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The official newsletter of the Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land

“It’s a very dangerous thing to believe in nonsense.” — James Randi

Volume 15, Number 4

April 2007

The Mystery of the Stump Pond Monster—Solved? by Richard Petraitis

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ven though alleged sea serpents have been spotted by eyewitnesses in Lake Michigan since the late nineteenth century, Lincoln Land remains exceptionally devoid of any reported monsters swimming inside her interior lakes. However, there is one notable exception to this dearth of lake monsters in our historic record—the Stump Pond Monster! This “monster” was documented by cryptozoologists, Loren Coleman and Patrick Huyghe, in their 2003 work, “Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Mystery Denizens of the Deep”. The bizarre case was further expounded upon by author, Troy Taylor, within the pages of “Weird Illinois” published in 2005. The freshwater mystery creature is said to have made its presence first known to fishermen who frequented Stump Pond near DuQuion, IL, during the late 1870s. This baffling lake animal was reputed to be almost twelve feet long, based on contemporary news reports, greenish hue in color and possessed of a thick cylindrical body. (Note: Any estimated

In This Issue The Mystery of the Stump Pond Monster—Solved? ................ 1 Responses to Jonathan Wells’s “Ten Questions” ...................... 4 Meetup.com Update .................................................................. 7

lengths or sizes of animals swimming underwater, even by trusted observers, have to be treated with extreme caution due to water’s magnifying effects.) Furthermore, certain fishermen came forth to testify that their boats were bumped by this odd aquatic beast. So just what was this thing? Could it be that Lincoln Land was once home to a downsized version of Scotland’s Nessie? Could it have been an animal quite familiar to naturalists, but which instead had been misidentified as a cryptid by several awed locals in Southern Illinois so long ago? After studying varied accounts of the Illinois lake monster, focusing in particular upon the physical descriptions of this underwater creature, I searched for the Stump Pond Monster’s identifiers on several different websites. In fact, I came upon one fascinating account of a freshwater fish known as “the Alligator Gar” which matches much of the given eyewitness physical data. Besides an alligator shaped head, this species of gar is torpedo shaped, grows up to ten feet in length or more, (sometimes weighing between two to three hundred pounds), possesses powerful jaws with razor sharp teeth, and as a carnivore hunts other fish. Alligator gar were, and still are, common to (“Stump Pond Monster” continued on page 6)

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The REALL News

Purpose The Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land is a non-profit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) educational and scientific organization. It is dedicated to the development of rational thinking and the application of the scientific method toward claims of the paranormal and fringe-science phenomena. REALL shall conduct research, convene meetings, publish a newsletter, and disseminate information to its members and the general public. Its primary geographic region of coverage is central Illinois. REALL subscribes to the premise that the scientific method is the most reliable and self-correcting system for obtaining knowledge about the world and universe. REALL does not reject paranormal claims on a priori grounds, but rather is committed to objective, though critical, inquiry. The REALL News is its official newsletter. Annual Membership Rates: Regular, $20; student, $15; family, $30; patron, $50 or more; subscription only, $12.

Board of Directors Chairman......................................... Wally Hartshorn Vice Chairman ................................ David Bloomberg Secretary-Treasurer ......................... Jim Rosenthal Newsletter Editor ............................ Clark Olson At-Large Members .......................... Mike Henebry Bob Ladendorf Janet Trutter

Editorial Board Clark Olson Wally Hartshorn Jim Rosenthal Unless otherwise stated, permission is granted to other skeptic organizations to reprint articles from The REALL News as long as proper credit is given. REALL also requests that you send copies of your newsletters that reprint our articles to the above address. The views expressed in these articles are the views of the individual authors and do not necessarily represent the views of REALL.

