Special Area - Set 1

Study Material WSC Regional Round 2019
2019 – A world on the Margins

Subject: SPECIAL AREA
UNSOLVED MYSTERIES
1.1 (INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS)

1.7(what the heck – magnetic pole
reversal)
1.9 (Mysteries of the living –
EVOLUTIONARY MISSING LINK)
1.10 (CASES & GUIDING QUESTIONS)
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Lalaji Memorial Omega International School APRIL 2019
Instructions
Please go through the descriptions given on unsolved mysteries.

Introductory Questions
1. Is there a difference between a mystery and an unanswered question?

2. Are most mysteries solved by individuals, by governments, or by the private sector?
3. Are some mysteries more worth solving than others?
4. What distinguishes mysteries that are solved from those that go unsolved?
5. Why are so many people fascinated by mysteries? What features might make one
mystery more fascinating than another?
6. Can you think of any mysteries that are better left unsolved?
7. Do people who solve mysteries have an obligation to share the solution?
8. How do we deal with questions that we are unable to answer?
9. Can you imagine a circumstance in which someone would solve a mystery and then
decide to keep the solution secret?
10. Have you ever had something happen in your life for which you lack an explanation?
Do you want that explanation?
1. Is there a difference between a mystery and an unanswered question?
A mystery is an unsolved issue, which is not explained yet. An unanswered question, on the
other hand, is not a well explained answer, which is not known yet. It may be available or
may not.
There can be uncertainty. But a mystery is an unsolved one, which has no explanation. An
answered question can be answered but a mystery often remains an unsolved one.
2. Are most mysteries solved by individuals, by governments, or by the private sector?
Mysteries are subjected in types. Many mysteries come under the government's investigation
that are crimes or any other lawsuits. So the great mysteries which are reported to the
government are solved by the government.
When some individual solves a mystery especially the one which deals forbidding law or
human or any other illegal and unwelcoming situations are discovered and busted by persons
named as 'whistle-blowers'.
The private sectors are always an issue of the mystery. They are the core of such mysteries.
3. Are some mysteries more worth solving than others?

Yes, some mysteries are worth solving than other mysteries because they might bring up
some greater achievement, happiness or benefit to an individual or the society itself.
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Depends on what the mystery is and how important it is to solve mystery. For example,
solving the mystery of a bank corrupt will be more worth solving than solving the mystery of
a mobile phone that is stolen.
4. What distinguishes mysteries that are solved from those that go unsolved?
Mysteries that are solved are no longer categorized as mysteries, while the mysteries that are
solved continue to be mysteries till they are solved.
The mysteries that are solved have an explanation so they cease to be mysteries for mysteries
have no explanation.
5. Why are so many people fascinated by mysteries? What features might make one
mystery more fascinating than another?
People have a thought process which makes it possible for people to want to solve a mystery.
Rationally, people will not consider solving mysteries if they were connecting to it in a way,
which also makes people fascinated to solve a mystery. The reasons a mystery is termed a
mystery is the fact that it does not have a truth to it, as in the point which converts a question
into a mystery is that how many clues it has and why should it be solved.
Many people like mystery novels, the reason is that the story really connects with them some
way or the other and makes it possible for them to research and also read further to find the
answer.
A mystery which talks about crime is more fascinating that a simple mystery like where is my
pen? The more the people connected with the story/reason behind the question being a
mystery, the more fascinating the mystery becomes
6. Can you think of any mysteries that are better left unsolved?
Sometimes we better leave something unsolved, or just mind our own business. Sometimes
those answers you find out will maybe just harm you and your future, nobody knows.
Sometimes learning everything could just lead people to trouble.
7. Do people who solve mysteries have an obligation to share the solution?

It depends on the set of values and if you have a large quantity value then you can preserve
the value for your life.
In the case of industries and commercial setup, you can solve some mysteries with your own
intuition and knowledge, but you cannot share the obligation with the people due to privacy
policy of the business.
By solving some mysteries, you can gain the temporary success, but you cannot reach the
goal with an obligation.
8. How do we deal with questions that we are unable to answer?
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We may appreciate the fact that there are mysteries that cannot be solved easily and time and
effort may find an answer to those.
9. Can you imagine a circumstance in which someone would solve a mystery and then
decide to keep the solution secret?
Yes. It may be fairly dangerous (mortally dangerous) to share the solution. If the solution
upsets the status quo, and if the critical thinking skills are lacking in people who will know
about the solution, it may be safer to keep the solution to yourself, unfortunately.
But ultimately, the truth about a mystery may come out, unless all the evidence is destroyed.
In some cases, it is the ruling powers that destroy the evidence. They have the power to do so,
and the motives are legion. They can get away with mass murder for instance. If somebody
would discover this and becomes a whistleblower, they may not be safe from those he
exposes. No matter that it was the truth he said.
10. Have you ever had something happen in your life for which you lack an
explanation? Do you want that explanation?
The concept of paradox. Its impossible to explain and / or calculate. Science can also never
explain why paradoxes exist on a conscious level in the first place, since it’s functionless,
useless. A paradox has no value.
Take one instance, saying something is “unique”, if there’s more than one “unique” in
existence then nothing is unique, it’s a concept that requires an 100% entropy object in 0%
entropy space.
Unfortunately everything in existence is unique, this “A” has a different location than this
“A” and so forth, its location makes it unique, therefore every single particle in existence
itself is in fact unique no matter how alike they look, but like i mentioned earlier: the concept
of “unique” means there can only be one unique entity, or else its not very unique is it. So - in
essence you could say our whole existence is a paradox we can’t fully explain with science. If
you have more than one unique objects, then they’re not unique anymore, they’re just two
different / diverse objects, but none of them are unique.
Unique doesn’t mean different, unique means different in an environment where everything
else has a likeness except for that one unique object.
Subject: Special Area Cases & Guiding Questions Set: 1.10

