Dr. Jeffrey Meldrum - America's "Bigfoot Professor"

[Jerrymander]

Shrike, would it take a lot of funding to get a specimen of an animal of bigfoot's distribution?

[The Shrike]

^ I'm not sure what the distribution has to do with it. The holotype could come from anywhere in a species' distribution, so a piece of a bigfoot obtained from anywhere would suffice. Bigfoot could be proven real through numerous unintentional means (e.g., struck by vehicle) that would require zero prior funding.

If you specifically mean a field study to intentionally go prove bigfoot, then all you have to do is 1) go somewhere bigfoots are supposed to be (any number of habituation sites would work), 2) put out some Zagnuts to bait them in, 3) use a hair catcher array at the bait stations to collect some actual bigfoot hair, and 4) conduct genetic analysis of the hair samples. Base price: A few thousand bucks just for a positive ID; I'd say several tens of thousands for an actual population estimate or baseline ecological study.

[Jerrymander]

I guess by distribution I meant that bigfoot appear to frequent areas near where people live. You don't need funding to get a specimen of a deer or bear do you?

[Resume]

Originally Posted by Jerrymander

I guess by distribution I meant that bigfoot appear to frequent areas near where people live. You don't need funding to get a specimen of a deer or bear do you?

Actually, you pay the state gubmint to harvest a specimen of those animals. Seems to me that if ole footie lives where alleged, a specimen is available for the price of a cartridge. Or a well-placed broadhead.

[HarryHenderson]

Originally Posted by The Shrike

...Bigfoot could be proven real through numerous unintentional means (e.g., struck by vehicle) that would require zero prior funding...

The sheer magnitude of the USA numbers related to potential 'zero prior funding' eventualities should be enough to steer even the most misguided of Bleevers towards reality <coughOntarioSquatchcough> but you know they won't. 255 MILLION passenger vehicles traveling 2.5 TRILLION miles a year, 350 MILLION guns, loaded with BILLIONS of bullets, 43 MILLION hunters a year, 327 MILLION cell phones, most equipped with cameras. MULTIPLY those by the passage of time. 30-40-50 YEARS. Literally 100 BILLION fired bullets later, yet not one penetrated even a single cell of Bigfoot flesh anywhere at any time. TRILLIONS of pictures and videos later. And not even one of a real Bigfoot. Not one. Amazing! I'm no statistician, but doesn't such an utter lack of the very evidence reasoned intelligence predicts were the beast real, become some kind of real evidence in itself? Say COMPLETE absence of evidence is evidence of absence? Which I wholly believe is true in this case.

[This message applies only in zip codes exempt from the FEDERAL/Bipto/Moneymaker Wood Ape Turnpike Compact signed on 10/11/12, which allows Bigfoot to exist only on private and public properties contiguous with the area immediately under and surrounding the feet of the compact's principals while they're on safari, sabbatical or ********. AKA The 3S Agreement.]

[mustbeso]

But but but, Justin Smeja shot two of them! Just ask him.

[Drewbot]

Dr. Meldrum was asked,

Quote:

"if you found a dead Bigfoot tomorrow, and it looked nothing like Patty in the film, would you discredit the film's authenticity? or would you continue your search for the subject of the film?"

His response:

Quote:

if what you're getting at is how confident am I in the analysis of the film and the conclusions I have drawn -- very confident. If hypothetically a body of a "Bigfoot" were found and it was nothing like the film subject (??? what -- it has 3 eyes or a tail??? -- what would be nothing like the film subject and still be identified as a sasquatch???) yes, I would still try to determine what species was depicted on the film.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...type=1&theater

[Graham2001]

It will be interesting to see how he responds to this...

Quote:

This story is from a few weeks ago. I just got a chance now to look into the implications for Bigfoot research. It is, shall we say, another section of the Sasquatch evidence house of cards that has crumbled.

http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/06/bigf...comment-134798

[rockinkt]

Quote:

Meldrum: ..."if what you're getting at is how confident am I in the analysis of the film and the conclusions I have drawn -- very confident."

Based on this statement alone - he should be stripped of any academic qualifications he has and sentenced to an eternity of sweeping the lecture halls that real academics use.

[William Parcher]

I would speculate that Meldrum's own students have a lower percentage of Bigfoot belief than the American population in general. Not because he turns them off of Bigfoot but because they have already qualified to attend the university and have that kind of thinking capacity.