REALL Contacts Chairman, Wally Hartshorn ............ [email protected] Editor, Clark Olson [email protected] Web Sites ................................................. www.reall.org skeptics.meetup.com/134

April 2007

From the Chairman Wally Hartshorn

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pring has sprung! Finally! And with a vengeance! 79 degrees in March? Nice! (That’s 4 exclamation marks in 5 sentences. Can you tell I’m excited?) With a 2-year-old in the house, cold and dark makes for a severe case of cabin fever. When the toddler wants to go outside and play with his sand table, the fact that it’s 20 degrees, dark, and wet doesn’t inevitably lead to “let’s stay inside.” When does rational thinking show up? I’m guessing sometime around age 35. March Recap—Icons of Evolution DVD At our March meeting, we viewed the DVD Icons of Evolution, based upon the creationist book of the same name. On page 4 of this issue, you’ll find responses to the 10 questions that the book’s author, Jonathan Wells, encourages students to ask their teachers. These are available from the National Center for Science Education (NCSE) at http://www. ncseweb.org/resources/articles/7719_responses_to_ jonathan_wells3_11_28_2001.asp and can be freely redistributed. The NCSE also provides an extremely detailed 64-page response to the book, written by Alan D. Gishlick, at http://www.ncseweb.org/icons/. The TalkOrigins Archive provides a 40-page critique, written by Nick Matzke, at www.talkorigins.org/

A Nod to Our Patrons REALL would like to thank our patron members. Through their extra generosity, REALL is able to continue to grow as a force for critical thinking in Central Illinois. To become a patron member of REALL, please use the membership form insert. Patron members are: Randy & Betsy Alley, Edmonds, WA Karen Bartelt, Washington David Bloomberg, Springfield David Brown, Danville Alan Burge, D.D.S., Morton

Wally Hartshorn, Springfield John Lockard, Jr., Urbana Jim Rosenthal, Springfield Mark Russillo, Springfield Doug Smith, Springfield

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The REALL News

faqs/wells/iconob.html. A briefer 4-page response by Zarchary Moore, focusing specifically on the DVD, can be found at http://evolution-101.blogspot. com/2006/09/icons-of-evolution.html. Oh, and if you want to go to the web site of the book itself, that’s at www.iconsofevolution.com. April Meeting—Dr. Meredith Mahoney discusses DNA sequence data and Amphibian history Dr. Meredith J. Mahoney, Assistant Curator of Zoology at the Illinois State Museum, will be speaking at our April 3 meeting about DNA sequence data and amphibian history. Since the development of methods for obtaining DNA sequences in the late 1980s, these data have played an important role in research on population history and evolutionary relationships. Dr. Mahoney will talk about how DNA sequence data are obtained in the lab and present some examples from her own research on amphibians showing how DNA sequence information has improved our understanding of these animals. Dr. Mahoney got her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley where she was a graduate student in the Department of Integrative Biology and Museum of Vertebrate Zoology. Her dissertation research was on salamander evolutionary relationships. She continued studying salamander relationships as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, then returned to the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology at Berkeley to work as a Curatorial Associate in the Amphibian and

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Reptile collections. Lastly, she worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Texas at Austin studying frog evolutionary relationships before she moved to Springfield last September and started work at the Illinois State Museum. At the Illinois State Museum Research and Collections Center, she is responsible for the Vertebrate collections and the Genetics lab. She is continuing her research on amphibian genetics and evolutionary relationships and will be starting to work on species that occur in Illinois this summer. May—Creationist DVD, Unlocking the Mystery of Life Our May 1 meeting will feature another creationist video, Unlocking the Mystery of Life. If you attended the creationist talk that John Mark Henry gave a few years ago, you saw a few minutes of this video near the end of his presentation. June—Victor J. Stenger, author of the New York Times best seller God: The Failed Hypothesis Our June 5 meeting will feature Victor J. Stenger, author of the New York Times best selling book God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows that God Does Not Exist. (Does that sound controversial enough to draw an audience?) Victor Stenger has written numerous science books, as well as articles for skeptical publications. His previous book was The Comprehensible Cosmos: Where Do the Laws of Physics Come from?, published in October 2006. I recently purchased both books, but haven’t yet read them. Hopefully I’ll have some thoughts to write here soon. Please note that this meeting will not be at the library due to their annual book sale. Instead, we’ll be meeting at the Route 66 Hotel & Conference Center in the Arizona Room. The doors will open at 6:30 (“From the Chairman” continued on page 7)