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Instructions
Cases & Guiding Questions
Consider the case of this supposedly alien skeleton and the process by which its actual origin
was determined. Are there times when people would rather that science leave certain
questions unanswered?
This tiny skeleton might look like an alien, but her genes tell a different story
Nearly two decades ago, the rumours began: In the Atacama Desert of northern Chile,
someone had discovered a tiny mummified alien.
An amateur collector exploring a ghost town was said to have come across a white cloth in a
leather pouch. Unwrapping it, he found a six-inch-long skeleton.
Despite its size, the skeleton was remarkably complete. It even had hardened teeth. And yet
there were striking anomalies: it had 10 ribs instead of the usual 12, giant eye sockets and a
long skull that ended in a point.
Ata, as the remains came to be known, ended up in a private collection, but the rumours
continued, fuelled in part by a U.F.O. documentary in 2013 that featured the skeleton. On
Thursday, a team of scientists presented a very different explanation for Ata — one without
aliens, but intriguing in its own way.
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Ata’s bones contain DNA that not only shows she was human, but that she belonged to the
local population. What’s more, the researchers identified in her DNA a group of mutations in
genes related to bone development.
Some of these mutations might be responsible for the skeleton’s bizarre form, causing a
hereditary disorder never before documented in humans.
Antonio Salas Ellacuriaga, a geneticist at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain

who was not involved in the new study, called it “a very beautiful example of how genomics
can help to disentangle an anthropological and archaeological dilemma.”
“DNA autopsies,” as Dr. Ellacuriaga calls them, could help shed light on medical disorders
“by looking to the past to understand the present.”
The research, published in the journal Genome Research, began in 2012, when Garry P.
Nolan, an immunologist at Stanford University, got wind of the U.F.O. documentary,
“Sirius,” while it was still in production.
Dr. Nolan emailed the producers and offered to look for DNA in the mummy. The skeleton’s
owner agreed to X-ray images as well as bone marrow samples taken from the ribs and right
humerus.
Once Dr. Nolan and his colleagues received the samples, they were able to retrieve fragments
of DNA from bone marrow cells without much struggle. “We could tell this was human right
away,” said Atul Butte, a computational biologist at the University of California, San
Francisco, and a co-author of the new study.
The scientists eventually managed to reconstruct much of Ata’s genome. She was a girl, they
found, most closely related to indigenous Chileans. But she also had a substantial amount of
European ancestry.
The scientists have not carried out any precise dating of the skeleton, so they can’t say
exactly when Ata lived. But her European heritage suggested it was sometime after Chile was
colonized in the 1500s.
After death, DNA disintegrates into fragments, which become smaller over the centuries.
Ata’s DNA fragments are still large, another clue that she’s less than 500 years old.
While her elongated head was striking, it wasn’t the strangest feature of Ata’s skeleton.
Despite being the size of a human fetus, about the length of a pen, her bones were as
developed in some ways as those of a 6-year-old.
Ralph S. Lachman, an expert on hereditary bone diseases at Stanford University, examined

her X-rays. He concluded that her constellation of symptoms did not match any known
disease. The scientists reasoned that Ata might have had mutations for a disorder that had
never before been described.
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Sanchita Bhattacharya, a researcher in Dr. Butte’s lab, searched for mutations in Ata’s DNA
and identified 2.7 million variants throughout the genome. She whittled this list to 54 rare
mutations that could potentially shut down the gene in which they were located.
“I was amazed by how much you can tell from the genetic blueprint,” said Ms. Bhattacharya.
Many of those genes, it turned out, are involved in building skeletons. Some have already
been linked to conditions ranging from scoliosis to dwarfism to having an abnormal number
of ribs.
But some of Ata’s mutations are new to science. It’s possible some caused her skeleton to
mature quickly even while failing to grow to normal stature.
Ms. Bhattacharya speculates that such a disorder would have caused the child to be stillborn.
And she stressed that these mutations are, for now, only theoretical candidates.
Other experts concurred. “There is no single slam-dunk finding that explains the bizarre
appearance of this individual,” said Daniel G. MacArthur, a geneticist at the Broad Institute
who was not involved in the study.
Yet understanding what happened to Ata might shed light on skeletal deformities seen today.
That may require engineering stem cells with each of the 54 mutations, growing them in a
dish, and then looking for telling changes in their development.
And Dr. Nolan has heard stories about similar skeletons in other parts of the world. If he were
able to examine them, he might discover some of these mutations in their DNA, as well.
Even more direct confirmation might be possible if researchers paid closer attention to
stillbirths.
Although there are 24,000 stillbirths in the United States alone each year, doctors generally
don’t record the features of the fetuses, let alone study their DNA. With so little data, there’s
no way to know if Ata was unique.
“This could be a trigger to look into more such cases,” said Albert Zink, an anthropologist at
the European Research Academy in Bolzano, Italy, who was not involved in the new study.
While Dr. Nolan began the project as “a lark,” he believes the evidence now requires that the
mummy be returned to Chile for proper treatment as human remains.
“One has to respect these things,” he said.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/22/science/ata-mummy-alien-chile.html
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2. Where did the Neanderthals go? Scientists have proposed several theories to explain the
disappearance of the Neanderthal branch of the human family tree. Discuss with your team:
how would you feel if you discovered you were part-Neanderthal? If the Neanderthals had
survived, do you think “modern” humans could have coexisted peacefully with them?
The last appearance date of Neanderthals is commonly cited as ca. 30 thousand years ago
(ka). This date follows the emergence of modern humans in Europe by several millennia, but
our understanding of the exact timing and duration of this interval is obscured by the
limitations of our dating methods. For example, peaks in atmospheric radiocarbon production
during this time result in a large degree of uncertainty in the relevant radiocarbon dates
(Conard & Bolus 2008). The two species may have coexisted in Europe for up to ten
millennia, and possibly came across each other during this time, although the duration of this
coexistence is debated, as is contact between the two (e.g., Finlayson 2000, Pinhasi et al.
2011). The question of what may have happened during these encounters and what the role of
the early modern humans could have been in the Neanderthal extinction, have been the
subject of intense discussion and a focal point in Neanderthal research.
The Neanderthal disappearance is viewed by some as a true extinction. Others however,

