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Mulder, not sure if you fully understand the concepts that Occam/Newton are discussing...the most probable/simplest explanation should be used until proof is brought forward to prove that a less likely/more complicated explanation is the cause. It doesn't preclude other options, it just simplifies the equation. If you think that using Occam's razor precludes the existence of bigfoot or the possibility of bigfoot then you actually DON'T understand the concept and it may explain your venom. "Science is a way of trying not to fool yourself. The first principle is that you must not fool yourself, and you are the easiest person to fool." - Richard P Feynman

Drew. You said it yourself. You don't have all the info, neither do I. So pipe down and wish them well. It's the least you could do.

It is quite clear that you believe discussing the Bigfoot phenomenon is only acceptable when it is discussed amongst like-minded participants. What you don't seem to get, is that the 'Bigfoot Phenomenon' encompasses more than just hairy Wood Ape stories, and congratulatory pats on the back. I have been here a long time, and it is no secret that I think the 'Bigfoot Phenomenon' is a creation of humans. When the rules state that the forum is only going to welcome people who think Bigfoot is a giant wood ape, and not a product of the human mind, then I will probably not participate in a DISCUSSION of the phenomenon.

^Very well put ohiobill! I would also like to point out that there have been very many tracks and trackways purported to be from sasquatch that have turned out to be hoaxed or misidentified. There have been absolutley ZERO tracks or trackways proven to be made by a sasquatch. Therefore, the default position must always be: "It is most likely a misidentification or a hoax but until the evidence is in I cannot state for certain what it is". That is how science works. When sasquatch is proven to be real then the default statement can be altered.

entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem (entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity)- attributed to Occam. "We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances. Therefore, to the same natural effects we must, so far as possible, assign the same causes." Isaac Newton Skeptics don’t necessarily disbelieve in the existence of bigfoot and are open-minded to the possibility of existence of a large unknown primate running around North America. They are using principles that have sufficed to bring us from the dark ages to the level of civilization we have now. When they say there is a possibility that the trackways were hoaxed it means just that – it is also a possibility and without evidence to disprove it should probably be considered the most probable. BFS’s idea to test hoaxing scenarios is sound AND skeptical, how would you proceed?