Piltdown Hoax

1. The Piltdown Hoax was essentially a discovery by a group of scientists that introduced new fossils relating humans and apes in the course of evolution. This is called a hoax because the findings were not true, but it did fool a lot of people for nearly 40 years. These fossils were found in the early 1900s by amateur geologist Charles Dawson and anatomist Arthur Woodward. Although there were more people involved, these two were the main scientists behind this event. The fossils were found in a small town called Piltdown, hence the name. Despite these discoveries being a hoax, it somewhat sparked national attention towards Charles Darwin's theory of evolution. As expected, the initial reactions to "Piltdown man" were so surprising and shocking. The fossil, which was a jawline with some teeth on it, suggested a human-like structure millions of years ago. Many people and the scientific community viewed this as a connection between man and ape. These findings elevated Dawson and Woodward's reputation among the scientists. However, with national attention, comes a lot of questions as well. Some scientists were supportive, while others were opposed. From the opposition, these views mainly came into play when other fossils were found in other continents like Asia. The main distinction was that these fossils didn't show a large brain and ape-like jaw like the one found in Piltdown. In fact, the fossils found in Asia were more human-like then the ones in Piltdown. The differences suggested concerns and mishaps with the Piltdown fossils. As many years passed on and newer technology was introduced, scientists were able to trace the date of the fossil. As it turns out, the fossil was altered and broken up to match that of a human. New technology found that the fossil came from an orangutan, not a human. This totally beat down the Piltdown man fossils. To the science community, this was seen as a disgrace. In the 1900s, scientists were seen as elites and very prestigious men. To see scientists take advantage of their status and cheat science, the reactions from the people viewed this as wrong. In addition, the theory of evolution was still a question to be answered, as the original Piltdown man was taken down.

2. Personally, I believe that the most important human fault that came into play here was greed and self-growth. As mentioned in video 1, Charles Dawson was an amateur in his field. He hasn't gained much respect and reputation to be known as on of the greats. In order to prove himself worthy, he must find something that astonishes the world. By altering a fossil found in Piltdown to like a human, Dawson knew this would receive much attention and put himself as a leader in the scientific community. Greed is ultimately what led to his demise. Usually, the scientific process is based on the foundation of facts. However, on Dawson's case, he dismissed the scientific way and cheated his way into fame. This for sure impacted the scientific process of Piltdown Man.

3. The main positive aspects that proved the fossils to be a fraud were the stains and alterations to the teeth. As technology advanced, scientists developed new methods to reveal various stains and dates on a given fossil. For instance, the Fluorine test proved that the fossil was not millions of years old, but in fact, only 100,000 years old. Also, further inspections with advanced microscopes, proved that the teeth were filed and straightened up to match that of humans. This is another example of how Dawson and Woodward strategically altered the fossil to make it look human-like.

4. The point of being a scientist, in my opinion, is to use facts and natural processes to prove or disprove theorems. In the case of Dawson and Woodward, they used little to know science in their findings. They simply found a fossil of an ape from not so long ago(hundreds of years ago) and altered its appearance to make it look more human. A true scientist would not touch the findings and run tests in a laboratory to prove a hypothesis. With this in mind, I believe the human process of science is the most essential factor in the scientific process. If we just let machines do all the work, then there will be know hypothesis and experiments and overall knowledge about a given scientific subject. So, the "human" process is very necessary to enhance the objectivity of a conclusion in science.

5. One life lesson that struck my mind when watching the videos were that taking advantage and shortcuts to success will be short-lived and damaging in the long run. Dawson wanted immediate success and results in his career. In order to do this, he took shortcuts by altering fossils to make his theory more intriguing. However, his success and fame was not very long. Even though he died, he is known in history as one of the biggest frauds in the scientific community. This is not very prestigious and welcoming. All in all, to achieve true success, one must work hard and experience downfalls in order to get back up.