h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Tasaday Hoax (in progress) - A726653
Author: Josh the Genius - U185839

Points to consider:

This is a really long article. I've indicated a point for a break, but I am concerned that it needs another one. Also, I'd like to know if any of it seems particularly irrelevant.

How's my spelling and grammar? I always have trouble with that.

I've double checked on my sources, but you never know... Please indicate anything erroneous (or anything that seems erroneous.

Share and Enjoy!

Hi Josh!

I like this a lot. If you're concerned about length, I think the middle section describing the island could go, or should at least be moved, as it interrupts the flow a bit.

I'm sure this will get lots of comments, but I'll try to make a few more suggestions later if any occur...

Best wishes

Otto

* wipes forehead *

When I saw 'in progress' in the subject line, I was prepared to see something else but a *great* article

typo:
tyranous -> tyrannous
'delimnas' doesn't seem to be a word (I tried LEO and dictionary.com, but then I'm not a native speaker)

Thanks guys.

I moved the bit on the island itself to the beginning and redid the introduction. I think it's better now.

Delimnas should have been delimmas. I guess I was thinking of autumn. Tyrannous has been fixed as well.

This is really, really good. Well done Josh!

It's well structured and not, I think, too long as it is right now. It's a fascinating story, well told - there was no sense at all of "this is dragging on a bit". It tell everything with all the necessary details and no fluff. This should go in as soon as possible.



Only typo I spotted was "increbible". Spelling and grammar were otherwise very good.

Top stuff.

H.

Josh, this is a great entry.

Just one query - you mentioned the person who set it up, Elizade, having run away with money and making a reference as though you had already told that part of the story. However I don't think you give us the details until later. You need to look at that bit again.

Typo - 'delimmas' is still not correct - it should be 'dilemmas'.

I like this a lot!

This Entry is really good! I didn't do a word count, but I didn't get the feeling that it needs to be split. It is a comfortable length, and doesn't seem to drag on, IMHO, of course.

The only criticism I could come up with is one that I'm not even certain about. This sentence:

"The Tasaday Hoax led many anthropologists to reconsider how they deal with primitive tribes."

Um... I think it's not considered appropriate to use the word 'primitive' in this way. I'm not sure exactly what that arguments are, and I'm usually not one for Political Correctness that I can't even justify, but there probably is a more specific term to use anyway... 'hunter-gatherer'? 'pre-agricultural'? something like that? Maybe someone here knows more about this issue than I do.

Otherwise,

Point well taken, GTBacchus. I've changed 'primitive' to 'indigenous', and I finally spelled indigenous right.

Zarquon's Singing Fish, can you clarify your point on Elizalde? I'm not sure what you mean.

Great Entry. I've no problems with the length.

Good luck

Geoff

OK, Josh, I'll try to make it clearer.

This:-

'All roads led to Elizalde. He was the very first of the Marcos cronies to leave the Philippines. His PANAMIN foundation had become very wealthy because of the Tasaday, and $35 million was discovered to be missing from the treasury soon after Elizalde's escape. There was little doubt that he took it with him.'

is the first mention of his escape. The context implies that it has een mentioned beforehand. It hasn't; this is the first mention of it.

I think it would help if you expanded on escape. When and where did he escape to?

Excellent entry Josh , this should certainly be included in the guide. I don't have any criticisms of it, and I think the length is fine and nothing to worry about.



Ste

I see your point, Fish.

How does this look:

Now the question was, who organized this incredible hoax? All roads led to Elizalde. Some of the Tasaday came forth and admitted conspiring with him. One man gave this revealing account:

"We didn't live in caves, only near them, until we met Elizalde...Elizalde forced us to live in the caves so that we'd be better cavemen. Before he came, we lived in huts on the other side of the mountain and we farmed. We took off our clothes because Elizalde told us to do so and promised us if we looked poor that we would get assistance. He gave us money to pose as Tasaday and promised us security from counter insurgency and tribal fighting."
It became evident that Elizalde had been manipulating the Tasaday for his own personal gain.

Also, when Marcos's dictatorship ended, Elizalde was the first crony to leave the Philippines, taking with him $35 million dollars from the non-profit PANAMIN organization that he had started specifically for the Tasaday.

Elizalde ended up in Costa Rica. He squandered all the money, became addicted to drugs, and died impoverished in 1997. Instead of a hero, he is now known as the perpetrator of the greatest anthropological hoax since piltdown man.

well done josh, and so well written too

Well done AND well written, eh?

I thank you much.

Hi Josh, good stuff with this article, . Thanks for a fascinating read. Aren't people naughty!

Just one query for you: are you really suggesting that these tribesman were nipping out to some Seafood restaurant in the States? If not, why the link to the Chesapeake crab place?

Good luck with this,

seeya
spiff

I think there was a reason why I put that link in, but it escapes me. Anyway, it's gone. Thanks for the tip.

Hi Josh.

Got some good news for you, your entry has been Recommended for inclusion in the Edited Guide. Congrats

Dear Josh,

I realize that I'm four weeks late on this, but I have to say something about all of these rumors.

You see, I think that it's very simple to take one situation and look at it from the other end of the spectrum. In your argument, we have somewhat cultured people being paid to act like cavemen. Ultimately, their culturedness played out, however, and the whole thing was discovered to be a hoax.

Take that and reverse it. Maybe the caveman of times B.C. was paid to act like a cultured person, and out of that was spawned what we know of as civilization. But over the years, some of them just haven't been able to shake their roots, and thus were born cab drivers, lawyers, and the sort.

Just food for thought

Josh, MKOT

P.S. In the interest of preserving peace on the planet, I retract the statement above for anyone in the lawyer and/or cab driving profession...

P.P.S. Good work, Josh, on being considered for the Edited Guide. I haven't had the chance to read the whole article, but so far it's absolutely smashing!

Please excuse the tardiness of my reply... I'm trying to remember my reason.

There are a few lunatics out there who believe that the hoax is the real hoax and that the Tasaday were really cave people who were cultured so as to discredit National Geographic and anthropology in general. That theory would sort of correspond with your hypothetical scenario. I even thought about including that point of view in the article, but the credibility of its supporters and the circumstantial evidence cautioned me otherwise.

One bit of skeptizism for you: How did the caveman know what a cultured person was like if he was going to be the first one? And who was paying him? Who invented money? I have a headache