Dr. Melba Ketchum: Do we rush and and fail, or do we play by the rules and prove something once and for all that will vindicate thousands who have had sightings? (Updated) [Bigfoot DNA Study]
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| Dr. Melba Ketchum |
Now that we're on Facebook, and Dr. Melba Ketchum has become "friends" with us, we now have front row seating and can report to you in real-time, what's happening in the Bigfoot DNA camp. This was posted on Dr. Melba Ketchum's Facebook page just minutes ago:
For everyone that keeps asking for when the paper will be out, please understand that
1) I cannot talk about our data or it will never get published. Those are journal rules.
2) I cannot divulge which journal as that will kill our paper also so speculation is futile.
3) Peer review and publication can take 5 to 26 weeks and then there is the question of revision where they ask you to change or re-write or edit some of the paper. It is a rare paper that is accepted without some revision. I know this because I peer review for some well known scientific journals also.
4) Timing is very difficult to say the least because of #3 and once again, I am sure the journal would reject the paper if I told you exactly when I think the paper would be out. Soon is as much as I can say. I cannot afford to lose all of the exceptionally difficult work that my co-authors and I have put into this project. I am asking you to understand this! Please.
5) I also ask you to understand that I am not trying to be rude or disrespectful to anyone by my silence. I would love nothing better than to scream our results to the world. But, like everything else in the world of Sasquatch, it will NOT prove ANYTHING if the data doesn't undergo the rigors of peer review in the scientific community. It has to convince the skeptics (or at least skeptical scientists) or it is just another attempt to prove the existence of BF that cannot be substantiated even though we have overkilled the science on this project beyond all realms of reason. So, I guess the question is, do we rush and and fail, or do we play by the rules and prove something once and for all that will vindicate thousands who have had sightings. They are real and most if not all of the people on FB here are believers. Please, let's do this right so the world will know once and for all that there is a real and illusive creature that is alive and well right here in our own backyards. If I have any news I can share, I will share it here though, OK?
- Dr. Melba Ketchum
Update: Dr. Ketchum on the word "illusive":
Since there is already an email about illusive vs. elusive. Illusive= like an illusion or imaginary. That is how skeptics see them. They also create illusion in that they are rarely seen and avoid detection. Some animals are elusive, yet there are many documentaries that are on Animal Planet and Nat Geo that show elusive animals studied with hidden cameras. How many folks have tried that with good success? Our subject goes far beyond elusive or they would have already been easily photographed with hidden cameras and plentiful footage obtained and thus already proven to exist, so they are illusive in my mind. Just semantics.
she peer reviews and can't spell elusive?
ReplyDeleteKetchum sure talks a lot for not being able to talk about the study. Don't you think it's a bad idea for her to discuss this in any way, shape or form on facebook?
ReplyDeleteFrom what is written above, she basically says the study proves BF's existence. I'd erase my post if I were Ms Ketchum. I do appreciate being updated, but if silence on the topic is important, it might be better for her to lay low.
Just a thought.
illusive. he he he. Those wacky scientists.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the best secret-keeper in the world. I still am skeptical about what this will all show. It might show what it isn't, but may not show what it is. My biggest problem is the way the DNA was gathered. In the world of crime scenes, if a cop doesn't gather something just right, you can't prove how it was contaminated, who handled it, or whether it was truly from the crime scene. I am hoping if something is found, the amateurish collection of DNA doesn't hurt the believability.
ReplyDeleteWhatev Ketchum....keep stalling....
ReplyDeleteTo most skeptics the elusive BF is just that illusive.....hehehe
ReplyDeleteAnybody can make spelling mistakes....but not everybody can collect evidence in a chain of custody like has been described by some in the know on this study. How do you know the collection of evidence was amateurish, have you read the article, were you there?
I'm just going to patiently wait for the outcome.Hopefully everything will be revealed to the public and not hidden for whatever reason(s).
ReplyDeleteEvery time I see a post by youhoo,it reminds me of Ranae.Just a random thought;)
I remember feeling this way once before. It went kind of like this:
ReplyDeleteQ: When will Duke Nukem Forever come out?
A: I'm really not allowed to speculate on that. All I can say is that we're all really excited here. This will be a ground-breaking game with a completely destructible environment. It will completely revolutionize the PC gaming industry. As you know, we've switched to the Unreal Engine. Because we did that, it will take a bit longer, but the wait will be worth it. Would you rather us hurry up the job and create a sub-standard game?
Q: But when will it be out?
A: Soon. That's all I can say.
Goddamn Vaporsquatches. :)
Back pedaling on her misuse of illusive, worse than just fessing up. More to come...
ReplyDeleteScience proves the existence of Alien life, but people won't believe until a spaceship lands on the white house lawn.
