[QUOTE=
My point was merely that there is a continuum of things out there beyond the pale, and that Bigfoot is one of the best of a bad lot, in terms of probability of existing - a longshot, but not the longest of longshots, more likely than sea monsters, mermaids, pixies, and a lost valley of tyrannosaurs.
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When this issue came up in the conversation between her and I, my reasoning was the opposite of this. I found it much more likely that some huge unkown creature lived at the bottom of the ocean or on some unknown planet than right in our relatively well explored back yard (the Pacific Northwest).
I’d have to chose the option where people lie like hell, while walking around in monkey foot snowshoes, probably while on vacation from trampling around making circles in some wheat field.
However, that wasn’t the dichotomy posed in the OP. I felt that dumping on the GF’s ideas while postulating an alternative like “genetic memory” was pretty thin.
The alternative hypothesis:
'People have ideas about big hairy monkey people in the bush because we are moderately sized, moderately hairy monkey people, and the idea of bigger wilder stinkier bastards than us isn’t much of stretch - and kind of spooky when you’re sitting around the campfire" seems more reasonable to me.
[especially when coupled with Pepperlandgirls’ “Hey Clem, let’s dress up like Bigfoot and scare the tourists” ]
There are some who argue that Gigantopithecus was bipedal, based on the shape of a mostly complete lower mandible that was found at one point. But the consensus is that there’s not enough info.
Sorry, I shouldn’t have used sea monsters as an example. Too much ocean, to broad a definition of what is a sea monster. If we find a gianter giant squid, that would qualify.
I’m just trying to say that of the many possible beasties, BF is considered by cryptozoologists - I am not a cryptozoologist - to be one of the less outrageous of the purported cryptozooids. I should have stuck with mermaids as my example of more outrageous stuff.
The other comment was addressed to your counter theory, which I didn’t think was a lot better than your GF’s bigfoot. In my opinion, ideas like ‘genetic memory’ are pretty fuzzy, and lack testability.
As you say, and I agree- “the idea of a large bi-pedal ape on the North American continent sounds preposterous”, however, I would point out that it is at least possible to prove.
Ok ok ok, I know my phrasing contributed to this piling on, but in the OP I said “the idea of genetic memory demands a long period of time to become ingrained in our culture.” and later on stated “What I was wondering about was more along the lines of XTISME’s cultural memory.” I called it genetic memory, not realing that this was the term for a psuedo-scientific idea. Had I called it cultural memory, I wouldn’t be feeling like such a tool :).
My question was how long does it take for a part of our current culutre to become so ingrained and dare I say “hard wired” as to effect generations tens of thousands of years distant?
OK. But I also suspect that such a creature would more likely be found in Southeast Asia than in the Americas. In fact, the discovery of H. floresiensis gives a little bump to the possibility of Orang Pendek being real (or at least having been real in the not too distant past).
In the OP, you said, “I was able to resist the urge to demand she have a hysterectomy . . .” If that’s supposed to be a joke, it’s an amazingly snide, nasty joke. Do you say things that mean to your girlfriend’s face?
I took the hysterectomy thing to be based on the long obsolete medical notion that was a legitimate treatment for “female hysteria”…hence the name of the procedure. People still say “get thee to a nunnery!” after all.
[Hijacking like a motherfuck] First off, you don’t know what a piling on around here looks like if you think this is it. Secondly, I like the cut of your jib, your style and sense of humor so don’t fret the PC police and please stick around. [/Hijacking like a motherfuck]
Well, like I said in another thread, I’ve lurked on this board for years, and was only tempted to post when the Meenie7’s Invisible Friend thing went down. Other than that, I’ve never really felt like I had anything to contribute; there was always someone much more informed to answer a question when one was posed.
And GWB has made it so it’s a choice between paying $14 bucks to post or buying a gallon of gas. I am tempted however…
Secondly, I like the cut of your jib, your style and sense of humor so don’t fret the PC police and please stick around. [/Hijacking like a motherfuck]