People may believe correct things for the damndest and weirdest of wrong reasons. — Stephen Jay Gould

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April 2007

Responses to Jonathan Wells’s “Ten Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher” by the National Center for Science Education In the book Icons of Evolution, Jonathan Wells, makes a series of misleading, inaccurate, and incorrect claims about evolution and how it is presented in textbooks. The handout “Ten questions to ask your biology teacher about evolution” is based on that book. Both the book and the pamphlet try to cast doubt on the scientific validity of evolution. This page gives a very brief rebuttal to “Ten Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher.” For a detailed critical analysis, see Icons of Evolution? Why much of what Jonathan Wells writes about evolution is wrong by Alan Gishlick at www.ncseweb.org/icons. See also http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/ articles/1480_more_reviews_of_iicons_ of_ev_10_31_2002.asp for more reviews of Icons of Evolution. Please feel free to copy and distribute this document to teachers, students, parents, and any interested parties. (Wells's questions appear in italics. NCSE's response is given immediately below.) ——–

with various combinations of chemicals thought to have existed on early Earth. Nearly all of these studies have produced some of the building blocks of life. Origin-of-life remains a vigorous area of research. Evolutionary theory can work with just about any model of the origin of life on Earth. Therefore, how life originated is not strictly a question about evolution. ——–

Q

Darwin’s Tree of Life. Why don’t textbooks discuss the “Cambrian explosion,” in which all major animal groups appear together in the fossil record fully formed instead of branching from a common ancestor—thus contradicting the evolutionary tree of life?

A

Wells is wrong: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals all are post-Cambrian—aren’t these “major groups”? We would recognize very few of the Cambrian organisms as “modern”; they are in fact at the roots of the tree of life, showing the earliest appearances of some key features of groups of animals— but not all features and not all groups. Researchers are linking these Cambrian groups using not only fossils but also data from developmental biology. ——–

Q

Origin of Life. Why do textbooks claim that the 1953 Miller-Urey experiment shows how life's building blocks may have formed on the early Earth—when conditions on the early Earth were probably nothing like those used in the experiment, and the origin of life remains a mystery?

A

The 1953 studies by Miller and Urey were the first to show that organic molecules could be produced from very simple precursors and inputs of energy. Their experimental apparatus made it possible to investigate the formation of organic compounds under a wide range of conditions. Numerous studies have been conducted

Q

Homology. Why do textbooks define homology as similarity due to common ancestry, then claim that it is evidence for common ancestry—a circular argument masquerading as scientific evidence?

A

The same anatomical structure (such as a leg or an antenna) in two species may be similar because it was inherited from a common ancestor

April 2007

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(homology) or because of similar adaptive pressure (convergence). Homology of structures across species is not assumed, but tested by the repeated comparison of numerous features that do or do not sort into successive clusters. Homology is used to test hypotheses of degrees of relatedness. Homology is not “evidence” for common ancestry: common ancestry is inferred based on many sources of information, and reinforced by the patterns of similarity and dissimilarity of anatomical structures. ——–

works. Archaeopteryx (and other feathered fossils) shows how a branch of reptiles gradually acquired both the unique anatomy and flying adaptations found in all modern birds. It is a transitional fossil in that it shows both reptile ancestry and bird specializations. Wells’s claim that “supposed ancestors” are younger than Archaeopteryx is false. These fossils are not ancestors but relatives of Archaeopteryx and, as everyone knows, your uncle can be younger than you! ——–

Q

Q

Vertebrate Embryos. Why do textbooks use drawings of similarities in vertebrate embryos as evidence for their common ancestry—even though biologists have known for over a century that vertebrate embryos are not most similar in their early stages, and the drawings are faked?

Peppered Moths. Why do textbooks use pictures of peppered moths camouflaged on tree trunks as evidence for natural selection—when biologists have known since the 1980s that the moths don’t normally rest on tree trunks, and all the pictures have been staged?

