Mythical Creatures and Other Fully Explainable 'Unexplainable Phenomena' - by Queue
Queue on 14/9/2013 at 00:09
So can the video below be filed under the heading: "Redneck has no idea what he shot, but shot it anyway by God"...
[video=youtube;wyMggg2eaoY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyMggg2eaoY[/video]
... instead of "Hunter Kills Chupacabra"?
I mean, even in light of a rational explanation, the man has nothing to do with it, insisting that what he killed was indeed the mythical Chupacabra, and not just a mangy coyote.
(more to come in next post, because I can't post two embedded videos at a single time)
Queue on 14/9/2013 at 00:16
How about this one, could it be titled, "It's a Drop of Water on the Lens, You Fucking Morons"...
[video=youtube;JxU55GJ0r-4]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxU55GJ0r-4[/video]
... instead of, "UFO Spotted Hovering Over a Pool"?
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So here's the the thing, what do you believe? These people obviously believe that UFOs and mythical beasts abound. But what about you, do you believe in the existence of alien spacecraft, Bigfoot, ghosts, goblins, magic, etc? For in my mind, belief in all of these are the product of too many people who have either lost their ability to think critically (or never had the ability in the first place) and go for the easiest most fantastical answer because, dammit, Aunt Gladys haunting you because no one liked all the Christmas fruitcakes and the Abominable Snowman wanted your stamp collection makes more sense.
demagogue on 14/9/2013 at 01:11
The boring answer is usually the right one. Or extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, as they say, because sometimes it turns out reality really is sensationally bizarre, cf Quantum Theory, but people only accept it after it reaffirms itself over & over and there's no other explanation. (Edit: And from the books I've read, our worldview is only going to get more bizarre... whether String Theory is right or not, either way it's going to be mindblowing stuff. Have you ever thought about what the holographic principle really means about the nature of reality?)
The existence of extraterrestrial life is hardly a fringe position anymore though; just statistically speaking it'd be bizarre if there weren't any. But I'd agree that the claim they've been visiting the earth for a while now already is a leap. Our radio signals have only even been propagating out for like 80 years, which only covers a few hundred stars, not many of which are good life-harboring candidates.
Sorry, what are we talking about here? Is there something to actually argue here? I guess one could push it further & notice that conspiracy theories are also everywhere when people talk about the government or big business... Even people that don't normally wear tinfoil hats can get goaded into the rhetoric. Every politician & bank CEO is conspiring to enslave us; every Monsanto employee to poison us. There's political action and market forces to be sure, but... actually the whole point is you look at those forces & how they're actually working and not gum up a cheap "It's a conspiracy!" answer every damn time like a reflex.
henke on 14/9/2013 at 18:28
This isn't the first time this has happened. On the (
http://www.skeptic.com/podcasts/monstertalk/11/03/02/) MonsterTalk episode about the Chupacabra they talked about some farmer who had shot one, only for it to turn out that it was a diseased coyote.
Anyway, all this cryptozoology stuff is fascinating. Even if there is no Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot I love hearing the stories about them, so I'm glad there are people out there who will 100% believe this stuff and propagate it.
Queue on 15/9/2013 at 00:13
On second look, I have no fucking idea what any of this babbling on my part is about.
A fourth mini-stroke, possibly?
CCCToad on 15/9/2013 at 00:15
Quote Posted by Queue
On second look, I have no fucking idea what any of this babbling on my part is about.
A fourth mini-stroke, possibly?
It's a normal reaction when one is attempting to appear intellectual in order to appeal to the sensibilities of snobs.
Queue on 15/9/2013 at 00:20
So not believing in elves is "snobbish"?
... or leprechauns:
[video=youtube;nda_OSWeyn8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nda_OSWeyn8[/video]
SD on 15/9/2013 at 03:50
Chupacabra, meh, when they start building shrines to it and singing songs and writing epic texts about it, then I'll think they're crazy.
