The Bangles Fallacy
I met Benjamin Radford literally seconds before this picture was taken:
I had just walked into the large hall at the 2006 Bigfoot conference in Pocatello Idaho. Craig Woolheater immediately insisted Radford and I looked alike and wanted a photograph.
The great problem with these conferences is that there are plenty of fascinating people to talk to, and plenty of “heavy” things to talk about, but you simply don’t have time to do so! I don’t drink, so I don’t end up at bars after these things end for the day. I’m usually drained after a full day of listening to these presentations and just go back to the hotel and crash out. I was able to speak to Ben briefly, we actually spent more time talking about the movies of William Friedkin than Bigfoot! I did pick up a copy of his book Lake Monster Mysteries. Lake monsters are not really my “thing”, but I couldn’t turn down a good investigative story. There are often parallels between different kinds of mysteries whether it be UFO’s, Bigfoot, Lake Monsters, or Mel’s Hole, and so it’s useful to be aware of a broad spectrum of extraordinary claims.
I liked Radford’s book, and felt he did a good job of investigation, especially with on-site assessment of the famous “Mansi” photograph. But my favorite part of the book, which made me actually laugh out loud, was a short aside on page 128 which reads “The assumption that ancient artwork represents reality is what I refer to as the Bangles fallacy, after the 1980′s band whose hit song “Walk Like an Egyptian” satirically assumed that real Egyptians walked as they were depicted in tomb walls” Though Radford’s book is about lake monsters, I immediately thought of the claims of the UFO advocates, who constantly put forth interpretations of old artwork as depicting UFO’s.
Thankfully, various level-headed art scholars have effectively rebutted many of these claims, as a great deal of medieval artwork was often heavily “coded” with religious symbolism, most of which is lost on the modern audience.
In fact you see the “Bangles Fallacy” all the time in those who make extraordinary claims. Why should we imagine that any particular piece of art is entirely representational unless the artist explicitly tells us so? If I had those kind of artistic talents, I sure as hell wouldn’t depict things as they are, I’d depict things at the very limits of my imagination!
Perhaps the most egregious example of the Bangles Fallacy that I know of is Erich Von Daniken, and his “Ancient Astronauts”. His books have sold millions. He relies heavily on funky looking old art and sculpture to buttress his ridiculous notions of ancient visitation. I remember seeing one old “delta winged aircraft” sculpture he presented. Well how do you know the artist wasn’t simply augmenting and stylizing an insect or a bird?
I found this cartoon in a local Missoula Montana newspaper called the Independent:
It’s the best visual treatment of the “Bangles Fallacy” I’ve yet seen. As you can tell, I think Radford’s novel term is great, being funny, direct, and sarcastically cutting. I think it deserves wider recognition, and I hope this essay is at least a start.