[tsig]

Originally Posted by Graham2001

It will be interesting to see how he responds to this...



http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/06/bigf...comment-134798

1. Ignore it

2. Question the data

3. Claim it proves he was right all along.

[HarryHenderson]

Originally Posted by Graham2001

It will be interesting to see how he responds to this...

http://doubtfulnews.com/2013/06/bigf...comment-134798

Yes it will. Apparently he's not as 'up' on the latest in anthropological science as he pretends? And I'm shocked I tell ya! Actually, I think the ramifications of this in regards to his scam could be even worse than they appear. Seems he's been cruising along for some time now doing a whole lot of check cashing and uber little Bigfoot catching. He's been 'going through the motions' for appearances sake believing his shtick would never be able to be debunked, falsified and/or otherwise found-out, as long as he never publicly broke character. Yet this kind of thing comes out of left field and simply proves he was so WRONGO thinking that, and I believe now seriously needs to re-think it and re-group it if he wants to maintain any of his, ummm, dubious 'credibility'.

Ironically, and comically, his whole mid-tarsal break theory was really just a feeble attempt at being 'clever' enough scientifically to allow him to appear more intelligent, savvy or righteous (to the masses) than he really is. Once again, stupid is as stupid does.

Given his d-bag shamelessness, and the grave nature of these kinds of findings in regards to his specific con, I would not be surprised at all if he makes a 'grand announcement' soon that he's leaving Bigfooting for good and "...will be going in other directions. Bigfoot was fun, but it's all just a fond memory now." You watch.

[Drewbot]

No way.
He is making severe amounts of cabbage with this.
I would venture his Bigfoot income outweighs his Full Professor income.
I mean he is travelling to West Branch Michigan "The Capitol of Bigfoot Midwest" ??? for a conference. You'd have to pay me well to get me to travel 3 time zones or at least promise me 'x' amount of sales of my paraphenelia.

[The Shrike]

Irony: bigfooters claiming that "science" is a bunch of know-it-alls who missed this extremely relevant scientific finding among our own feet. The leading authority on mid-tarsal breaks? Their champion, Jeff Meldrum.

Meldrum will of course use this finding to his advantage to illustrate evolutionary plasticity in human foot plasticity. For example, it shows how a bipedal lineage with what we thought was a universally rigid foot structure could easily give rise to a more ape-like and flexible foot structure. In other words, he's right again: bipedalism in no way precludes a more ancestral foot structure with a mid-tarsal break. So I disagree Harry: I predict he doubles-down on the mid-tarsal stuff.

[Drewbot]

I agree with The Shrike. He will say "look, the foot morphology is not far from humans, it is not a stretch to say that apes developed bipedal abilities the same way humans did, since we both have the capacity for Mid foot flexibility."

[William Parcher]

He won't talk about this finding unless specifically asked. Then he will call it interesting and another example of how science is used as a tool to understand the world around us. Then he will say that it neither helps nor hinders the quest for the reality of Bigfoot.

Oh, and he will call it Sasquatch, not Bigfoot.

[tsig]

Originally Posted by tsig

1. Ignore it

2. Question the data

3. Claim it proves he was right all along.

Originally Posted by The Shrike

Irony: bigfooters claiming that "science" is a bunch of know-it-alls who missed this extremely relevant scientific finding among our own feet. The leading authority on mid-tarsal breaks? Their champion, Jeff Meldrum.

Meldrum will of course use this finding to his advantage to illustrate evolutionary plasticity in human foot plasticity. For example, it shows how a bipedal lineage with what we thought was a universally rigid foot structure could easily give rise to a more ape-like and flexible foot structure. In other words, he's right again: bipedalism in no way precludes a more ancestral foot structure with a mid-tarsal break. So I disagree Harry: I predict he doubles-down on the mid-tarsal stuff.

Yep.

[tsig]

Originally Posted by William Parcher

He won't talk about this finding unless specifically asked. Then he will call it interesting and another example of how science is used as a tool to understand the world around us. Then he will say that it neither helps nor hinders the quest for the reality of Bigfoot.

Oh, and he will call it Sasquatch, not Bigfoot.

That should be $a$quatch.

[jerrywayne]

I recall that one Bigfoot proponent once argued that Meldrum was wrong about his mid-tarsal break idea because a bipedal primate foot would not adapt such a hold-over from a grasping foot. So, I think the Shrike hits the mark; Meldrum will use the flexible foot found in some humans to show that such a feature would likely be retained in a massive bipedal ape.

[LTC8K6]

I don't think Meldrum can bail too easily.