Twentieth-century and current embryological research confirms that early stages (if not the earliest) of vertebrate embryos are more similar than later ones; the more recently species shared a common ancestor, the more similar their embryological development. Thus cows and rabbits—mammals—are more similar in their embryological development than either is to alligators. Cows and antelopes are more similar in their embryology than either is to rabbits, and so on. The union of evolution and developmental biology—“evo-devo”—is one of the most rapidly growing biological fields. “Faked” drawings are not relied upon: there has been plenty of research in developmental biology since Haeckel—and in fact, hardly any textbooks feature Haeckel’s drawings, as claimed. ——–

These pictures are illustrations used to demonstrate a point— the advantage of protective coloration to reduce the danger of predation. The pictures are not the scientific evidence used to prove the point in the first place. Compare this illustration to the well-known re-enactments of the Battle of Gettysburg. Does the fact that these reenactments are staged prove that the battle never happened? The peppered moth photos are the same sort of illustration, not scientific evidence for natural selection. ——–

A

Q

Archaeopteryx. Why do textbooks portray this fossil as the missing link between dinosaurs and modern birds—even though modern birds are probably not descended from it, and its supposed ancestors do not appear until millions of years after it?

A

The notion of a “missing link” is an out-ofdate misconception about how evolution

A

Q

Darwin’s Finches. Why do textbooks claim that beak changes in Galapagos finches during a severe drought can explain the origin of species by natural selection—even though the changes were reversed after the drought ended, and no net evolution occurred?

A

Textbooks present the finch data to illustrate natural selection: that populations change their physical features in response to changes in the environment. The finch studies carefully— exquisitely—documented how the physical features of an organism can affect its success in reproduction

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and survival, and that such changes can take place more quickly than was realized. That new species did not arise within the duration of the study hardly challenges evolution! ——–

Q

Mutant Fruit Flies. Why do textbooks use fruit flies with an extra pair of wings as evidence that DNA mutations can supply raw materials for evolution—even though the extra wings have no muscles and these disabled mutants cannot survive outside the laboratory?

A

In the very few textbooks that discuss fourwinged fruit flies, they are used as an illustration of how genes can reprogram parts of the body to produce novel structures, thus indeed providing “raw material” for evolution. This type of mutation produces new structures that become available for further experimentation and potential new uses. Even if not every mutation leads to a new evolutionary pathway, the flies are a vivid example of one way mutation can provide variation for natural selection to work on. ——–

Q

Human Origins. Why are artists’ drawings of ape-like humans used to justify materialistic claims that we are just animals and our existence is a mere accident—when fossil experts cannot even agree on who our supposed ancestors were or what they looked like?

A

Drawings of humans and our ancestors illustrate the general outline of human ancestry,

April 2007

about which there is considerable agreement, even if new discoveries continually add to the complexity of the account. The notion that such drawings are used to "justify materialistic claims" is ludicrous and not borne out by an examination of textbook treatments of human evolution. ——–

Q

Evolution a Fact? Why are we told that Darwin’s theory of evolution is a scientific fact— even though many of its claims are based on misrepresentations of the facts?

A

What does Wells mean by “Darwin’s theory of evolution”? In the last century, some of what Darwin originally proposed has been augmented by more modern scientific understanding of inheritance (genetics), development, and other processes that affect evolution. What remains unchanged is that similarities and differences among living things on Earth over time and space display a pattern that is best explained by evolutionary theory. Wells’s “10 Questions” fails to demonstrate a pattern of evolutionary biologists’ “misrepresenting the facts.” ——– The National Center for Science Education is a nonprofit organization, based in Oakland, California, dedicated to defending the teaching of evolution in the public schools. For more information, visit us on the web at www.ncseweb.org or call 510-6017203. http://www.ncseweb.org/resources/articles/4412_responses_to_ jonathan_wells3_11_28_2001.asp


(“Stump Pond Monster” continued from page 1)

References

Southern Illinois, (the region of our state were DuQuion is located), and they are found throughout the Mississippi Basin. They are primarily ambush hunters that float like logs under the water’s surface and strike prey animals that venture too close to them. In fact, these hungry predators even eat water fowl! The alligator gar doesn’t attack humans, but has on extremely rare occasions, bitten the unwary. I believe that it was this extremely large fish which was responsible, through the years, for many eyewitness reports of an Illinois lake monster. Mystery solved?

