Sceptics,DPI staff and cryptids
I think some of the problems we are seeing can quite easily be extrapolated to other areas where there is a combination of vested interest groups/group thinking/conformity required for employment/sloppy reasoning processes and a desire for stasis.
Festinger used the term 'cognitive dissonance' to try and explain the ability of groups and individuals to try and lower their dissonance...by accepting ideas..that were not always logical but were helpful for the individual to maintain some form of mental functioning.
For instance, about one year ago I watched sceptics arguing against black cat sightings in the US, because the witness has not found prints.Weakness-even if they had, the sceptics would have asked the witness to prove the print was found there.
Then they mocked sightings with video due to lack of perspective.Weakness-no matter what perspective, they would never have accepted it anyway.
But the kicker was this..a "panther" , ie, a leopard... was reported ..normally the sceptics would have attacked..then it was filmed..normally they would have attacked again..but this time it was shot.
Did they admit that this was a cryptid..not at all..they attacked again and said "gee, its well fed,obviously its just an escaped pet..that makes it a non cryptid..".
I asked them two things...if the animal was under nourished would they have accepted that..no answer(what a $%$#@ surprise)
But the second question was quiet illuminating.
They did not accept an out of place leopard in the backyard of a house in the US was a cryptid because...drum roll...it was not a new species.
They were on a cryptid web site for months and still didnt get what the defintion of cryptid was...new species OR out of place species...
Now..what we are seeing in relation to group thinking and govt departments in NSW is this.
The logic that is accepted by some public servants of what constitutes "proof " which is a mathematical term anyway..of crytid cats..cannot be actually established.
They dont accept any form of secondary evidence be it scats or hairs..even when there own "experts" have said "large carnivore..not dog.feral cat etc...OR ..I dont want to go into this and open a can of worms etc".
The kicker is..they have never read the reports by their own experts..then again, we blind tested the DPI`s three shining beacons of science who were experts at working out if scats or hairs were from exotic large felids..all failed..
Now dna is brought up...what sequence would the dept test for exotic felids from hair/scat dna.
Scenario-Farmer brown rings them up..an officer actually shows up(impossible since they are too busy moving paper on their desk)..but for fun we will pretend the officer turns up.
The dpi staff member takes the scat away..who pushes them to test for dna..no one..scat is lost..
But..lets pretend for amusement sake..the dpi actually did what they are supposed to do..they sent the scat away and the result came back "leopard".
Who owns the result..we, the public do..but we cannot ask for something we do not know exists..would the DPI now release the result..to public and media hysteria..of course not..it would be lost.
But..what if farmer brown contacts someone like us and we get the dpi to come and take the scat/hair..and try and get them to to a test..what happens..
First off..species evolve into other species faster than NSW DPI moves.
They sit back and wait for us to test the samples with our contacts and money because "the dpi`s budget is tight"
Once again..your ^%$# kidding right..the above is true and NOT an anecdote..
And if the result is interesting then they might send their sample away.
And if they didnt..then they could say they have not confirmed the result so there is no need to worry..and if, god forbid they did the right thing and sent the sample..and it was the same result and actually made a statement..what would they say...my bet is...they would point the finger at us for being involved and then can the whole thing..
Because the "security" of the evidence of scat discovery by farmer brown to us to them..could have been compromised..
As it could be from their perspective from farmer brown straight to them..
How then could any sample be found and tested..by that criteria..
Obviously..that is impossible..
The moral of this little rant is...the evidence cannot be accepted by anyone in the NSW DPI...they dont give a rats arse about ethics or science..
Did any of you useless clowns from the DPI investigate the lioness that was seen munching on a sheep in outback ...?.
The animal was shot dead...and none of you useless lying pen pushers ever bothered to investigate..
That means you can still say with a straight face.."we need a body for proof."
They suppressed the 2008 nsw big cat report, rewrote it and released the 2009 report by falsifying conclusions and data before the Director General of the department even signed off on it .....
They lied to the public, falsified documents and lied to the Premier of NSW..
And nothing happened to any staff for that dishonest debacle..
Govt departments in NSW do that everyday for important issues..
I should not be surprised that a corrupt system does the same thing with fringe subjects like cryptids..
