Homo floresiensis debate continues

[NoPolys]

The article has some interesting study methodology, but, as the last line indicates, it's as much politics as science from the look of it.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... rmed-human

Cheers
NoPolys

[The yowie Mrx]

I will take Paleoanthropology Peter Brown's idear.Australian's have higher degree's then the U.S.A.
And is good to know he is up around my area,So if I find a skull I will let him know.
P.S very interesting read NoPolys , thanx.

[Rusty2]

Interesting read Nopoly's !

I find those sort's of discoveries absolutely fascinating .

Thanks mate !

[NoPolys]

Rusty,

Me too mate..... thankfully this article was shorter and sweeter than most!

The item that caught my attention was the endocasts...... how does one make a cast of an interior space (the inside of the skull) without breaking up the the mould? and how can a cast be better than a CAT scan? I think I've been reading too much.... siiiigh

Cheers
NoPolys

[andrew]

How do you get four points of view on a scientific study? Easy, put three scientists together in one room. Or am I being too cynical? My apologies to the Irish about whom this joke was allegedly penned.

Apart from Nopolys true comment, does anyone else see the problems arising from a clearly less than exhaustive study of the subject in the first place. There is science and then there is good science.

That is how a hair goes from being identified as "human" to being "dog or marsupial".

Sometimes I am reminded of the similarity between discussions such as in that article and some of those segments on "Funniest Home Videos". You know the ones - dumb and dumber.

Never be in awe of scientists. Sometimes they just get it wrong because they have failed to address ALL the relevant factors!

[NoPolys]

Andrew;

You make a good point. We can be in awe of science (however you choose to define that word) and of other interesting phenomena, but I find being in awe of some (or most) of the people involved is a lot more difficult. We are all prone to mistakes and bias and systemic bias appears to win out often.

The "Good News" is (I think) that it only took 4 decades to expose Piltdown Man as a forgery... or the resistance to much of Richard Wells' work in Australian herps (read that as a cynical line please). That, to me, says a lot about the "system".

Cheers
NoPolys