This site is dedicated to the art of Bigfoot Science. Used commonly by famous “Bigfoot Researchers,” as well as Fox News and loyal Trump supporters, Bigfoot Science is the art of using faulty logic and prejudices to support false or misleading statements.
Unclear whether you may be practicing Bigfoot Science? Here are some examples:
You see a broken tree trunk in the woods, and think:
Must be a Bigfoot in the area, no other logical explanation!
Not a direct quote, but “tree bends” and breaks are commonly cited as evidence of Sasquatch’s existence.
Or perhaps you see a highly credible meme online, or read an article on Fox News, implying that the US funded Coronavirus research, and state:
Them damn liberals just admitted they created the China Flu in the first place!
Actual FaceBook comment made by a friend of a friend.
Those, my friends, are examples of Bigfoot Science. Why?
For the logically challenged (read: Trump supporters) both of those statements contain one or more logical fallacies, which are being used in combination with preconceived biases to jump to incorrect conclusions.
In the first, the quote ignores the many other natural phenomena that can cause trees to break–wind, snow load, other animals which have been proven to exist, so on–to support the existence of a mythical being.
In the second, first part of the quote is based the preconceived (I.e., prejudiced) notion that scientists = liberals. Follow this through for a minute… if scientists are liberals, then liberals have been responsible for nearly every meaningful technological breakthrough of the last century. (except, perhaps, Skoal and NASCAR).
This prejudice is being used in combination with a questionable-cause logical fallacy. In other words, correlation does not equal causation. Just because you get up at 5 am and the sun rises afterwards, does not mean you caused the sun to rise by getting up. Sorry to break it to you.
Just because the US funded Coronavirus research does not mean said funding went to or was provided by liberals. And even if it did, it does not mean the research led to the outbreak of COVID-19. And even if all of those statements were true, it STILL does not mean the pandemic was intentionally created. And even if the virus were intentionally released by a lab or lone scientist, it does not mean the small portion of the total funding the US supplied was provided on the condition the lab releases the virus, creating a global pandemic.
Are we really this fucking stupid? (the answer is yes)
We all need to use logic and facts to fight back against Bigfoot Science. The losers who picked their nose in science class are winning the war of words against people who know what they are talking about because they are the loudest voices in the room.
We need more people to tell them to shut up and sit down until they have done their homework. Or at least know what subject is being discussed.