New Bigfoot Image Cut Down by Occam’s Razor

By Bigfoot, science, investigation, LiveScience’s Bad Science Columnist

posted: 16 December 2009 09:12 am ET

A photograph captured on a trail camera in the Minnesota woods has some people suggesting that Bigfoot has once again been filmed. In October, brothers Casey and Peter Kedrowski rigged a motion-activated camera to record wildlife near Chippewa National Forest. When the pair recently looked at the images, one showed a dark, featureless human-like figure that made them wonder if they had accidentally photographed the mysterious Bigfoot creature.

The figure looked a lot like a bow hunter might appear, though none of the local hunters the brothers spoke to admitted to being in the area on the night in question. Soon a pair of local Bigfoot enthusiasts arrived on the scene, and “authenticated” the mystery. Bigfoot buff Don Sherman analyzed the photo, comparing it to the most famous image of an alleged Bigfoot, seen in a 1967 film. According to Sherman, the proportions of the figure that the Kedrowskis captured are very similar to the figure in the 1967 Bigfoot film. “I am pretty convinced,” Sherman said.

Sherman may be convinced, but others aren’t—and this Bigfoot story doesn’t survive one of the most important scientific principles, Occam’s Razor. This idea (attributed to a William of Occam, who devised his version in the 1300s) is that if you have a phenomenon to be explained and several different theories are proposed as solutions, the simplest one (or the one with the fewest assumptions) is likely to be the correct answer.

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3 Responses to New Bigfoot Image Cut Down by Occam’s Razor

  1. I would love to believe it but the chances of big footy surviving our modern nature is none

    http://www.blog.digital-stationery.co.uk/2011/02/week-7-2-for-1-digital-image-cutting/

    • Oh au contraire! I don’t think a large hominid has a chance in an urban setting. There are very large stretches of wilderness in the US and in other countries which could support a population of “fossil” hominids.

      However (and here is the rub,) nobody has been able to bring back compelling evidence that such a thing exists. I don’t mean go out an shoot one, a good photo would be enough, or hair/scat samples. that hold up in the lab. So far the evidence has been scanty and unreliable.

      Hey, thanks for the comment.

      OE

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