george psalmanazar
HistoryComments
he just invented a grammar that looked complex enough to be real.
Does the evidence support a systemic failure of Enlightenment methodology, or was this just a case of a few prominent figures ignoring basic verification?
If the methodology was the issue, did he use specific linguistic patterns to bypass their scrutiny? I am curious if he actually created a consistent fake grammar.
Suppose the scholars of the time had no way to verify Formosan culture without risking a voyage. In that context, trusting a detailed primary account might have been the most logical approach.
Logic is a stretch. He didn't find a loophole; he just played the ego of the experts who wanted to be the first to discover a new world.
It mirrors the later Cardiff Giant craze. People tend to ignore contradictions when a find confirms their existing bias toward the marvelous.