The Curse of Oak Island

[mr. tegu]

Has anyone else started watching this show? I am a sucker for this kind of thing and so far it has been very interesting. You can watch the first two episodes in the link below. Since this was filmed over the summer, if any of you have figured out what happens please use spoilers for anything that hasn't aired yet.

http://www.history.com/shows/the-curse-of-oak-island

For those who aren't familiar, very briefly, it is about an island on the eastern shore of Canada that is rumored to have buried treasure from possibly the Knights Templar dating back to the 1300s. In 1795 an apparent secret hiding space was discovered in which levels of wooden planks were buried every 10 feet. Digging down around a hundred feet, they found some gold link chain and a few other things. Eventually they dug to a point that causes the hold to be flooded by sea water as if it was some sort of boobie trap, which is believed to come from some type of tube that is out in the ocean.

Another person in the 1970s dug alongside the original hole but also got his hole flooded by sea water. These guys now who are on the show purchased most of the island and are trying to solve the mystery with help from the guys who dug their own hole in the 1970s. The hole curse aspect is just kind of meh and I don't really pay attention to it, but I am sure the producers just like the added element it presents. The mystery and adventure is really interesting. It is nice to see a show like this that is actually producing some results so far.

[Easy 6]

Originally Posted by Fish

Yeah, things would be so much easier for me if I'd simply believe every bullshit claim people make without any evidence. I envy you. My stupid insistence of proof and validity is such a downer sometimes.

Yep, pieces of eight just fall from the sky all of the time, nothing to see here people.

All of these people that have made themselves millionaires who've done they're homework on that place and think theres something worth pursuing are fools! fools I say!

[mr. tegu]

Why are people dismissing the coin as nothing? Did you expect them to just find some ancient treasure right away? As has been pointed out, this is a private venture costing a lot of money. They did a broad sweep of the island to try to find something and they actually did find something which is a pretty significant clue.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by BourbonMan

I hate the way they're dragging this out. They start investigating something and then they go and find something else. Oh, lets look at 10X...Wait, there is coconut fiber in the lagoon..Wait, there is a mysterious rock standing str8 up..Wait lets drain the swamp...The whole time abandoning what they had previously started...

Would you rather they spend an entire episode on something that provided no results? They could have easily spent an additional episode scouring the trash can filled with material from 10x that they were pumping out of the hole which apparently provided no evidence. I for one am glad they didn't do that.

[BourbonMan]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Would you rather they spend an entire episode on something that provided no results? They could have easily spent an additional episode scouring the trash can filled with material from 10x that they were pumping out of the hole which apparently provided no evidence. I for one am glad they didn't do that.

No, but they never mentioned why they never returned or pursued what they had started, except for the whole swamp thing.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by BourbonMan

No, but they never mentioned why they never returned or pursued what they had started, except for the whole swamp thing.

My guess is that nothing of significance was found. In that case the producers probably thought it best to just leave it alone instead of scaring off viewers by coming right out and saying they didn't find anything. Or, perhaps they still plan to come back to it now that they have seemingly done a preliminary sweep of the island.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Fish

Yeah, things would be so much easier for me if I'd simply believe every bullshit claim people make without any evidence. I envy you. My stupid insistence of proof and validity is such a downer sometimes.

Why do you abandon this skepticism and insistence on proof when the subject is the Catholic Church and allegations of child molestation? I think I know why.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Why are people dismissing the coin as nothing? Did you expect them to just find some ancient treasure right away? As has been pointed out, this is a private venture costing a lot of money. They did a broad sweep of the island to try to find something and they actually did find something which is a pretty significant clue.

When it comes to reality TV, I don't think you can dismiss the possibility that this discovery was fabricated for the purpose of making a more interesting show. I'm not saying that that's the case, but we should be aware by now that reality TV is often not really real.

[aturnis]

I agree Pat. It was funny how he found it sitting so close to the surface of the muck.

[hometeam]

Originally Posted by patteeu

When it comes to reality TV, I don't think you can dismiss the possibility that this discovery was fabricated for the purpose of making a more interesting show. I'm not saying that that's the case, but we should be aware by now that reality TV is often not really real.

I was telling the same thing to my girlfriend. I am skeptical until is been peer reviewed.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by hometeam

I was telling the same thing to my girlfriend. I am skeptical until is been peer reviewed.

Until what has been peer reviewed? The coin? The process of discovery?

[Fish]

Originally Posted by patteeu

Why do you abandon this skepticism and insistence on proof when the subject is the Catholic Church and allegations of child molestation? I think I know why.

Geez, pat is that thread really bothering you this much?

FYI... the evidence in one case is considerably greater than the other. But you know that.

[hometeam]

Originally Posted by mr. tegu

Until what has been peer reviewed? The coin? The process of discovery?

Both.

There is always the chance the coin could have been planted by the crew and claimed to have been discovered. At least I would feel more confident about it if the coin was proven to be true, NOT by being shown on the show.

Hell, every reality show is bullshit, why not this one?

I am a skeptic through and through, and being skeptical of a reality show is quite easy in its own right.

Im not saying its definitely fake. I just don't believe it without scientific process in place~

Regardless, what I think does not matter, it is what it is.

[patteeu]

Originally Posted by Fish

Geez, pat is that thread really bothering you this much?

FYI... the evidence in one case is considerably greater than the other. But you know that.

No, but this was a perfect opportunity to point out the two Fishes. One is highly skeptical and requires proof. The other accepts the most undefined of allegations and assumes the worst case. The difference between your skepticism in one case and your blind faith in the other isn't explainable by a difference in evidence because you don't know what the evidence is in the latter case.

But now that I've made that side point, I'll leave this topic out of this thread.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by patteeu

No, but this was a perfect opportunity to point out the two Fishes. One is highly skeptical and requires proof. The other accepts the most undefined of allegations and assumes the worst case. The difference between your skepticism in one case and your blind faith in the other isn't explainable by a difference in evidence because you don't know what the evidence is in the latter case.

But now that I've made that side point, I'll leave this topic out of this thread.

The most undefined of allegations? That's what you think of the Catholic Church situation? That's just silly pat. 362 allegations over 50 years. You're downplaying the validity of hundreds of child molestation accusations and comparing that to the search for pirate booty that resulted in coconut fibers and a coin.

I would have thought this beneath you.

[mr. tegu]

Originally Posted by hometeam

Both.

There is always the chance the coin could have been planted by the crew and claimed to have been discovered. At least I would feel more confident about it if the coin was proven to be true, NOT by being shown on the show.

Hell, every reality show is bullshit, why not this one?

I am a skeptic through and through, and being skeptical of a reality show is quite easy in its own right.

Im not saying its definitely fake. I just don't believe it without scientific process in place~

Regardless, what I think does not matter, it is what it is.

What scientific progress will confirm the coin wasn't planted there? Should some independent researcher go out there and try to replicate the find? What you are asking for doesn't really make sense.

I wouldn't call this a reality show. I would call it a produced/edited exploration documentary. There is no reason for them to get the coin or process of finding it further analyzed when as far as we know, they know it was legitmately found there. Lets not forget, when something needed verification, they went out and got in the form of cocunut fiber from the 14th or 15th century. They are investing their own private money and want to do it right.