AN INTERVIEW WITH ALEX BOESE
Q: Why the interest in hoaxes? Is it simply to point towards man's naivety?
A: I'm pursuing a doctoral degree in the History of Science and Knowledge, so
my original interest in hoaxes came as a result of my studies. I thought
hoaxes offered an interesting perspective on the history of knowledge. I've
never really been interested in pointing out man's naivety; instead, I like
to think that hoaxes show the inventiveness of man's imagination.
Q: What is the kind of feedback you have received?
A: I'm pursuing a doctoral degree in the History of Science and Knowledge, so
my original interest in hoaxes came as a result of my studies. I thought
hoaxes offered an interesting perspective on the history of knowledge. I've
never really been interested in pointing out man's naivety; instead, I like
to think that hoaxes show the inventiveness of man's imagination.
Q: Do you have a 'favourite' hoax that you find particularly amusing?
A: My favourite is the Swiss Spaghetti Harvest.
Q: Did all the hoaxes you mention actually take place? Are some of them
manufactured?
A: There are no 'hoax' hoaxes on my site, I promise. I do, however, describe
some events or phenomena that were originally believed to be hoaxes, such as
the duckbilled platypus, but turned out to be real.
Q: Do you keep in touch with the more recent hoaxes online like, for example,
the world's first pregnant male?
A: My 'Hoax Web sites' section
lists the latest hoaxes on the Internet. Malepregnancy.com
is included in that list. I don't list email
viruses or hoaxes though, simply because most of them aren't very amusing.
Q: Does this interest of yours make you an unyielding sceptic? Do you find it
difficult to take anything at face value any more?
A: Generally, I try to keep an open mind about new ideas, but I have become
more distrustful of anything I receive through email because there's so much
bogus information that spreads through it.
Q: Do you think that human beings have, as a race, grown progressively more
gullible? Do you think are ancestors were a smarter lot?
A: I don't think human beings have become more gullible but I do think that,
because of modern communications, we now have to trust that people we have
never seen or met before are delivering us accurate information. And we have
to do so almost every time we turn on the TV or log on to the Internet. As a
consequence, we are exposed to possible misinformation far more often than
our ancestors were.
Q: Lastly, have you ever fallen for a hoax yourself?
A: To my knowledge I have never fallen for a hoax. But when I first heard the
news that Dolly the sheep was cloned, I initially suspected it was a hoax,
though I was wrong of course. I suppose that shows I'm probably more
sceptical than gullible.