1. Coleman, Loren and Patrick Huyghe. Lake Monsters, Sea Serpents, and Other Denizens of the Deep. New York: Penguin Press. 2003. Pgs. 257258 2. Taylor, Troy. Weird Illinois. New York: Sterling Publishing Company. 2005. Pg. 93 3. Ichthyology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Biological Profiles, “Alligator Gar.” Accessed on 09/21/2006 at http://www.flmnh.ufl. e d u / f i s h / G a l l e r y/ D e s c r i p t / A l l i g a t o r G a r / AlligatorGar.html


April 2007

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Meetup.com Plug Update by Wally Hartshorn

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ave you registered on REALL’s Meetup.com web site yet? If you haven’t, please do so! It’s a simple way to stay involved with the group between meetings. The web site lets you: • get the latest information about what we have planned for future meetings; • RSVP to let us know whether you’ll be able to make it; • See who else will be there; • See who showed up at earlier meetings; • Exchange messages with other members; • Download flyers which can be used to publicize the group; • View photos from previous meetings. Speaking of photos, check out this blast from the past! This photo was taken in August 2001 at the presentation by Massimo Polidoro, co-founder and Executive Director of the Italian Committee for the Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal. His presentation was Houdini: A Magician Among the Spir(“From the Chairman” continued from page 3)

and his presentation will begin at 7:00. I’m not sure how many people we’ll have, but you might want to show up early, just in case. Stay tuned for details! July—Picnic and Friday the 13th Superstition Bash? Normally we have our annual picnic in June, due to the library being unavailable that month. This year, since we will be having a meeting in June, we’ll have our annual picnic in July—which happens to have a Friday the 13th! So, our tentative plan is to hold a Friday the 13th Superstition Bash/Picnic at Jim Rosenthal’s house, where we can all admire his brand new deck. Stay tuned for details! August—Global Warming? No, I’m not asking whether August will be hot:

its. (Oh, the other two characters in that photo are former REALL chairman and co-founder David Bloomberg on the left and REALL’s current Secretary-Treasurer Jim Rosenthal.) So visit http://skeptics.meetup.com/134/ today, where you can see… more stuff like that. Yeah, I know, but visit anyway. Then register and get involved. We promise not to spam you too much.
This is central Illinois, so of course it will be hot! Clark Olson told me that he knows one of the people that was recently trained by Al Gore to give his presentation on global warming. August sounds like a perfect month to talk about it. (Maybe we’ll feel cool in comparison.) We’ll have to find out whether he’s available and willing, but if he is, we’ll try to get him to give his presentation for us. One thing that I’ve noticed recently that I’ve found particularly puzzling is that much of the opposition to global warming seems to come from those who are very religious. The connection between the two isn’t obvious to me. I’ll have to look into this some more. In the meantime, get out and enjoy this pleasant springtime weather (except for Tuesday night, when I want to see you in the library at our meeting).


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April 2007

Our Next Meeting DNA sequence data and Amphibian history Presented by Dr. Meredith J. Mahoney, Assistant Curator of Zoology at the Illinois State Museum Since the development of methods for obtaining DNA sequences in the late 1980s, these data have played an important role in research on population history and evolutionary relationships. Dr. Mahoney will talk about how DNA sequence data are obtained in the lab and present some examples from her own research on amphibians showing how DNA sequence information has improved our understanding of these animals.

www.reall.org skeptics.meetup.com/134

Springfield, Illinois Lincoln Library (7th & Capitol) Tuesday, April 3, 7:00 PM

Free and Open to the Public

The Mystery of the Stump Pond Monster—Solved? ................ 1 Responses to Jonathan Wells’s “Ten Questions” ...................... 4 Meetup.com Update .................................................................. 7

In This Issue Rational Examination Association of Lincoln Land (REALL) P.O. Box 20302 Springfield IL 62708