contend that Neanderthals did not become extinct, but instead were assimilated into the
modern human gene pool. The fossil record is ambiguous on this point: a few European
Upper Paleolithic modern human specimens have been proposed as potential Neanderthal-
modern human hybrids, but this interpretation has been questioned (e.g., see Smith 2005,
Harvati et al. 2007). Analysis of Neanderthal and Upper Paleolithic modern human
mitochondrial DNA shows no indication of interbreeding (e.g., Ghirotto et al. 2011).
However, recent research on Neanderthal nuclear DNA has found evidence for limited
admixture: a small portion (up to ~4%) of the genomes of non-Africans so far examined may
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derive from Neanderthals, suggesting that interbreeding probably occurred in the Near East
during the earliest dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, but prior to their arrival in
Europe (Green et al. 2010). Demographic modelling of admixture combined with territorial
expansion, however, indicates that this level of introgression would be produced under very
low (<2%) interbreeding rates and strong barriers to reproduction between Neanderthals and
modern humans, arguing against assimilation (Currat & Excoffier 2011). Pending the
completion of the Neanderthal genome and ancient DNA analyses of early modern Europeans
dating to the Upper Paleolithic, and following the recent discovery of a third possibly
coexisting species from Denisova cave (Krause et al. 2010), it is premature to conclude that
the currently observed level of admixture constitutes assimilation. Regardless of this small
contribution to the modern human gene pool, Neanderthal populations across Europe
vanished abruptly in the fossil record, and several scenarios have been proposed to account
for this observation. Most invoke a degree of competition, either direct or indirect, with
modern humans, or alternatively, deteriorating environmental conditions, as major factors.
Hypotheses advocating competition have proposed several possible modern human