Quote:

Conclusions
Human walking is characterized by an extended stiff-legged striding gait with distinct heel-strike and toe-off phases. Bending stresses in the digits are held low by selection for relatively short toes that participate in propulsion at the sacrifice of prehension. Efficiency and economy of muscle action during distance walking and running are maximized by reduced mobility in the tarsal joints, a fixed longitudinal arch, elastic storage in the well developed calcaneal tendon, plantar aponeurosis and deep plantar ligaments of the foot.
In contrast, the Sasquatch appear to have adapted to bipedal locomotion by employing a compliant gait on a flat flexible foot. A degree of prehensile capability has been retained in the digits by maintaining the uncoupling of the propulsive function of the hindoot from the forefoot via the midtarsal break. Digits are spared the peak forces of toe-off due to the compliant gait with its extended period of double support. This would be a efficient strategy for negotiating the steep, broken terrain of the dense montane forests of the Pacific and Intermountain West, especially for a bipedal hominoid of considerable body mass, The dynamic signatures of this adaptive pattern of gait are generally evident in the footprints examined in this study.

[GT/CS]

He'll do fine. He knows his audience and he'll phrase his excuse in a way that sounds just scientific enough to confuse and amaze them.

[HarryHenderson]

You guys are probably right, although I'd caution you to not be celebratin' just yet.

My thinking is perhaps more idealistic in that I'm not so privy as to exactly how 'science' operates in and amongst itself. Regardless, there's gotta be some kind of an 'honesty' component in there as a core part of its guiding principles. That is, without it there couldn't be any such thing as real science. And it seems to me there's gotta come a point in time where he'll finally be compelled (or coerced?) to HONESTLY answer some serious questions he's been shamelessly dodging (and been allowed to dodge) for so long.

Try to convince me otherwise, but no matter what he's spewed, Meldrum's had an unwitting-but-powerful ally with him all along in the utter SILENCE of 'mainstream science' (towards him). Maybe that's to convince us mere mortals of their indefatigable indifference to anything not deemed 'important' by them? Anyway, beyond say The Shrike's criticisms of him here (and a few others here and there), he's pretty much been completely hands off by anyone and everyone who could or would have any actual effect on his job, work or reputation. With no snark intended, maybe it is acceptable to such an 'agency' to be a comically-but-pathetically dishonest practitioner of such whilst spewing all manner of whack...as long as those damn science club dues are paid?

Put simply, he's so far been given a complete and total pass by his 'peers' and/or the entire discipline of science. And for better or worse it's time they finally step up and start pressing him, his motives, his competence and even his intelligence. DOUBLY ESPECIALLY SO if he comes up with a NEW cockamamie Bigfoot 'theory' to cover-up his previous mid-tarsal break lunacy.

Am I really just doing what they do...wishful thinking?

[Drewbot]

Would someone please register for this and go to it? Gardiner Montana is the location.

http://www.tracknature.com/x/product...6&cat=9&page=1

Dr. Jeff Meldrum and Dr. Jim Halfpenny

Quote:

Learn the techniques used to find and document rare species. Topics covered include: Cryptozoology and the public, defining and locating rare species, trace and physical evidence, footprints and gaits, recognizing what is important, collecting quality evidence, photography and casting evidence, analysis of evidence, presentation of analyses, case studies and peer review.

We can all pitch in 10 bucks and your tuition is covered.
$250 CHEAP!

[Resume]

Originally Posted by Drewbot

Would someone please register for this and go to it? Gardiner Montana is the location.

http://www.tracknature.com/x/product...6&cat=9&page=1

Dr. Jeff Meldrum and Dr. Jim Halfpenny

But enthusiasts are insistent that these folks don't make any money at footin'.

[Drewbot]

I wonder if Dr. Halfpenny is going to enter into the Bigfoot cast market. Or already is the preferred supplier of Dr. Meldrum's casts.

http://www.tracknature.com/x/home.php?cat=5

[Correa Neto]

Wow...

Imagine an incoming paper on bigfoots...

Moneymaker & Halfpenny (2013)

[HarryHenderson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlaskaBushPilot

I'm quite sure he isn't. They're bubbly and charming so long as they are in control of the script. But you start challenging their obvious bias, and just see how quickly they become nasty.

All they've got are underhanded manipulative tactics which require a lack of scruples to deploy. Don't mistake the smiling face of a proponent when peddling fallacies they know are wrong themselves. Con men all learn to put on a mask of charm while working their agenda. This is an important tactic for disarming an opponent. They also excel at needling their opponents as a means of trying to provoke them and then capitalize on a claim they are an unreasonable "angry person".

