Thought I'd veer off of the political path for something a bit more lightweight, although I am sure that some people have strong feelings either way about this subject, so I kept it in here. The Loch Ness Monster....Sasquatch...the Abominable Snowman...Bigfoot...virtually every part of the world has legendary monsters; creatures who remain outside of the realm of scientific proof, usually large and terrifying, almost always in remote areas. Easy for us to dismiss in this age of reason, but are we outthinking ourselves? Troy was a myth for hundreds of years, and any historian would have ended his career by pursuing it...until an outsider did, and found it. Camelot was a work of fiction, we thought, but recent discoveries in Somerset and Cornwall seem to suggest that there may be more than myth to the story of Arthur...a huge carnivorous ground dwelling primate was recently discovered in the Congo region of Africa which would have previously been seen as almost impossible. We constantly rewrite the books on what is mythical and what is real. To someone who had never visited Africa before photography, a giraffe must have seemed a ridiculous work of some child's imagination. An elephant, when described to someone for the first time seems proposterous. We discovered dragons in the 20th century. Can we be so smug about the extent of our learning? Where we once dismissed giant squids we now deem them likely. But most of us, I'll wager, probably scoff at the idea that Nessie exists. We haven't caught Yetti, so most of us conclude he does not exist. Despite popular susupicion, millions upon millions have been spent on scientific research in the hopes of finding these creatures, and that continues. More still are spent every year by curiosity seekers and tourists ghoping to cathc a glimpse of a real life monster. Who is on the right side of the fence, the disbelievers or those who maintain their fascination with the unproven? What I would like to hear are arguments for or against the existence of any of these monsters, or others I failed to mention. If anyone wants to include descriptions of other monsters, local ore or from other parts of the globe, I would appreciate it. I myself neither believe nor disbelieve, but if I had to say I would probably side with the latter. That said, I don't beleive that we can say for sure that none of these exist, and the recent discovery in the Congo could even be stretched to relate to Bigfoot or Sasquatch, or at least a distant cousin. I will say that no one misses more than the person who believes he already has all the answers. So let's hear the arguments...are they out there? Does anyone know anyone who claims to have seen any of these? Could we be so lucky as to have someone among us on the BBS who has? I don't know whether monsters exist or not, but it would sure be a more exciting planet if they do.
I believe in God and I believe in monsters because it's more fun than not believing. Loch Ness, Yeti, I believe in them all. Why not?
I could go on and on (as I have before) about all this interesting type of stuff. I hate to call creatures that might fit a cryptozoological description a monster. The creatures I believe that have the strongest possibility of existing are the Yeti-- do to the utter remoteness of the Himalayan mountains. I don't think there is any kind of Sasquatch or Bigfoot in N. America, there has been to way too much human presence for there never have been any real concrete discoveries. There is currently a serious research team going to some uncharted areas of the Himalayans to search for the Yeti-- quite an adventure. I think there is a possibility of a Loch Ness type creature , because of the extreme depth and age of the lakes (Lochs) they are said to inhabit. Alot of that is just for the tourist trade though-- of that i'm sure. It is wise however to listen to the legends of the local population-- in fact it wasn't long ago that the KingCheetah was nothing more than a legend. Now they have become rabid Rockets fans and have learned to type and communicate in English.
The only monster here is the gambling monster that has enslaved your mother. I call him Gamblore! Monsters are pretty cool to believe in. I'm sure there's stuff in this world that is waiting to be discovered, but i'm not sure if 'monster' is the right word to describe them.
I think the discovery of the Coelacanth (sp?) can justify anyone's belief in extinct creatures still roaming the earth. It's a big world.
Yes, absolutely. I want to believe in them all because it so stretches our assumptions about the world. MacBeth, do you have a convenient link regarding the recent discovery in the Congo? It really irks me when people go to so much trouble to fake these sightings. Some of the eyewitness accounts are absolutely convincing.. and then there are the attention-seekers!
i dont believe in that crap.. Waste of time and energy... its like believing in Santa Claus...might be fun, but in the end, you feel like a fool...
reallyBaked -- i'm not sure it's that simple...science has told us that certain creatures have been extinct for decades..for centuries...then one swims up to the surface and we all go, "oh...it is still alive...how 'bout that?" i think there's far more out there we know nothing about.
Has anyone heard of a Compassionate Conservative? Rumor has they roam central Texas and have a foul odor. No one has actually ever seen one though.
oh i agree, that what we don't know is more than what we know.. but i dont believe there is a giant lizard living in Loch Ness, or there is a Bigfoot roaming Washington's backcountry... these "monsters" are myths... Its one thing to discover some exoctic fish that we thought was extint, quite another to discover a large-bodied mammal... Who knows how much money is spent every year on "research" looking for evidence of these myths. We have children living in poverty everyday in this country, I am just saying there is a better allocation of those resources...
Is the government funding searches for these things? I don't think so. And if private people/organizations want to search for them, that's their choice and I salute them for it. There are children living in poverty, but that doesn't mean that you stop searching, exploring, and learning about the world around us. Kinda strange that this came up, I was thinking about starting a UFO thread just the other day.
I can think of a few areas of legit science that could use more funding (private or public) that actually effect our lives and could make our lives better than looking for Loch Ness I'm not advocating abandoning the exploration of our living world, I am saying explore a cure for lukemia (sp?), explore how to be more efficient in food production...explore how to develop cleaner energy sources...these things will increase our Quality of Life.. ...finding a pile Bigfoot crap in the woods doesnt benefit anyone
Throughout my travels of the world I have indeed discovered the elusive Yetti-Stoner. He said his name was ReallyBaked and smelled of a distinct herb from the region.
I don't know about the aforementioned mythic monsters. However, I do think that the ocean will continue to produce creatures that will blow our imagination. The ocean is such an unknown variable in the scientific community. I can sit and stare out to the ocean for hours on end and wonder what's out there.
Does the public fund any of this? I do not believe so and no one has posted anything that says we do. If someone else wants to put their own money into finding it, that's their choice. It's called freedom. And I think the amount of money put into finding a cure for cancer by private industry would dwarf the amount of money they spend on finding Bigfoot. I just don't know what you're complaining about.