competitive advantages. These include technological advances, such as 1) better clothing and
shelter, 2) improved hunting techniques and more diverse subsistence strategies, which
included the consumption of birds and fish, 3) social differences, such as larger group sizes
and more elaborate social networks among modern humans, and 4) demographic factors,
possibly including differences in birth and mortality rates or in interbirth intervals of the two
species (see references in Harvati 2007). Indeed important differences have been found
between Neanderthals and modern humans in their life history and demography, including
faster growth and possibly shorter life expectancy in Neanderthals (see Harvati 2007, Smith
et al. 2010), as well as a much higher population density among Upper Paleolithic modern
humans compared to Neanderthals (Mellars & French 2011).
The relevance of climate in this debate was until recently discounted, as Neanderthals
disappeared in Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 (OIS 3) when conditions were thought to be relatively
stable (Stringer et al. 2003). Some recent hypotheses, however, consider climatic instability
during the millennia building up to the last glacial maximum to have been a driving force in
the Neanderthal extinction. One model postulates that habitat degradation and fragmentation
occurred in the Neanderthal territory long before the arrival of modern humans, and that it led
to the decimation and eventual disappearance of Neanderthal populations. In this view
modern humans would have arrived in areas previously occupied by Neanderthals after the
latter were already extinct, and the two species would never have met in Europe (Finlayson
2000). A similar model considers the Neanderthal demise as only one of the many Late
Pleistocene megafauna extinctions caused by the loss of an environment with no modern
analogue (Stewart 2005). Support for a significant climatic effect comes from recent detailed
palaeoclimatic records, according to which OIS 3 was dominated by much more unstable
climatic conditions than previously thought (van Andel & Davies, 2003) and may have been
precipitated by unusually intense volcanic activity (Golovanova et al. 2010). Modeling of
climatic stress (defined as the indirect effects of environmental change) based on these new
data found two stress peaks at ~65 and ~30 ka, the second appearing to be more prolonged
and severe than the first, and possibly related to the Neanderthal extinction (Stringer et al.
2003). This may have been precipitated by the coeval eruption. However, as Neanderthals
had survived previous cold phases, it is difficult to accept climate change as the sole reason
for their demise. Furthermore, no association has been found between proposed dates for the
last Neanderthal appearance and major climatic events, suggesting that Neanderthals did not
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become extinct following a catastrophic climatic event (Tzedakis et al. 2007). If climate
played a significant role, therefore, it would be a more complex one, perhaps involving
environmental deterioration in combination with the advent of modern humans, and therefore
with increased competition for limited resources. In this view it is the interaction between the
effects of fluctuating climate and environment and of competition with modern humans that
would have led to the eventual Neanderthal extinction.
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/what-happened-to-the-neanderthals-
68245020
3. Consider the long-awaited discovery of the San Jose. Discuss with your team: who has the
right to lost treasure when it is finally found? Does solving a mystery give you ownership
over the results?
“Holy Grail” of Spanish Treasure Galleons Found Off Colombia
The San José went down in 1708 filled with gold, silver and gems now worth billions of
dollars
By Jason Daley, smithsonian.com, May 25, 2018
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Ask a modern-day treasure hunter what ship they’d most want to find and many would say
they’d give their right arm to discover the wreck of the San José, a Spanish treasure ship that
went to the bottom of the Caribbean Sea in 1708.
Well, as it turns out, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI),
the Colombian Navy, Maritime Archaeology Consultants and Switzerland AG did find the
“Holy Grail” of shipwrecks in 2015, and only recently received permission to tell the world
about the find. The treasure trove of gold, silver and gems it holds is worth an estimated $1 to
$17 billion, reports Lauren Landrum at CNN.
According to a press release an expedition to find the legendary treasure galleon was
launched in 2015 with researchers combing the seas using the Colombian Navy’s research
ship ARC Malpelo. WHOI provided an autonomous underwater vehicle called REMUS
6000, which surveyed the Barú Peninsula during a first expedition in June of that year. The
team returned to the location for a second go-around, locating the San José on November 27.
“During that November expedition, we got the first indications of the find from side scan
sonar images of the wreck,” WHOI expedition leader Mike Purcell says. “From those images,
we could see strong sonar signal returns, so we sent REMUS back down for a closer look to
collect camera images.”
REMUS got within 30 feet of the wreck, close enough to image the ship's unique canons. In
later dives, researchers captured images of dolphins engraved on the canons, positively hiding
the wreck as the fabled ship.
WHOI research engineer Jeff Kaeli was alone in his bunk when images of the cannons first
appeared. “I just sat there for about 10 minutes and smiled,” he tells CBS News. “I'm not a
marine archaeologist, but...I know what a cannon looks like. So in that moment, I guess I was
the only person in the world who knew we'd found the shipwreck."
Now, of course, the whole world knows, but the researchers aren’t giving out many details.
One reason is that the ownership of the treasure is already being disputed by Spain, which
owned the ship; Colombia, in whose waters it sits; and marine archaeologists, who found the
ship. However it pans out, Colombia is preparing for the contents of the ship to be salvaged
and has already committed to building a state-of-the-art conservation lab and museum to
process the wreck, pointing out that there’s much more than treasure at stake.
“The San José discovery carries considerable cultural and historical significance for the
Colombian government and people because of the ship’s treasure of cultural and historical
artifacts and the clues they may provide about Europe’s economic, social, and political
climate in the early 18th century,” WHOI states in the press release.
Per the Associated Press, the United Nations cultural agency Unesco has stepped into the
ownership dispute, and it recently called on Colombia “not to commercially exploit the 300-
year-old wreck.”
You might be surprised to learn that it was a stupid mistake that led to the sinking of the San
José in the first place. Laura Geggel at LiveScience reports that every year, the treasure
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galleon laden with precious metals and gems from mines in the Potosi region of Peru would
depart South America, bound for Spain and flanked by a fleet of warships.
In 1708, however, the escort squadron was delayed. Nevertheless, fleet commander admiral
José Fernandez de Santillan decided to sail the San José for Europe, despite the ongoing War
of the Spanish Succession.
Sure enough, the treasure ship met four English warships off the coast of Colombia. Its 62
highly decorated cannons weren’t enough to fend off the royal navy, and during a firefight
the San José's powder magazine was hit. The ship, which had approximately 600 people
aboard, went down—too quickly for the British to salvage the treasure.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/holy-grail-spanish-treasure-galleons-found-
colombia-180969171/
4. Are lost pets a mystery? How about lost socks?
Lost socks and other minor mysteries of life By JOYCE CHICOINE Sep 5, 2010
Sometimes life has big problems. We all shudder when there is a natural disaster, mass
killings or some other major event. On the other hand, we all have our daily lives to live and
no matter how small there are little mysteries that make us scratch our head and put ourselves
in a stage of bewilderment. True, the world will not end or the house won't fall down but
what about an explanation of how these little mysteries happen?
I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about. Many of us have our favorite type of socks
that we buy and in my case, I prefer white cotton socks which I usually wear with a pair of
tennis shoes. When I find socks I like, I may buy four to five pairs at a time. This means I
should be set up for the season in the socks department. A few weeks later I notice that I'm
missing one or more and as time goes by they continue to disappear one by one.
I remember years ago Jerry Seinfeld did a whole set on "The Missing Sock." I know this is
not a big deal and life will go on, but I wonder where these single socks go. I'm the only one
doing laundry. I check the machines when done and since I live alone it should be easy to
control my socks. Right now I have a whole rack full of single socks.
Once I remember leaving one under the bed at a cabin where I was staying while on vacation
so I called the office manager and asked if they had found a tan sock. They said they don't
keep things like that. It was my favorite pair and I still have the one and that alone seems odd.
We must get attached to things like clothing as I have so many favorite shirts, jackets, pants
and yes, socks. I will often buy new things but they end up pushed back in the closet and I
find myself reaching for the older favorite piece of clothing most of the time instead of
wearing the new ones I just bought.
Another mystery that makes me very annoyed is losing one earring. I only take off my
earrings when I come home or when I go to bed and that means both earrings are left on the
same table or dresser top. The next time I plan to wear that particular pair one could be
missing. I still have one of a pair that was my favorite last summer and I know for a fact that
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both were removed while I was sitting on the couch. I've looked for over one year for the one
missing by taking apart the couch, moving it out to look underneath and searching the whole
room. All attempts have been unsuccessful. I put all the single earrings in a special box in
case the matching one shows up which again is rather strange.
These little mysteries can cause life to be a bit confusing and frustrating. I know some people
reading this column will write to me and say, "Lady, get a life." But there are days when we
wonder about these things. It's not unusual for me to be handling something and a few
minutes later I don't know where it is. I can look for hours or sometimes days knowing it was
never thrown away so where is it? Later when I'm looking for something I just lost, the
previous lost piece shows up. I consider these things a mystery but maybe it's a form of
dementia or a sign of aging. Does anyone else have these issues?
Some people say that if you start from the moment you realize something is lost and mentally
go backward you will find it where you left it. Others have told me they pray to St. Anthony
(the saint of lost articles) and after a short time the lost piece will appear. I'm not sure I
should use up a saint's valuable time asking for the whereabouts of a sock. So I avoid this
method of finding things and keep the prayers for something big like losing an important
document or a valuable piece of jewelry.
Life is full of little mysteries but I suppose if the main problem is losing one sock or one
earring, I shouldn't be too concerned. Now where did I put my glasses?
Joyce Chicoine is a freelance writer whose column appears in Territory each month. Reach
her at runawayjoyce@ aol.com or by writing to her at 527 W. Alder St., C 206, Missoula MT
59802.
Mystery Surrounds Missing Pets By Joel Paris/Staff Reporter Jan 14, 2009
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Pearl Lake Road lies between Odenville and Springville off Highway 174 and in the past two
months dogs have been disappearing there.
Buck Martin calls himself and his wife Serita, “true animal lovers.” They have lived on Pearl
Lake Road for 24 years during which time they have picked up and cared for 43 strays that
have been dropped off. “It costs a lot of money to care for multiple dogs, but we love doing
it,” Buck said. “We make sure the dogs have their shots and rabies tags.”
New Year’s Eve, two of the Martin’s six dogs didn’t come home. After spending the entire
night looking for them, Buck started calling and talking to others on his mile-long road. “I
found out that neighbors were having dogs stolen too. I think there is a ring of it going
around,” Buck said. He filed police reports all over, to Ashville and Oneonta. “I just hope
they weren’t sold to dog fighting rings.”
Blue and Sassie both disappeared that night. Blue is a solid white, medium size dog with blue
eyes and a curly tail that looks like the Huskie breed. Sassie is also medium sized, black and
white mixed color with a curly tail. Buck found her on Pearl Lake Road. “I actually had to
take my truck off road through a fence to avoid hitting her and several other puppies,” Buck
said. Blue is about one and a half years old and Sassie is two. The Martins have contacted the
humane society and have placed posters up all over. “I don’t care what it costs, I want my
dogs back,” Buck said. “There are seven dogs that I know of that have gone missing on this
road in the past year. People are talking and paying a lot more attention now.” The morning
before the Martin’s dogs went missing, Buck noticed what he thought was a white Ford four-
by-four on the side of the road on his property. “I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but
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you never know,” he said. Buck is offering a $1,000 reward for the return of his dog.
Max, Bobby and Shirley Tipton’s two-year-old black Labrador, went missing from Pearl
Lake Road on December 10. Shirley said he was not spayed, stayed outdoors all day, was
very friendly, active and loved to ride. “Someone might have opened their car or truck door
and Max could’ve just jumped in,” Shirley said. “Max is a strong dog and he’s well trained.
He’s really the grandchildren’s dog. They’re so upset.” The Tipton’s began to hear similar
stories on their road, just like the Martin’s. Shirley heard one of her neighbor’s dogs was
poisoned. “I feel like someone got Max,” Shirley said.
Joseph and Juanita Fleming lost their two-year-old black German Sheppard, Bo Jangles, on
December 6. “Bo Jangles is a really big dog, he looks like a wolf. We kept him in the garage
at night, and he never really went anywhere,” Juanita said. Around 5:30 a.m. Joseph let Bo
Jangles out. They called for the dog but he had not returned at 6 a.m. “My husband said he
would come back in a couple of hours, but he didn’t,” Juanita said. Bo Jangles was AKC
registered and was not neutered. Juanita said he would never approach a stranger and he
didn’t like other dogs around his territory. “He had a real deep bark. My husband and I
moved here about seven months ago and Bo Jangles has never ran off or done anything like
this.”
Buck Martin was able to connect with neighbors after they saw his flyer around the area. “I
saw the flyer and I knew something was wrong right off the bat. I’ve been out on the four-
wheeler and I’ve looked all around, and up and down Highway 174 both ways,” Juanita said.
She also noticed a truck that passed by her home and came to a stop days before Bo Jangles
went missing. “A couple of guys took off in the truck when I came out and started calling
him. I didn’t know what they were doing,” Juanita said. Each dog missing from Pearl Lake
Road is a good-sized dog and around two years old. “Some people without animals don’t
understand that they’re like your children. I find myself looking for him all the time. What’s
next? Are people going to start breaking into houses to steal animals?”
https://www.newsaegis.com/news/mystery-surrounds-missing-pets/article_cbeb87ad-63cf-
51c0-b04b-b67c00627cf5.html
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2019: A World on the Margins
Mysteries of the Living

