“Peace, Relief, And Recovery”
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3 comments:
“His amazing encounter, video footage, and recordings will make you a believer too.”
The above is from the Cape May Bird Observatory (CMBO) announcement of the talk and certainly with that sort of hype it is not surprising that no one questioned the sightings since it takes someone rather asocial to turn a pleasant evening bird talk into a confrontation about the scientific fraud of a speaker’s family member. CMBO could have said “come hear and see the evidence and judge for yourself….” but instead made it clear that the purpose of the talk was to make the audience believe. Hosting the Fitzbro so he can attack Jackson on the “faith-based” issue is absurd – especially given the wording of the announcement.
And the New Jersey Audubon that runs the CMBO of course tries to use the IBWO as funding leverage. Their “Message from the President” states:
“If a woodpecker long thought to be extinct can re-emerge from the Arkansas wilderness, then, perhaps, we can still preserve and restore enough of New Jersey’s natural heritage to leave a rich lasting legacy for all who follow.”
I certainly hope they can preserve and restore New Jersey’s natural heritage but invoking the name of the species that is the center of the biggest ornithological/conservation fraud of the 21st century is not the way to go about it. Nor the way to inspire any faith (if one can still use that term) in the credibility of how an organization views conservation or fundraising.
[I]"I commend him though, for not personally attacking the skeptics. This may not seem like much of a commendation, but in this debate--at least the part occuring on the internet--personal attacks have been a dominant theme on all sides. For my part, I will say that even though I was less than satisfied with Fitzpatrick’s presentation, he certainly seemed like a decent guy and very much in earnest."[/I]
This caught my eye...
Natural selection can favor a mix of truth and lies, particularly when an animal has a big audience. From one listener to the next, honesty may not be the best policy.
“I think it could explain a lot of mysteries in the evolution of communication in animals, including humans,” said Stephen P. Ellner, a mathematical biologist at Cornell University
In an article in yesterday’s NY Times, that does contain much new to anyone who has taken a course in or thought about animal behavior, the benefits of being both deceptive and honest with conspecifics are presented for the Times readership. Readers of this blog who have seen the way in which a mix of truth and lies have brought resources to the IBWO principals, their institutions and families won’t find much new in the article.
What is somewhat interesting is the statement above from a biologist at Cornell as is this:
Dr. H. Kern Reeve, an evolutionary biologist at Cornell, said that “deception is popping up with a surprising frequency.”
Cornell should be praised for being able to both explain and demonstrate the importance of deception in human evolution. It seems likely that should the Times soon run an article on mimicry it will contain quotes from Auburn researchers.
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