Author Archives: Sharon A. Hill

About Sharon A. Hill

Strange Claims Adjuster and Spooky Geologist On Mastodon at @idoubtit@mstdn.social

Warnings of impending danger: Science and Social Factors

By | June 7, 2014
2 Comments

Natural disasters happen every day. The people who can help prepare society for them are not psychics or crank pseudoscientists but those who study events inside out and upside down – scientists. Those who consider prediction a part of their research and responsibility range from weather forecasters to seismologists and volcanologists. It’s a great responsibility to… Read More: Warnings of impending danger: Science and Social Factors »

A Bigfoot book that is incredibly relevant 30 years later

By | April 23, 2014
3 Comments

Once again, I’ve finally gotten around to a classic cryptozoology text. MAN! I missed out on this one for so many years. John Napier’s Bigfoot: The Yeti and Sasquatch in Myth and Reality ©1972 is one of the best Bigfoot texts I’ve read. I’m sure it’s because Napier was a scientist, a paleoanthropologist and primatologist… Read More: A Bigfoot book that is incredibly relevant 30 years later »

Science and society: The giant earthquake that launched a new era in geologic knowledge

By | March 31, 2014
1 Comment

I am a geologist by training and my main interest was natural hazards. I was not able to apply my interest to earthquakes or volcanoes as I’d hoped but I did get to help the public deal with sinkhole hazards that also cause property destruction and occasional loss of life. This short film is worth… Read More: Science and society: The giant earthquake that launched a new… »

Unexplained terminology Explained: ‘Paranormal’ versus ‘Supernatural’

By | March 5, 2014
4 Comments

Paranormal investigators say they look for evidence of paranormal activity. That phrase always confounded me. I don’t quite get it. What does it mean when someone says they have evidence of “paranormal activity”? And, how do you know it’s not normal activity that you just couldn’t ferret out? There is a problem with how the… Read More: Unexplained terminology Explained: ‘Paranormal’ versus ‘Supernatural’ »

A ruse by any other name still stinks

By | January 10, 2014
0 Comment

As one who runs a website about weird news, it’s been a crazy start to the year. A number of hoaxes proliferating around the media the first week of this year. They are passed on almost with the same respect as actual news. If you resolve to do anything this year, resolve to doubt the… Read More: A ruse by any other name still stinks »

Imagineering cryptids: The Cryptozoologicon (Book review)

By | December 12, 2013
1 Comment

It’s not been the best year for the fans of real live cryptids. Not only did we NOT find Bigfoot again, we had a better explanation for the Yeti, and Sasquatch DNA samples that were a bust (Sykes) or a joke (Ketchum). The book Abominable Science inserted itself as the premier scholarly book on the… Read More: Imagineering cryptids: The Cryptozoologicon (Book review) »

No, you are not the new Jane Goodall: My Twitter exchange with Melba Ketchum

By | December 6, 2013
14 Comments

I had a discussion with Melba Ketchum today on Twitter regarding her continued claims that Bigfoot will be proven true.  Some of it spilled over to Facebook – her favorite communication outlet. I was surprised she responded and it went on for quite a while. For those of you who missed it, good for you. But… Read More: No, you are not the new Jane Goodall: My Twitter… »

Speculative paleozoology done by professionals (Book Review)

By | December 1, 2013
1 Comment

Last night, I simply could not read any technical stuff before bed so I browsed my Kindle looking for some entertaining reading. The thing is, I don’t really do much fiction, almost everything I have is nonfiction. Then I came across “All Yesterdays: Unique and Speculative Views of Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals” by Darren… Read More: Speculative paleozoology done by professionals (Book Review) »

From the Amish to Voodoo: Unusual comparative religion (Book Review)

By | November 22, 2013
1 Comment

It is my opinion that public school children should be taught a class in comparative religion. I recall a cursory review of the history of Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Buddhism as part of social studies but Americans are pretty clueless about other religions besides their own. That’s a societal flaw. I’m not particularly interested in… Read More: From the Amish to Voodoo: Unusual comparative religion (Book Review) »