Evolutionary Missing Link
The term "missing link" has been used extensively in popular writings on human evolution to
refer to a perceived gap in the hominid evolutionary record. It is most commonly used to
refer to any new transitional fossil finds. Scientists, however, do not use the term, as it refers
to a pre-evolutionary view of nature.
A transitional fossil is any fossilized remains of a life form that exhibits traits common to
both an ancestral group and its derived descendant group..1] This is especially important
where the descendant group is sharply differentiated by gross anatomy and mode of living
from the ancestral group. These fossils serve as a reminder that taxonomic divisions are
human constructs that have been imposed in hindsight on a continuum of variation. Because
of the incompleteness of the fossil record, there is usually no way to know exactly how close
a transitional fossil is to the point of divergence. Therefore, it cannot be assumed that
transitional fossils are direct ancestors of more recent groups, though they are frequently used
as models for such ancestors..2]
In 1859, when Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species was first published, the fossil
record was poorly known. Darwin described the perceived lack of transitional fossils as,
"...the most obvious and gravest objection which can be urged against my theory," but
explained it by relating it to the extreme imperfection of the geological record..3] He noted the
limited collections available at that time, but described the available information as showing
patterns that followed from his theory of descent with modification through natural
selection..4] Indeed, Archaeopteryx was discovered just two years later, in 1861, and
represents a classic transitional form between earlier, non-avian dinosaursand birds. Many
more transitional fossils have been discovered since then, and there is now abundant evidence
of how all classes of vertebrates are related, including many transitional fossils..5] Specific
examples of class-level transitions are: tetrapods and fish, birds and dinosaurs, and mammals
and "mammal-like reptiles". The missing link is a non-scientific term that typically refers to
transitional fossils. It is often used in popular science and in the media for any new
transitional form that is discovered. The term originated to describe the hypothetical
intermediate form in the evolutionary series of anthropoid ancestors to anatomically modern
humans (hominization). The term was influenced by the pre-Darwinian evolutionary theory
of the Great Chain of Being and the notion that simple organisms are more primitive than
complex organisms.
16
The term “missing link” has fallen out of favor with biologists because it implies the
evolutionary process is a linear phenomenon and that forms originate consecutively in a
chain. Instead, last common ancestor is preferred since this does not have the connotation of a
linear evolution, as evolution is a branching process.
In addition to implying a linear evolution, the term also implies that a particular fossil has not
yet been found. Many of the famous discoveries in human evolution are often termed
“missing links”. For example, there was the Peking Man and the Java Man, despite the fact
that these fossils are not missing. Transitional forms that have not been discovered are also
termed missing links, however, there is no singular missing link. The scarcity of transitional
fossils can be attributed to the incompleteness of the paleontological record (see fossil
record). Creationists have used the concept of a missing link to argue that evolution is not a
valid theory.
The term "missing link" was influenced by the 18th century Enlightenment thinkers such as
Alexander Pope and Jean-Jacques Rousseau who thought of humans as links in the Great
Chain of Being. The Great Chain of Being is a hierarchical structure of all matter and life.
Influenced by Aristotle's theory of higher and lower animals, the Great Chain of being was
created during the Medieval period in Europe and was strongly influenced by religious
thought. God was at the top of the chain followed by man and then animals. It was during the
18th century that the set nature of species and their immutable place in the great chain was
questioned. The dual nature of the chain, divided yet united, had always allowed for seeing
creation as essentially one continuous whole, with the potential for overlap between the
links..2] Radical thinkers like Jean-Baptiste Lamarck saw a progression of life forms from the
simplest creatures striving towards complexity and perfection, a schema accepted by
zoologists like Henri de Blainville. The very idea of an ordering of organisms, even if
supposedly fixed, laid the basis for the idea of transmutation of species, for example Charles
Darwin's theory of evolution.
The earliest publication that explicitly uses the term “missing link” was in 1844 in Vestiges
of the Natural History of Creation by Robert Chambers, which uses the term in an
evolutionary context relating to gaps in the fossil record. Charles Lyell employed the term a
few years later in 1851 in his third edition of Elements of Geology to as a metaphor for the
missing gaps in the continuity of the geological column. The first time it was used as a name
for transitional types between different taxa was in 1863, in Lyell's Geological Evidences of
the Antiquity of Man. "Missing link" later became a name for transitional fossils, particularly
those seen as bridging the gulf between man and animal. Subsequently, Charles Darwin,
Thomas Henry Huxley, and Ernst Haeckel used it in their works with this meaning.
Famous "missing links" in human evolution

