Stanford "Ford" Filbrick Pines[3][10] (born June 15th[11] or 16th[12]), also known as The Author, or simply Great Uncle or Grunkle Ford, is a paranormal investigator and scientist who came to Gravity Falls, Oregon, to study the huge concentration of supernatural activity in and around the town. After spending years cataloging his research in a series of journals, he disappeared into an alternate dimension. His writings were left as the only evidence of his existence. Ford's whereabouts and identity were the central mystery and element of foreshadowing of the Gravity Falls series until the middle of the series' second season when he was revealed to be Stan Pines' long-lost twin brother, who vanished after a fight with his brother caused him to stumble through his own interdimensional portal.[13][1] Ford represents the six-fingered hand symbol associated with the Bill Cipher Zodiac, due to his polydactyly and his journals bearing the same symbol.