Phos Halas (PRO)Greetings! Welcome to yet another edeb8. In recent times there have been plenty of debates about religion, social issues, and philosophical meanderings. Well you know what? It's time to have a little fun and give the edeb8 community something a little out there.
In this debate, I won't have to go fishing for evidence, because I believe my case is strong enough to drown my opponent.
This is going to be one monster of a debate. Will my arguments sink or swim? Let's get to it.
I will provide several lines of evidence that I believe support the belief that there is a large, thought to be extinct creature that inhabits the waters of Scotland's famous loch. I will also preemptively answer some arguments from skeptics.
When discussing the LNM, we first need to define what exactly that is. For those unfamiliar, the LNM is a large aquatic animal that is said to inhabit loch Ness in Scotland. Sightings of this alleged creature go all the way back to the sixth century (more on that later.) The creature is described to look like the following:
A large, humped body
A long, slim neck
A small lizard like head
Four flippers
A small tail that tapers off.
The creature is said to be roughly thirty feet in length.
Here is a common artist rendition of what the LNM looks like.
So first, this is important because we need to know what we are discussing. Secondly, and this is my first line of evidence:
This creature was already proven to exist.
If the description of the LNM was that of some outlandish mythical animal (i.e., a three headed turtle that breathes radioactive beams) then obviously skepticism is warranted. However, every know description of the LNM is incredibly close to that of a known animal. Albeit, an allegedly extinct one.
Enter the plesiosaur.
What that photo shows is the skeletal recreation of an extinct species of marine reptile know as the plesiosaur. The plesiosaur went extinct at the end of the cretaceous period. Now skeptics point out that there is no way a creature that is 65 million years extinct could still be swimming around our waters today.
This is the first skeptical argument I will answer.
The answer is if there was a small community of plesiosaur in loch Ness, it wouldn't be that surprising. Why? Enter this guy:
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/coelacanthWC9-56a256f23df78cf772748d19.JPG)
The coelcanth fish was thought to be extinct for 65 million years as well. However the species was rediscovered alive and well in 1938.
So far, we have seen the LNM matches the description of a known creature. And we have seen that creatures long thought to be extinct can indeed be found alive.
Considering all these factors, and the thousands of sightings and alleged encounters with these creatures since 565 a.d., it is only reasonable to believe that a small population of plesiosaur survived and inhabit the loch and the ocean that it connects to.
Now for some skeptical questions in bold
Isn't Nessie just a tourist attraction? A ploy designed to lure westerners to visit the loch and spend their money?
Hardly. The first sighting dates back to Irish missionary St. Columba in 565. a.d. According to the story, the locals at the time believed a massive creature was inhabiting the lake, preying on victims. St. Columba is said to have rebuked the creature and sent it fleeing.
http://m.ncregister.com/blog/astagnaro/st.-columba-and-the-loch-ness-monster
There is no way creatures as large as plesiosaurs could live in the loch and remain undetected all this time. Even if they could, there is not enough food to sustain them.
Loch Ness is 889 feet deep as far as we know
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-35362644
It is not unreasonable to believe a small population of 30-40 foot creatures could dwell without too much attention. What's more, the loch connects to the ocean in two places.
http://enjoylochness.com/visit/drumnadrochit-loch-ness/about-loch-ness
Perhaps the ocean is where these creatures have survived and lived, but use the loch to travel through.
Plesiosaur were air breathers. If they lived down in the loch, they would be poking their head out to breathe all the time.
I say, hence all the sightings...
Thank you guys!
Return To Top | Posted:
2019-03-25 14:27:46
| Speak Round
Acer (CON)Round Forfeited
Return To Top | Posted:
2019-04-08 16:28:01
| Speak Round
Too bad Acer has a history of forfeiting from what I've seen so far. Maybe they're a bot. Either way, this seemed like a very interesting debate.Posted 2019-05-17 14:41:37
this looks fun. i hope con postsPosted 2019-04-08 15:10:32
I think this is a great topic, looking forward to it!Posted 2019-03-25 20:57:00
To be honest, the loch ness monster may or may not be real. I don't really have a horse in this race, this was more of an exercise in my debating skills to try and make a case for something unique and unconventionalPosted 2019-03-25 14:52:31