1. Begin by giving a brief synopsis of the Piltdown hoax, including when and where it was found, by whom, and varying affects this had on the scientific community. Also include how the hoax was discovered and the varying responses it received from the scientist(s) involved and in the related fields of human evolution.
It started in a small village called Piltdown in Sussex. Charles Dawson found a piece of skull that he thought, might have belonged to an ancient human being. Later he continued to dig and found a few more remainings. Everyone was fascinated by it and called it the Piltdown Man. This though would prevent scientists from understanding the truth behind the real evolution of mankind for several decades. Scientist all wanted to believe that Piltdown man could be the missing link among humans and primates. Few though kept their skeptical views about Piltdown man to them selves.
2. Scientists are curious, creative and persistent by nature, but being human, they also have faults. What human faults come into play here in this scenario and how did these faults negatively impact the scientific process?
The faults that came into play were pride and ambition. Once Charles Dawson made the discovery England was full of pride and called the Piltdown man the first English Man. The country swelled with pride by such discovery and may have believed that Piltdown man was the missing link. What was more astonishing to them is Piltdown Man had chosen to live in the lands of England. These Faults had a very negative impact on science because it lead to a false belief and also lead scientists down the wrong path of evolution.
3. What positive aspects of the scientific process were responsible for revealing the skull to be a fraud? Be specific about scientific tools, processes or methodologies that were involved in providing accurate information about the Piltdown skull.
In 1949 scientist had discovered that by measuring the fluoride in fossils one could know how old they were. To their surprise when Piltdown Man was tested, the fossils were found to be rather recent ( around 100,000 years old) than ancient. In 1953 scientists launched a full scale reading of the fossils and they discovered that they were around a hundred years old. The artifacts were stained and when the teeth were observed under the microscope they found that they had been filed down and made to look like human teeth.
4. Is it possible to remove the “human” factor from science to reduce the chance of errors like this happening again? Would you want to remove the human factor from science?
The human factor can be removed from science but it will not ensure that another scandal will once again be performed or discovered. By removing the human factor from science all that will happen is, the never discovery of human evolution. People would have to find interest in other things and would have to stop looking into human evolution. I would not like to remove the Human factor from science simply because there might be an explanation as to how we were able to become the way we are today. There might be explanations about evolution but what if there might be more factors and not just evolution. For example some people do not believe that we evolved from monkeys because if that were true then monkeys would soon be walking on their two feet and talking with us due to evolution. Maybe further studies may show exactly how it all happened.
5. Life Lesson: What lesson can you take from this historical event regarding taking information at face value from unverified sources?
I learned that scientist are not always neutral that they have faults just like normal people do. Of course they are humans and all human have mistakes, but one would believe that scientists do not always go with the idea of opinion rather with the idea of factual evidence to support their ideas. In this case Piltdown man was a fraud which was developed by pride in wanting to have evidence that England like many other countries also contained ancestral life. One should always verify where the sources are coming from and from who. In the early 1900 there were not many fossils which had been discovered and the technology was low on how to check the age of fossils.
You made a great point on what science would be without human error. It's crazy to think how us as humans would have advanced if we had never studied human evolution and other very crucial science topics. You also made a great closing statement by saying scientist don't necessarily come from a neutral standpoint. Many people, as you stated, have to much pride which is normal for everyone. Overall great post and you covered every aspect.
ReplyDeleteSummary is a little short. Who else was involved with this hoax? What was the significance of the find, had it been valid? How did it hinder understanding of human evolution?
ReplyDeleteA caution: The term "missing link" is a misconception perpetuated about this hoax (even the video mentions it, I believe). Human evolution stretches back in a continuum of species from modern day all the way back to the common ancestor with other apes (and beyond). Each is a small link in a very long evolutionary chain. There is no one link that magically represents the crossing over point from ape to human (and since we are apes as well, it suggests another misconception). Scientists avoid the term as it really has no meaning in evolutionary theory.
Good job pulling in the issue of national pride into the discussion of human faults. What did you mean when you expressed surprise that early humans would choose to live in England? :-)
Were both the skull and the jaw dated to 100,000 years? Or just the skull? Were both of human origin?
I agree that new technology helped uncover the hoax, but are their any characteristics of the scientific process itself which led to it being revealed?
I understand what you are saying about the human factor being removed from the study of human evolution, but the question was referring to removing the human factor from the process of science in general. I agree, however, that removing the human factor would make science impossible.
Good final section.
You brought up a good point about the human error of pride. It hadn't really dawned on me that perhaps so many had believed whole-heartedly in the findings because it put England on the map for archaeological discoveries and nobody wanted to see that diminish. It’s easy to believe that scientists are always right and never make a mistake because their craft is based on testing over and over again and having solid data and evidence but with this story, it is a prime example that no one is above being manipulated by another. Dawson saw an opportunity to go from being an amateur archaeologist to becoming well known and he embraced it regardless of the damage it caused to the scientific process. A good lesson here is to never take anything at face value, challenge everything, and then make an informed conclusion. Good post.
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