I think until you prove something either way, the possibly of whether it exists or not remains open. I mean, yes, you cannot prove that fairies exist, and yes, that does not mean that may exist. But neither does it mean that they can't exist; because there is no proof either way. (I'm not saying that I believe in fairies, because I don't. Only that it was your example.) Also, Nessie is much bigger than fairies -- and I don't mean by size. Well the idea of fairies was started by storytellers, Nessie was started by observers and what they believed they saw. She is much more... "tactile". We are now back to the difference between myth stories and legends.There are some serious cryptozoologists out there, but they usually find animals that are not nearly as exciting as bigfoot and Nessie.
Personally I don't believe in them. Saying that there is no proof that they don't exist does not mean much since you are asking to prove the negative.
You cannot prove fairies do not exist, but that does not mean that they may exist.
Some people are liars, others pranksters and others have overly active imaginations. This is the apparatus for such things.
All it took was for one person to think they saw Elvis, and to this day some feel he is still not dead.
Mr. Burns already drained the loch -- and did prove that she was indeed there. She went back to Springfield to work at his casino.I said that you cannot prove that fairies do NOT exist. You can prove their existence: just catch one.
The same thing goes for Nessie. Find compelling proof.
I guess there is always a slight possibility that She may exist, and that we just do not have the evidence yet.
But after awhile you just have to say that it is probably unlikely.
If I drained loch Ness in order to prove once and for all if she is there, and I don't see her, a believer might still say that I proved nothing: she could have snuck out of the loch during the night. This is what I meant by not being able to prove that something does NOT exist: there will always be a loophole that some believer or "open-minded" person will point out. So you have to make a choice as to what is most likely. For Nessie it is unlikely.
Ecologists give reasons why it is unlikely, and the guy who took that famous photo (the Surgeon photo),
finally admitted before he died that he faked the photo.
Fairies are not as different as you might think. There are people who go around claiming they see fairies too. Look at the famous Cottingly fairies.
They were believed in by such people as Arther Conan Doyle. It was when the two girls were very old did they admit that thet created the fairies from paper cut outs.
I really loved Nessie when I was a kid, and I hope she existed. When I later realized it is more likely she is an urban myth propagated for many reasons, I was not too dissapointed. She still exists in a way, through our imaginings of her.
I feel the same way about Bigfoot, chubracaba, jersey devil, UFO abductions and others.
I meant C. Montgomery Burns from the Simpsons. There's an episode where he drags Homer and Willy to Scotland to find the creature and ultimately ends up draining the loch -- flooding the nearby village in the process -- to locate it.Myrddin
I had to laugh when you talked of Burns draining the loch.
Did you mean the poet Robert Burns, and does he have a casino named after him?
Well, all I can say is until it is drained, or until we have some means of gathering hard evidence, I'll remain skeptical.
I will not say that Nessi's existence is absolutely impossible, just doubtful.
It would be cool if there was a plesiosaur lurking down there.