The legendary Peter Byrne has been the best at amassing money over decades while putting on a completely phony mask of studious professionalism and charm. But he is a fraud without scruples. We can't mistake the act they put on for what kind of people they are.

Originally Posted by Drewbot

I know this firsthand. Dr. Meldrum can get really nasty, like Tourette's syndrome nasty, if you even pose a rational objection to some of his posts. He will blow up, and then after a cooling off period come back and apologize.

Note: These quoted posts are from the Seeing Cryptids thread, brought over to help re-direct the Don "DurkaDurka" Meldrum discussion back where it probably belongs.

As to his alleged Tourette's, I guess he lets his 'public' guard down more than he should (and more than I thought). Apparently to the point of laughable douche-baggery too. That's really good news. Proves that potentially he just needs to be brought out into the open a little more so as to melt himself down.

Now, to continue rehash the it's only wrong if he publishes discussion, I have a question or two. To reiterate, I understand more than enough about the scientific method and its importance in the scientific pursuit of knowledge. I understand the basis of the rigid constraints it imposes on its practitioners. I know the scientific process is (in theory and mostly in practice) as necessarily pure in intention and integrity as is humanly practical. It's the reason valid research and 'papers' written about it are done in proper form and reviewed by the proper scientific authorities properly. As such, is it the opinion of Big Science™ that every other form of 'knowledge seeking' is inferior to and/or incapable of determining any kind of actual knowledge if it's not done scientifically? What if it's done 'scientifically' but not scientifically? What if it's done by a scientist 'scientist' but not 'scientifically' or scientifically?

Forget everything else Meldrum's done Bigfooty and just take into account all the 'Legend Meets Science' pablum. The show and subsequent book he alone authored. Rife with material worthy of legitimate criticism. And he never did truly answer why he as a scientist was pursuing it all and wasting valuable resources pretending to film himself pretending to do 'science' on a bunch of pretend 'scientific' things Bigfooty?! Tell me again why he and 10 others went out and measured the Memorial Day footage site? Because they needed film of him doing something 'scientific'? Partly, but mostly because some bystander in the video screams out "That's Bigfoot!" Gotta hand it to him, that's as valid a 'scientific' reason as any IF YOU'RE 8 YEARS OLD. No, I'm sure it was all because of the money. I guess he's not entirely stupid though, LMS was never published. Wait, what?

[Gilbert Syndrome]

Meldrum is typical religeous nut, hardly suprising to learn that he's in it for the $. God and 'Squatch are big business .

[Gilbert Syndrome]

Meldrum ain't gonna let a little thing like scientific progress block the tracks of his gravy train. "Keep Kooky and Carry On."

[The Shrike]

From the Wiki page for Idaho State University:

Motto Veritas Vos Liberabit (Latin)
Motto in English The truth will set you free


Also this little nugget: There are just 3 "notable faculty" listed.

"Corey Schou, University Professor of Informatics, director of the National Information Assurance Training and Education Center (NIATEC)

Jeffrey Meldrum, Associate Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology, and leading expert on the Sasquatch[21]

Richard D. Hansen, Archaeologist, Senior Scientist at the Institute for Mesoamerican Research, specialist on the ancient Maya"



Poor Jeff, how he suffers there at ISU from his evil colleagues who disrespect his bigfoot work!

Meantime, I've decided that we're barking up the wrong tree when it comes to ol' Meldrum. The real folks whose silence has been deafening on his bigfoot work are his actual colleagues in his legitimate studies of hominid foot morphology. If someone's looking for something to do, why not contact these folks listed as co-authors on Meldrum's other papers (the real stuff, not the Mormon crap) and see what they think about bigfoot?

C. E. Hilton
R. F. Kay
M. Takai
M. G. Lockley
S. G. Lucas
C. M. Musiba
E. Sarmiento
Z. Lu
Y. Huang
J. He
D. Youlatos


Of all those names, only Sarmiento jumps out to me as someone who's also been involved in bigfoot work. (BTW, that's yet another scientist studying bigfoot for the 'footers to have to ignore with their drumbeat of "science won't engage bigfoot".) Interestingly, Sarmiento appears merely on the fence about bigfoot, and the Wiki entry for him seems to indicate that he diverges from Meldrum's "bipedal ape" hypothesis, considering bigfoot more likely to be something much more human. Also of interest, Sarmiento appears to be a nut who makes a habit out of suing for racial discrimination when he's not handed some job to which he's applied.

