Author Archives: Sharon A. Hill

About Sharon A. Hill

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

Young Earth Creationists’ sneaky strategy to be scientifical

By | June 15, 2011
12 Comments
flat earth

Earth magazine has an intriguing and disturbing article by Steven Newton describing how geologists, who actually represent the Institute for Creation Research, the Discovery Institute and Christian universities, subtly promote the view that Noah’s flood was responsible for geological observations in the American West. Their new strategy is to give talks, posters and guide field… Read More: Young Earth Creationists’ sneaky strategy to be scientifical »

Cryptids in music-related logos

By | June 13, 2011
2 Comments

I was noticing something… First the Sasquatch music festival, now RockNess. Cool. Besides their use in TV and print advertising, famous cryptids are being associated with not only local fairs and events but also big name music festivals. I suspect it’s because it helps with tourism to the area, but also cryptids make for fine,… Read More: Cryptids in music-related logos »

Want to shed the pseudoscience label? Try harder.

By | May 23, 2011
11 Comments

When I was a kid, cryptozoology books advocated the existence of these creatures. The same dramatic stories were repeated in many books. I was swayed by the stories but eventually I got bored with them. There was something missing. Stories only get you so far. I wanted a structure, I wanted details. I really wanted… Read More: Want to shed the pseudoscience label? Try harder. »

Chupacabra gets a necropsy: Ben Radford’s new book does the dirty work

By | April 28, 2011
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We were given a teaser of the stunning new findings about the chupacabra in Ben Radford’s preceding book Scientific Paranormal Investigation, which I reviewed here. I was excited to dig into the entire story in Tracking The Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction and Folklore. The book has high praise and positive reviews already.… Read More: Chupacabra gets a necropsy: Ben Radford’s new book does the… »

An actual good guide for young paranormal investigators

By | April 27, 2011
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I like to occasionally check out the juvenile literature section of the local library to see what is in the paranormal-themed books for kids. I picked up this book from the library recently:Ghosts: And Real-Life Ghost Hunters (24/7: Science Behind the Scenes: Mystery Files) by Michael Teitelbaum, 2008, and was pleasantly surprised. What a nice… Read More: An actual good guide for young paranormal investigators »

Paranormal-themed nonfiction TV: A list

By | April 24, 2011
6 Comments

I was writing an article when I realized I needed a clear idea about when this whole amateur investigation reality-television thing became popular. So, I started a list. (I’m a good Googler.) Here is a list of TV shows (series) that portray the paranormal as real or examine it as possibly real. Some are reality-type… Read More: Paranormal-themed nonfiction TV: A list »

Buell and PRS to offer classes for the credulous

By | April 20, 2011
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I once went to a presentation by the Paranormal Research Society, held at a local Pennsylvania State University campus. It was not sponsored (nor endorsed) by the university but by a student activities group. I chuckled softly to myself when Ryan Buell flubbed information about some very famous “ghost” photographs. His background on parapsychological history… Read More: Buell and PRS to offer classes for the credulous »

Ghost hunters as “really good researchers, I guess”

By | April 14, 2011
18 Comments

Story from The Onion: ‘Ghost Hunters’ Enjoys Surprising 100% Success Rate “What can I say? We’re just really good researchers, I guess.” At press time, despite having repeatedly resolved the most central question of human existence, the program is somehow not on the cover of every major newspaper, magazine, and scientific journal in the world. Sure,… Read More: Ghost hunters as “really good researchers, I guess” »

The big difference between earthquake prediction and forecasting

By | March 26, 2011
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bottomless, spooky geology

If you are a geologist bound by a professional code that includes using the best scientific procedures and evidence, then it’s unethical to promote dowsing. Condoning a process which is scientifically questionable or invalid is a breach of this code. A similar argument can be made for earthquake prediction. There have been several instances where… Read More: The big difference between earthquake prediction and forecasting »

It “appears as if” the world is ending

By | March 11, 2011
3 Comments

Remember that the year began with mass animal deaths? It continued with revolution in the Middle East. And, poor Australia was hit with the wrath of the gods. (What did you guys do? Just kidding.) Now, we have catastrophic earthquakes – one after another – and a wicked tsunami. With all the political turmoil and… Read More: It “appears as if” the world is ending »