Further information: List of human evolution fossils, Pithecanthropus, Archaic humans, and
Homo habilis
A non-comprehensive list of famous fossil finds often credited as the "missing link" in human
evolution.
17
Java Man, the original "missing link" found in Java.
Java Man (Homo erectus): Discovered by Eugene Dubois in 1891 in Indonesia. Originally
named Pithecanthropus erectus.
Piltdown Man: A set of bones found in 1912 thought to be the "missing link" between ape
and man. Eventually revealed to be a hoax.
Taung Child (Australopithecus africanus): Discovered by Raymond Dart in 1924 in South
Africa.
Homo habilis (described in 1964) has features intermediate between Australopithecus and
Homo erectus, and its classification in Homo rather than Australopithecus has been
questioned.[11]
Lucy (Australopithecus afarensis): Discovered in 1974 by Donald Johanson in Ethiopia.
Australopithecus sediba: A series of skeletons discovered in South Africa between 2008-
2010.
Historical beliefs about the missing link[

Haeckel's Chain of the Animal Ancestors of Man
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck envisioned that life is generated in the form of the simplest
creatures constantly, and then strive towards complexity and perfection (i.e. humans) through
a series of lower forms. In his view, lower animals were simply newcomers on the
evolutionary scene. After Darwin's On the Origin of Species, the idea of "lower animals"
representing earlier stages in evolution lingered, as demonstrated in Ernst Haeckel's figure of
the human pedigree. While the vertebrates were then seen as forming a sort of evolutionary
sequence, the various classes were distinct, the undiscovered intermediate forms being called
"missing links."
Haeckel claimed that human evolution occurred in 24 stages and that the 23rd stage was a
theoretical missing link he named Pithecanthropus alalus ("ape-man lacking speech").[8]
Haeckel claimed the origin of humanity was to be found in Asia. He theorized that the
missing link was to be found on the lost continent of Lemuria located in the Indian Ocean. He
believed that Lemuria was the home of the first humans and that Asia was the home of many
of the earliest primates, he thus supported that Asia was the cradle of hominid evolution.
Haeckel argued that humans were closely related to the primates of Southeast Asia and
rejected Darwin's hypothesis of human origins in Africa.[1][9]
The search for a fossil that connected man and ape was unproductive until the Dutch
paleontologist Eugene Dubois went to Indonesia. Between 1886 and 1895 Dubois discovered
remains that he later described as "an intermediate species between humans and monkeys".
He named the hominin Pithecanthropus erectus (erect ape-man), which has now been
reclassified as Homo erectus. In the media, the Java Man was hailed as the missing link. For
18
instance, the headline of the Philadelphia Enquirer on February 3, 1895, was "The Missing
Link: A Dutch Surgeon in Java Unearths the Needed Specimen"
Video links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qnpRjU9ELE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygljRTbxdc4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ny0wyTlyfsc
https://youtu.be/HlmEmR5Grso
Missing Link
https://www.allaboutscience.org/missing-link-faq.htm
QUESTION: Have we found the missing link?
ANSWER:
Many articles have been published by prominent newspapers and magazines stating that
the "missing link" has been found. What this metaphor implies is that chain links
representing current species are connected together by one or more links representing
transitional fossils from extinct life forms to form one or more unbroken chains that only
need one transitional fossil link to complete the chain. This implies that evolution has
almost fully explained how man has descended from the earliest ancestral life form of
some microprobe. Nothing could be further from the truth! The truth is that for the last
150 years, since Darwin, evolutionists have been searching for the first transitional fossil
link out of potentially millions required to explain the entire chain and still have not
found it.
In a slightly different metaphor using the tree of life, the late Stephen J. Gould, America's
most famous evolutionist, confirms this. He stated, "The extreme rarity of transitional
forms in the fossil record persists as the trade secret of paleontology. The evolutionary
trees that adorn our textbooks have data only at the tips and nodes of their branches; the
rest is inference, however reasonable, not the evidence of fossils. I wish in no way to
impugn the potential validity of gradualism. I wish only to point out that it was never
seen in the rocks."
How could so many articles reporting finding the "missing link" in prominent newspapers
and magazines be wrong? That is an interesting question that begs for an answer. It turns
out that all of the assertions that missing links have been found have been identified as
false or discredited. Let's examine the most common ones.
19
Piltdown Man was declared to be 500,000 years old and the missing link. After it became
the consensus of the world's greatest authorities that it was the genuine link in the
evolution of man, it was found to be a hoax. Someone combined an orangutan jaw with
filed teeth with a human skull that had been chemically treated to make it look old.
Neanderthal Man was found in Neander Valley in Germany in 1856 by Johann Fuhlrott.
The find consisted of a skull and several bones. He was portrayed to the world as a semi-
erect, brutish subhuman creature that was supposed to be the "missing link" in the
evolutionary chain to show man evolved from earlier ancestors. It is now believed that
these creatures were real people who suffered from rickets, a vitamin D deficiency, and
arthritis!
Nebraska Man was found in Nebraska in 1922 by Harold Cook. The find was exactly one
tooth! It was immediately declared by H.F. Osborn of the American Museum to be the
vaunted missing link! He placed it at the very bottom of man's ancestry! The curator of
the American Museum of Natural History and Professor of Paleontology of Columbia
University called it "The Million Dollar Tooth"! The London Illustrated Times assigned
an imaginative artist to draw the "ape man" that carried this tooth around in his mouth
some 6000 centuries ago. During the famous Scopes evolution trial in Dayton, Tennessee,
William Jennings Bryan was ridiculed by lawyer Clarence Darrow because Bryan had not
heard of the tooth and other facts of evolution by a delegation of authorities, led by
Professor H.H.Newman of the University of Chicago. In 1927, to the supreme
embarrassment of many, the tooth was discovered to be that of an extinct pig.
Lucy is the popular name given to the famous fossil skeleton found in 1974 in Ethiopia
by American anthropologist Donald Johanson. To many people, Lucy is regarded as
some kind of link between ape-like creatures and humans. According to Richard Leakey,
who along with Johanson is probably the best-known fossil anthropologist in the world,
Lucy's skull is so incomplete that most of it is "imagination made of Plaster of Paris."
Leakey even said in 1983 that no firm conclusion could be drawn about what species
Lucy belonged to.
How can it be possible that many of our great scientists, our best media sources, and
academia are so wrong about the truth of evolution and the facts that support it? The only
possible answer is that biological evolution is a devout religious philosophy that must be
supported at all costs looking for scientific evidence to support it while ignoring the
mountain of evidence supporting the alternative conclusion, special creation.
20
What the heck