Chronicle of the Lizard Man (Book Review)

By | November 10, 2013
6 Comments

I really enjoyed Lyle Blackburn’s previous book, The Legend of Boggy Creek (reviewed here), so I had to get my hands on his next one about the Lizard Man of Lee County, South Carolina. I knew of the legend and had recently researched it because of continued reports of car damage in various places. (The… Read More: Chronicle of the Lizard Man (Book Review) »

Reality Check: We all need it (Book review)

By | October 24, 2013
5 Comments

There are some writers for which you know pretty much exactly what you are going to get. Donald R. Prothero is one of those writers. I expect a well-researched, comprehensive treatment of the topic with a flavor of emotion here and there. That’s what I got with Reality Check: How Science Deniers Threaten our Future,… Read More: Reality Check: We all need it (Book review) »

Bigfoot Files approaches cryptozoology the correct way

By | October 21, 2013
20 Comments

One of the most important aspects of a sound a scientific explanation is how well-supported it is. Specifically, we’d prefer to see an array of multiple lines of independently derived evidence that points towards a common conclusion. This gives us a theory with predictive power – evolution, plate tectonics are two classic examples in science… Read More: Bigfoot Files approaches cryptozoology the correct way »

American gypsy psychics: Book review

By | October 6, 2013
1 Comment

I was enticed to read this book, American Gypsy, by Oksana Marafioti,  after the Rose Marks trial. Marks was from an infamous Romani family who had repeatedly been charged and now found guilty of fraud due to their psychic-related business dealings. I didn’t know if this book had anything regarding the Romani [Gypsy] culture but… Read More: American gypsy psychics: Book review »

Arrogant ignorance In the Name of God: Book Review

By | October 5, 2013
2 Comments

Christian Science-based faith healing communities in U.S. today are failures of their own self-destructive ideas. At least that’s the conclusion you can’t help but make when a group sacrifices their own children to be “pious” and respected. I found this disturbing tale laid out in In the Name of God:The True Story of the Fight… Read More: Arrogant ignorance In the Name of God: Book Review »

Cryptozoology treated as zoology – Shadows of Existence (Book review)

By | September 20, 2013
2 Comments

Speculating can be fun. But it’s nicer when you aren’t making stuff up out of thin air based on wishful thinking. Scientific underpinning is comforting. That’s why I liked Shadows of Existence: Discoveries and Speculations in Zoology by Matt Bille. This book was published in 2006 so it’s slightly out of date but the majority… Read More: Cryptozoology treated as zoology – Shadows of Existence (Book review) »

Defending the faith of cryptozoology

By | September 11, 2013
8 Comments

My latest post, regarding the rational vs non-rational response to the new cryptozoology book by Loxton and Prothero, Abominable Science, went live on Huffington Post yesterday. Cryptozoology Gets Respect While Bigfooters Behave Badly. When critical thinkers approach the subject of Bigfoot (or cryptozoology in general) with a focus on the evidence, they are met with… Read More: Defending the faith of cryptozoology »

The Mystery of the Sky Noises

By | August 31, 2013
17 Comments

The world is a noisy place these days. Strange sounds abound. The paranormal/Fortean media outlets were abuzz about the strange sounds from the sky starting in the summer of 2011. These “sky noises” are anomalous sounds that appear to be emanating from above, and do not sound like your everyday planes, trains or automobiles (so people say).… Read More: The Mystery of the Sky Noises »

Definitive guide to the Fouke monster – Beast of Boggy Creek (Book review)

By | July 26, 2013
6 Comments

About two months ago, it was time for me to finally watch the classic “Bigfoot” movie, The Legend of Boggy Creek. All I remembered hearing about it was that there is a scene of a hairy arm coming through a window. Creepy. But it was an old movie, made in the 1972 so I figured… Read More: Definitive guide to the Fouke monster – Beast of Boggy… »