Monster Stories from Pennsylvania

By | February 10, 2011
4 Comments

Pennsylvania is the locale for oodles of strange stories, from the ghosts of Gettysburg to Thunderbirds of the northern forests, from the Jersey Devil sightings along the Delaware to UFOs in Kecksburg (and all across the state).  A 135-page book by Patty A. Wilson chronicles, specifically, Monsters in Pennsylvania: Mysterious Creatures in the Keystone State.… Read More: Monster Stories from Pennsylvania »

The art of scaring you over nothing: aquifers cause cancer

By | February 3, 2011
19 Comments

There are some ideas that are so silly that one REALLY wishes they didn’t have to be addressed at all. An article appearing here was my introduction to a new, very confused and counterintutive concept: aquifers cause cancer and health problems for humans. Mr. David Reecher, who runs the website “Aquifers and Health Institute,” has… Read More: The art of scaring you over nothing: aquifers cause cancer »

Dead Birds. “They” did it.

By | January 20, 2011
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As a followup to my post Everyone Panic. Or Not., I have an update. The story of mass animal deaths has quelled but not died off completely because people keep finding dead animals. News outlets are reporting that the USDA is responsible for poisoning the birds because they were being a nuisance. The best article,… Read More: Dead Birds. “They” did it. »

Everyone panic. Or not.

By | January 7, 2011
21 Comments

A few weeks ago, I moved my desk next to an upstairs window overlooking a Bradford pear tree. For the past 3 weeks, when I sat at the desk during the day, periodically, a flock of about 50 starlings would swoop in and land on the tree,  devouring the shriveled fruits up like grapes. Then,… Read More: Everyone panic. Or not. »

Louisiana Swamp Monster – Hoax

By | December 10, 2010
12 Comments

Cryptomundo now has blog entry on the Louisiana Swamp Monster picture that I noticed in the news feed this morning. It took me a total of maybe 5 minutes to call hoax on this and I’m wondering why no one does any bit of due diligence on these things, just posts crazy stories. Well, I… Read More: Louisiana Swamp Monster – Hoax »

Paranormal investigators doing good, but going wrong

By | October 19, 2010
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There are so many ghost hunting groups wandering around in the dark that they trip over each other. I attempted to count paranormal investigation groups and gave up at around 1500 without even searching Facebook. We all have our opinions about what they try to do – find evidence of life after death. Those of us… Read More: Paranormal investigators doing good, but going wrong »

Studying modern day amateur scientists and researchers or “What the hell was that?”

By | August 10, 2010
10 Comments

I’m off inside my own head these days… My main project is my Masters’ thesis in Science and the Public. I started gathering data this summer; fall will be consumed with crunching data, making sense of it and writing it up. I’ll graduate in February, barring any unforeseen disasters. The hardest part about a thesis… Read More: Studying modern day amateur scientists and researchers or “What the… »

Weird things road trip

By | July 24, 2010
2 Comments

Spent 10 hours driving through north central PA and upstate NY today. I saw an incredible sunrise over the Susquehanna River, the misty mountains and valleys north of Williamsport and the ridges of wind turbines in the rolling hills of New York. But, here are two puzzlers. First, crushed wheat in a field along Denton… Read More: Weird things road trip »

Solving Unexplained Mysteries: A review of “Scientific Paranormal Investigation” by B. Radford

By | June 21, 2010
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This past March, I registered for a seminar on Scientific Paranormal Investigation at CFI – Washington, DC. Ben Radford was presenting and the event description mentioned his upcoming book of the same name. This was fortuitous since I was working on developing a thesis project about the prevalence of sham inquiry, focusing on amateur investigation… Read More: Solving Unexplained Mysteries: A review of “Scientific Paranormal Investigation” by… »

End of Monster Quest

By | March 19, 2010
11 Comments

I’ve heard that this is the last season for Monster Quest on the History Channel. There are efforts afoot to try and save the show but, I’m not going to add my voice to that. I’ve always had serious problems with MQ. It presents a distorted and poor quality view of scientific investigation. I’ll concede… Read More: End of Monster Quest »