1. The Piltdown hoax occurred in Piltdown, England. The fossil was discovered in December of 1912 by Charles Dawson, however, the hoax was not exposed until 1953. Dawson brought this find to Arthur Smith Woodward. This discovery affected the scientific community because it was said to be the missing link between apes and humans. This find proved that man formed the large brain prior to walking upright.
After World War II, accurate testing for fossil aging was discovered. The flourine content of the find was tested, and the results showed that the bones were only 100,000 years old. In 1953, a ful scale analysis began, and it was found that the bones had been stained, pieces cut, and teeth filed. The jaw bone was actually only 100 years old and came from a female Orangutan.
Before this discovery, scientists found fossils in other areas that did not match the Piltdown finding and believed there to be a misconnect. However, allegations were never brought forth.
2. In this case, national pride negatively impacted the scientific pride. In general, just taking into account the human factor, self-pride, self-interest, the desire for fame and recognition, among other reasons, can make science unreliable. There is a need for obscure objectivity in science, which including the human side, can make science unreliable.
3. Positive aspects of the scientific process that were responsible for revealing the skull fraud included modern advances in fossil age testing, more development in the difference in fraudulent staining and natural staining, and being able to notice the difference in natural teeth grinding patterns and fake ones. Another aspect of the scientific process is comparison. Comparing the differences between fossils found elsewhere brought about the questioning of the Piltdown man.
4. I do not believe it is possible to remove the "human" factor from science. It can be reduced, but as long as a human is involved, there will be human error. Humans create the technology that helps prove that these fossils are a certain age, or ground a certain way; so humans can beat it. If there were a way to exclude the human factor in regards to error and fraud, I would definitely want to remove it from science. However, to removed the human factor from potential fraud, would also remove the positive factors humans bring to research. Which include creativity, curiosity, intrigue, and discovery. In my eyes, that benefit does not exceed the risk.
5. The lesson I learn from this event regarding taking information at face value from an unverified source is that, you can't. Research always needs to be done. In science, there will always be a need to take a look at any situation from an alternate perspective. Though it is very tough to prove certain things in science, all theories and discoveries need to be proven the best way possible at that time. Also, they need to be retested with future developments in technology, just as in the case of the Piltdown discovery. Verification is always necessary.
Good opening synopsis. A caution: The key to this fossil (had it been valid) wasn't that it was the "missing link". We already knew the relationship between humans and non-human primates and the path between them is a continuous strand of changing organisms. There is no "missing link". The significance of this fine is that it suggested/supported (not "proved"... that's a bad word in science!) that humans evolved larger brains (not bipedalism) early in their evolutionary history. We now know this to be false. Otherwise, good synopsis. You gave great coverage to all the key points.
ReplyDeleteYes, national pride definitely came into play here. Good catch.
Good discussion on the positive aspects of science that contributed to uncovering this hoax. I like how you emphasized the issue of comparing across finds.
Great analysis on the issue of removing the human factor from the process of science! Yes, removing humans from the process would not just take away the negatives but the positives as well.
Good final section. Except for some misconceptions in the synopsis, good post.
Danielle, I agree with you when you mentioned that one of Dawson’s motives included a sense of national pride impacting scientific pride. I too believe that the Piltdown hoax was constructed with the goal of national recognition and scientific prestige in mind. During the early 1900’s, scientific discoveries were still being made and a respectable profession; which would explain Dawson’s motive on creating the hoax. I also believe that the human factor cannot be removed from science as well because removing the human factor from science would discourage the honest minds and interrupt scientific discovery. Although, the Piltdown hoax was an unfortunate event within the scientific community at the fate and dignity of scientist it should not be compared to the many other astronomical and monumental scientific finds still being uncovered today. Scientist should uphold a sense of dignity and scientific honesty especially in their line of profession. Really good post, it was very straight forward and understandable!
ReplyDeleteI really like how you mentioned " national pride" as affecting scientific pride. I wasn't aware until after I posted my report that might have played a role. The british scientists might have wanted to beat the germans who were also in search of fossils.
ReplyDeleteOverall really clear responses!