Magnetic Pole Reversals.
A change in the Earth's magnetic field resulting in the magnetic north being aligned with
the geographic south, and the magnetic south being aligned with the geographic north.
Also called geomagnetic reversal.
A Closer Look: When magma rises to the Earth's surface at a mid-ocean ridge, it flows out
onto both sides of the ridge, gradually cooled by the seawater. Like tiny compass
needles, the magnetic minerals in the hot magma are at first free to align themselves
with the Earth's magnetic field when the magma settles into the tectonic plate, but once
the lava cools below the Curie point, their orientation becomes fixed. When readings of
the strength of the magnetic field are taken along sections of the ocean floor near such
ridges, segments where it is anomalously high alternate with segments where it is
anomalously low. Anomalously high readings occur because the magnetometer is picking
up both the reading from today's magnetic field and that from the minerals in the rock
that are aligned with it, adding to the total strength of the field, while anomalously low
readings occur when the magnetic minerals are aligned against the Earth's magnetic
field, diminishing the total strength. The rocks that yield these anomalously low readings
therefore must have formed at a time when the Earth's magnetic field was reversed-
oriented in such a way that the north magnetic pole was roughly where today's south
magnetic pole is, and vice versa. These magnetic reversals, in which the direction of the
field is flipped, are believed to occur when small, complex fluctuations of magnetic fields
in the Earth's outer liquid core interfere with the Earth's main dipolar magnetic field to
the point where they overwhelm it, causing it to reverse. The length of time between
magnetic reversals is not always the same, but is on the order of 200,000 to 1,000,000
years; the last magnetic reversal was about 750,000 years ago. Because the pattern of
positive and negative readings is more or less symmetrical about the axis of the mid-
ocean ridge and remains the same throughout the length of the ridge, geophysicists have
been able to construct a calendar of the Earth's magnetic record dating back to as far as
150-200 million years ago. It is not known when the next magnetic reversal will be, or
how long the process will take, though it will certainly have a significant impact on the
artificial and biological navigational systems of humans and animals. These magnetic
reversals, in which the direction of the field is flipped, are believed to occur when small,
complex fluctuations of magnetic fields in the Earth's outer liquid core interfere with the
Earth's main dipolar magnetic field to the point where they overwhelm it, causing it to
reverse.
21
How often do reversals occur?
As a matter of geological record, the Earth's magnetic field has undergone

numerous reversals of polarity. We can see this in the magnetic patterns found in
volcanic rocks, especially those recovered from the ocean floors. In the last 10
million years, there have been, on average, 4 or 5 reversals per million years. At
other times in Earth's history, for example during the Cretaceous era, there have
been much longer periods when no reversals occurred. Reversals are not
predictable and are certainly not periodic in nature. Hence we can only speak
about the average reversal interval.
Is the Earth's magnetic field reversing now? How do we know?

Measurements have been made of the Earth's magnetic field more or less continuously since about
1840. Some measurements even go back to the 1500s, for example at Greenwich in London. If we
look at the trend in the strength of the magnetic field over this time (for example the so-called
'dipole moment' shown in the graph below) we can see a downward trend. Indeed projecting this
forward in time would suggest zero dipole moment in about 1500-1600 years time. This is one
reason why some people believe the field may be in the early stages of a reversal. We also know
from studies of the magnetisation of minerals in ancient clay pots that the Earth's magnetic field was
approximately twice as strong in Roman times as it is now.
Even so, the current strength of the magnetic field is not particularly low in terms of the range of
values it has had over the last 50,000 years and it is nearly 800,000 years since the last reversal. Also,
bearing in mind what we said about 'excursions' above, and knowing what we do about the
properties of mathematical models of the magnetic field, it is far from clear we can easily
extrapolate to 1500 years hence.
How quickly do the poles 'flip'?

We have no complete record of the history of any reversal, so any claims we can make are mostly on
the basis of mathematical models of the field behaviour and partly on limited evidence from rocks
that retain an imprint of the ancient magnetic field present when they were formed. For example,
the mathematical simulations seem to suggest that a full reversal may take about one to several
thousand years to complete. This is fast by geological standards but slow on a human time scale.
What happens during a reversal? What do we see at the Earth's surface?

As above, we have limited evidence from geological measurements about the patterns of change in
the magnetic field during a reversal. We might expect to see, based on models of the field run on
supercomputers, a far more complicated field pattern at the Earth's surface, with perhaps more than
one North and South pole at any given time. We might also see the poles 'wandering' with time from
22
their current positions towards and across the equator. The overall strength of the field, anywhere
on the Earth, may be no more than a tenth of its strength now.
Is there any danger to life?

