain a true basis for their stance. I bet if Bigfoot™ was any other type animal besides a huge-bipedal-ape-man-lookin-thang, given the amount of compelling evidence (all kinds), there would already have been some 'science' thrown on the matter. Sadly, an ape-man not only doesn't exist, it can't exist. The 'nuclear fallout' of an Actual Bigfoot™ discovery would be enormous. Maybe the enormity of such, or more specifically, avoiding it, is their righteous justification to poo-poo the entire notion as easily as they do. They really don't even wanna think about it. Maybe they're on to something there. :new_guitar:



:icon14:



:icon_really_happy_guy: Even Ray has to admit she owned him, at least for a few seconds, on that one. :laugh:

I saw the same article on AOL...I wonder if its on the actuall news(like Fox 5 news)