ReplyDeleteSorry hit return to quick, we know there are micro organisms on space rocks we found that proves life. So you can run all the scientific data and DNA analysis you want, but until you provide a physical specimen its all numbers and here say.
ReplyDelete@Autumnforest
ReplyDeletecrime seen dna samples are much more difficult
because it involves an individual as where this
study is based on species, so it not as easily contaminated the samples in a way that there not useful.
I don't get it. Hasn't there been DNA evidence before that resulted in a finding of "unknown primate?" These other DNA tests did not convince science/skeptics. Why would anyone be convinced by this study and not the earlier studies?
ReplyDeleteWhy hasn't anyone considered that Bigfoot is a Gigantopithicus? Or even Neanderthal man? In all the Bigfoot TV specials and websites not one person has considered this possibility.
ReplyDeleteIt seems so obvious. Don't you people read up on natural history? Why do you always have to think of Cryptids as monsters? They could very well be a naturally occurring creature. These creatures, thought to have died out thousands of years ago, have simply evaded the nine billion people on planet Earth.
It seems so simple.
Are you serious? The gigantopithicus theory has been floating around in bigfoot circles for years. Dr. Grover Krantz advocated it, and I believe that Dr. Jeff Meldrum does as well, as do many others. Yes, some bigfoot enthusiasts do read their natural history. Bigfoot enthusiasts don't all believe that sasquatches are multi-dimensional beings delivered to earth by UFOs.
ReplyDelete@The Naturalist You've basically described both 'camps' on the subject. There is no 'monster hypothesis' outside of TV-Land. If you're interested in the examining both aspects, may I suggest "Bigfoot: Legend Meets Science", by Dr. Jeff Meldrum and "Tribal Bigfoot", by David Paulides. Fun stuff!
ReplyDeleteHow do you say Dr. K is full of it.
ReplyDelete@The Naturalist Excuse me... "SASQUATCH: Legend Meets Science"
ReplyDeleteDr K is full of it. Pretty easy to say
ReplyDeleteAll I'm saying is that I'm tired of hearing you people attribute the existence of Bigfoot to some supernatural phenomenon; parallel universes, aliens, demonology, etc.
ReplyDeleteBigfoot is not Der Golem.
Bigfoot is clearly a natural being, like the badger, wolverine or binturong. It has a natural purpose in this world and that purpose is not to scare small children or throw rocks at people with nightvision cameras.
The Sasquatch is not the homunculus of some pine forest-dwelling witch -- it is, instead, a thing of natural earthy beauty.
Bigfoot should not be hunted and caged like some common circus freak. Those of you who have suggested this should be ashamed.
I won't say it again: Sasquatch is of this Earth, people!
@naturalist
ReplyDeleteThere may be few people that comment on this blog that have the belief of bigfoot being something supernatural, but please don't lump the 99.9% of us that don't believe that. I have been around here for a long time, and definately not something that frequents here.........and if it is, its easily blocked out of my mind.
@ The Naturalist: "Why hasn't anyone considered that Bigfoot is a Gigantopithicus? Or even Neanderthal man? In all the Bigfoot TV specials and websites not one person has considered this possibility." - ALL? - are you living in a closest? The MAJORITY believes this being is natural. There is a VERY fringe group that seeks the supernatural explanation. The people I know that have seen it do not think it is anything BUT earthly. And there are plenty of books and shows (the latest: Bigfoot - The Definitive Guide) in which they discuss BOTH the possibility of Giganto AND Neanderthal as well as Homo Heidelbergensis. You must not know much about the bigfoot community since you speak from a position of such limited information. Too many of us think the UFO bigfooteers are ruining it for the rest of us. And as far as this study goes....I hope nothing ever becomes of it. Bigfoot is better off and much safer if people never know about them. Let the world think they doesn't exist. I know what I have seen. I know what has watched me from mere feet. I know what has lobbed branches at me (never with the intention of hurting me.) They are never "thrown", only lobbed, and with accuracy....always between us. They are better off if the world never knows. Once the world finds out, only harm can come to them. Before this happens, my only wish is to be able to someday - look one in the eyes - face to face - with no fear from either of us. I have seen them, but I desire to know them. Believe me, they are just as curious about us as we are about them.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone considered the Giant Sloth theory? If I remember correctly, South America is connected to North America, and it would be quite simple for one of these creatures to make it's way unnoticed through California, Texas, or even Florida. The sloth climbs trees, as does Bigfoot; The sloth eats food gathered from the woodland areas, as I'm sure Bigfoot does; and the sloth has very sharp claws for hunting, fighting, and termite collection. Bigfoot is most definitely omnivorous and diurnal, which explains the low quality of every photograph ever taken of it. The sloth is capable of appearing unexpectedly, and disappearing in the blink of an eye. Look up, friends, and the mystery of the Bigfoot(Giant Sloth)may be at last solved. Here's a link to the wiki entry of the Giant Ground Sloth found in South America, you'll notice it's silhouette is nearly identical to every photograph of Bigfoot(Giant Sloth) ever taken. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_sloth
ReplyDeleteDesertBigfootSteve--great attitude about wanting to just know them. I wish more folks were like that.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous--about the DNA evidence, that's apple and oranges, obviously (although in Smeja's case that was a crime scene). It's the public and some of the professionals who will balk at "who gathered this? How was it gathered?" If you want to truly document something like bringing in evidence, you want as much peripherals as possible, coordinates, photos, and more so people can quit balking and start accepting results.