[Drewbot]

Dr. Sarmiento gets pwnd!!!11!
http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/072475np.pdf

[GT/CS]

I'd love to see the hand-written notes of the reviewers.
They probably said something like, "Is this the loon that believes in bigfoot?!!!!"

[rockinkt]

Originally Posted by The Shrike

From the Wiki page for Idaho State University:

Motto Veritas Vos Liberabit (Latin)
Motto in English The truth will set you free
<snip for brevity>
Jeffrey Meldrum, Associate Professor of Anatomy and Anthropology, and leading expert on the Sasquatch[21]
<snip for brevity>

[/url]

Wow. The responsible scientists who work at ISU must be so proud to have a fool who believes in an imaginary creature as one of the notable faculty members.

The Ig Nobel awards come to mind when I think of Meldrum.

[Correa Neto]

Not everibody at ISU is happy with his... Uhm... "Works" related to bigfoot. Remember this?

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/6...ke.html?pg=all

Originally Posted by link above

Hackworth called Meldrum's research a joke and said some 30 professors signed a letter scolding the university for hosting Meldrum's Bigfoot gathering on campus.

http://www.pocatelloshops.com/new_bl...litics/?p=8949

Some more of the same:

http://www.bigfootlunchclub.com/sear...in%20Hackworth

http://www.bigfootencounters.com/articles/isu2.htm

[The Shrike]

Originally Posted by Correa Neto

Not everibody at ISU is happy with his... Uhm... "Works" related to bigfoot. Remember this?

Sure, Hackworth & Co. were sharply critical of him, but that's the narrative of the 'footers, i.e., that poor Jeffery has been martyred for bigfoot while the rest of us scientists are too incurious and judgmental to get out of our own way.

The truth about Meldrum is this: Despite his detractors (both on and off campus), he was awarded the highest academic rank in his field by the judgment of his colleagues, his administration, and whomever provided outside comment on his dossier. There are thousands of hopefuls out there who never get tenure, let alone promotion to full professor. Meldrum has made it as an academic, and I see no evidence that his career has suffered one iota from his association with bigfoot. If anything, he has gained academically from his bigfoot work because I don't think his non-bigfooty papers would be enough to carry him to full professor.

Over and above his academic career, Meldrum enjoys a great deal of celebrity. Bigfoot has been very good to Jeff Meldrum.

[Drewbot]

Someone asked how much it would cost to do a Bigfoot Distribution Study. Whatever price you are quoted is a rip off. I just did a Bigfoot distribution study, didn't cost a dime.

Distribution of Bigfoot in North America.
Synopsis: Calculating the population, estimating the caloric requirements, and certifying the range of The Creature known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch.

Methods: We looked for any evidence pertaining to this creatures' existence

Discussion: We were inundated with Goofy Plaster Fooprint casts, stories from unusual people about Bigfoot trading Garlic with them at their back door, Cans of beans being stolen, and dogs being killed. No actual evidence was proffered.

Results: Zero (0)

Anyone care to peer review that?

[mustbeso]

^^
I was able to replicate your work exactly.

[tsig]

Originally Posted by Drewbot

Someone asked how much it would cost to do a Bigfoot Distribution Study. Whatever price you are quoted is a rip off. I just did a Bigfoot distribution study, didn't cost a dime.

Distribution of Bigfoot in North America.
Synopsis: Calculating the population, estimating the caloric requirements, and certifying the range of The Creature known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch.

Methods: We looked for any evidence pertaining to this creatures' existence

Discussion: We were inundated with Goofy Plaster Fooprint casts, stories from unusual people about Bigfoot trading Garlic with them at their back door, Cans of beans being stolen, and dogs being killed. No actual evidence was proffered.

Results: Zero (0)

Anyone care to peer review that?

Well if bigfoot existed he'd not want to be found so the fact that you couldn't find any evidence is the best evidence that he exists.

[Resume]

Originally Posted by tsig

Well if bigfoot existed he'd not want to be found so the fact that you couldn't find any evidence is the best evidence that he exists.

As a psychic's misses are really hits, bigfoot's lack of evidence is its very best evidence for existence.

Brilliant!

[Drewbot]

If lack of evidence of existence, equals evidence of existence, then there must be 100,000,000 bigfoots out there. Those 10,000 or less estimates are way off base.