Almost certainly not. The Earth's magnetic field is contained within a region of space, known as the
magnetosphere, by the action of the solar wind. The magnetosphere deflects many, but not all, of
the high-energy particles that flow from the Sun in the solar wind and from other sources in the
galaxy. Sometimes the Sun is particularly active, for example when there are many sunspots, and it
may send clouds of high-energy particles in the direction of the Earth. During such solar 'flares' and
'coronal mass ejections', astronauts in Earth orbit may need extra shelter to avoid higher doses of
radiation. Therefore we know that the Earth's magnetic field offers only some, rather than complete,
resistance to particle radiation from space. Indeed high-energy particles can actually be accelerated
within the magnetosphere.
At the Earth's surface, the atmosphere acts as an extra blanket to stop all but the most energetic of
the solar and galactic radiation. In the absence of a magnetic field, the atmosphere would still stop
most of the radiation. Indeed the atmosphere shields us from high-energy radiation as effectively as
a concrete layer some 13 feet thick.
Human beings and their ancestors have been on the Earth for a number of million years, during
which there have been many reversals, and there is no obvious correlation between human
development and reversals. Similarly, reversal patterns do not match patterns in species extinction
during geological history.
Some animals, such as pigeons and whales, may use the Earth's magnetic field for direction finding.
Assuming that a reversal takes a number of thousand years, that is, over many generations of each
species, each animal may well adapt to the changing magnetic environment, or develop different
methods of navigation.
I'm interested in a more technical description. Can you tell me more?

The source of the magnetic field is the iron-rich liquid outer core of the Earth. This liquid moves in
complex ways as a result of the convection of the heat deep within the core and of the rotation of
the planet. The motion of the core fluid is continuous and never stops, even during a reversal. It can
only stop when the energy source fails. Heat is produced at least partly because of the solidification
of the liquid core onto the solid inner core that sits at the centre of the Earth. This process has
operated continuously over billions of years. At the top of the liquid core, some 3000 km beneath
our feet and below the rocky mantle, the fluid may travel at horizontal speeds of tens of kilometres
per year. The motion of this metal fluid across existing magnetic field lines of force produces
electrical currents and these, in turn, generate more magnetic field. This is a process known as
advection. To balance any growth of the field, and thus stabilise what we call the 'geodynamo', we
need diffusion, where field 'leaks' away from the core and is destroyed. Ultimately, the core fluid
23
flow produces a complicated magnetic field pattern at the Earth's surface with a complicated time
variation.
Simulations of the geodynamo on supercomputers have demonstrated the complex nature of the
field and its behaviour over time. Simulations have also revealed reversals in the polarity, where the
magnetic North pole is replaced by a South pole, and vice versa. In such simulations, the strength of
the main dipole appears to weaken, perhaps to about 10% of its normal value (but not vanish) and
the existing poles may wander across the globe and be joined by other temporary North and South
magnetic poles (the 'non-dipole field').
The solid iron inner core of the Earth has been shown in these simulations to be important in
controlling the reversal process. Because it is a solid, the inner core can't generate magnetic field by
advection, but any field that is generated in the fluid outer core can diffuse, or spread, into the inner
core. The field generation process (advection) in the outer core seems to regularly attempt to
reverse. But unless the field locked into the inner core first diffuses away, a true reversed field
cannot become established throughout the core. Essentially the inner core resists any 'new' field
diffusing in and perhaps only one in every ten such reversal attempts is successful.
It is worth stressing that these results, while fascinating in themselves, are not known to be strictly
true of the 'real' Earth. However, we have mathematical models of the Earth's magnetic field for the
last 400 years, with early models based largely on observations made by mariners engaged in
merchant and naval shipping. From these models and extrapolating down into the Earth, it is known
that regions of reversed flux at the core-mantle boundary have grown over time. In these regions
the compass points in the opposite direction, in or out of the core, compared to that of surrounding
areas. It is the growth in area of such a reversed flux patch under the south Atlantic that is primarily
responsible for the decay in the main dipolar field. This reverse patch is also responsible for the
minimum in field strength called the South Atlantic Anomaly, now centred over south America. In
this region energetic particles can approach Earth more closely, causing increased radiation risk to
low Earth orbit satellites.
There is much work yet to be done in understanding the properties of the deep Earth. This is a world
where the crushing forces and core temperatures similar to that of the surface of the Sun take our
scientific understanding to the limit.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/magnetic-reversal
http://www.geomag.bgs.ac.uk/education/reversals.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6Ggs7nUjxA&t=150s - Video
-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5sF8GEvj5E – Video
24

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Study Material WSC Regional Round 2019

2019 – A world on the Margins

1.1 (INTRODUCTORY QUESTIONS)

Please go through the descriptions given on unsolved mysteries.

1. Is there a difference between a mystery and an unanswered question?

1. Is there a difference between a mystery and an unanswered question?

2. Are most mysteries solved by individuals, by governments, or by the private sector?

3. Are some mysteries more worth solving than others?

7. Do people who solve mysteries have an obligation to share the solution?

8. How do we deal with questions that we are unable to answer?

Subject: Special Area Cases & Guiding Questions Set: 1.10

Antonio Salas Ellacuriaga, a geneticist at the University of Santiago de Compostela in Spain

Ralph S. Lachman, an expert on hereditary bone diseases at Stanford University, examined

“One has to respect these things,” he said.

The Neanderthal disappearance is viewed by some as a true extinction. Others however,

Hypotheses advocating competition have proposed several possible modern human

“Holy Grail” of Spanish Treasure Galleons Found Off Colombia

By Jason Daley, smithsonian.com, May 25, 2018

4. Are lost pets a mystery? How about lost socks?

2019: A World on the Margins

Mysteries of the Living

Famous "missing links" in human evolution

Java Man, the original "missing link" found in Java.

Historical beliefs about the missing link[

QUESTION: Have we found the missing link?

What the heck

How often do reversals occur?

As a matter of geological record, the Earth's magnetic field has undergone

Is the Earth's magnetic field reversing now? How do we know?

How quickly do the poles 'flip'?

What happens during a reversal? What do we see at the Earth's surface?

Is there any danger to life?

I'm interested in a more technical description. Can you tell me more?

You might also like