@AF
ReplyDeleteYour exactly right with all the peripheral evidence. Thats what I'm looking forward too, not so much the DNA evidence, but all the work that went in it to get the samples. I'm anticipating a lot of footage and photos, never seen before to accompany the scientific paper if and when it comes out.
And to the people who keep saying that the study is BS. What will these people (study members) gain by this being BS. From what I've read and heard, many hundreds of thousands of dollars have gone into this. For what? A hoax that's figured out the day they release the study. Way too many smart minds/money/time/deication from so many different people to be a hoax.
Even if the paper has some hiccups and problems which there is bound to be, I think over time when this paper is published, it will draw a lot of attention and scietific reasearch dollars to start a process that so far has been lead by private/personal funding for amateur and scientific researchers that have never got a lick of any public money for their efforts. And when this happens, no kill will be needed!
I want to say thanks to everyone who has been dedicated to the research and documention of this species, because with-out their time/effort/ and dollars, we would be nowhere close to where we are today.
Cheers
sean p re: your sloth theory, how do you explain the human like footprints?
ReplyDeleteDr. Ketchum said the exact thing on my Radio Show last October. We just need to wait it out. It will be soon and she did more then is requested. This isn't a blobsquatch study we need the real thing this time.
ReplyDeleteFrom the strange photo decades old, to strange Facebook posts, she is not looking totally erudite, or confident, but 100% patronizing. Too bad.
ReplyDeleteBeer -Man
ReplyDeleteWell said...I agree with your logic as well.
@Anonymous- They have footprints? Could you please direct me to this info? Thank you.
ReplyDeleteScience is organized skepticism but when you are dealing with cryptozoology, science has always seemed to stay as far away as possible. I think this is why Dr. K is stating the "overkill on science" because in this case, they need too. They need mass amounts of evidence. Hair, bones, finger nails as well as photographs and video that will be depicting the actual creatures where the smaples came from. With-out over killing the science in cryptozoology, science will not have organized skepital conversation unless they are paid by a network to do so. And I should say, its not alll scientists, as the bigfoot world does have a handful of them that will invest time to the cause.
ReplyDeleteHey Naturalist,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ground breaking theories... if it was 1977. So far I've read 2 blogs with your posts in the comments and you're acting like you're so much more educated than everyone here, yet you've only pointed out the most obvious theories that have been around for decades. Time for you to read up before spouting your uninformed drivel.
Has anyone considered Bigfoot might be a honey badger?
ReplyDelete26 weeks is half a year Melba, you have gone way beyond that so when are we going to see it? Whip it out already.
ReplyDeleteI've already had 6....... But ok.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of how some people argue to the contrary, when it comes to proving the existence of bigfoot, DNA testing is a waste of time. Skeptics will find a way to refute it. At best, the results will be "inconclusive."
ReplyDeleteWhat is needed is a specimen, live or dead. A specimen is the ONLY thing that will prove the existence of bigfoot. Science and skeptics cannot refute a specimen.
Melba is hot!
ReplyDeleteShe is indeed a hottie, and she's right too that vindication time for the Sasquatch field/witnesses is near. Most of all good folks like Roger Patterson and Bob Gimlin. This is going to be a real shocker to most people.
ReplyDeleteHot for a pig.
ReplyDeleteWill someone kill one of these stupid primates with big feet already
Ouch... The amount of misogyny towards Dr. Ketchum is rather nauseating. This woman is doing some amazing and possibly world-changing research for the BF community and all people can do is insult her.
ReplyDeleteshe does look hot, more interesting than 80 per cent of the bs on this site
ReplyDeletewhy is that girl in the sidebar so HUGE! thats freaking me out, in the swimsuit...there is your bigfoot....my god i could server a gallon of ice creme out of one of those high heels....
ReplyDeletemorris day could put his entire band in those shoes....
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