by Kayla Nist
The Loch Ness Monster, often referred to as Nessie, is a prehistoric water creature that is said to live in the waters of Loch Ness in the Scottish Highlands. Nessie is described as having a long neck with multiple humps on its back. While the legend of the monster is considered anecdotal in nature, there are a few photos of what is said to be Nessie and a few sonar readings that have turned up minimal evidence (1). The legend of the Loch Ness Monster became popular in the 1900s and is still popular today. Many tourist travel to the Loch in scores to see if they might catch a sighting of the monster (1). The elusive Loch Ness Monster can be considered extraordinary due to the fact that the evidence on it being real is minimal, but many believe there might be something hiding in the depths of Loch Ness.
There is evidence on both sides of the belief. No real proof has been found to show that the Loch Ness Monster is real. Many doubters say that the reported sightings of the monster are obstructed objects or other sea life. Only a few pictures have been taken and none are clear enough to prove there to actually be a monster. Eye witness testimonies are the only so called proof that anyone has to say there is actually a monster in the Loch. The most infamous photo of the Loch Ness Monster came from a London-based doctor. It later turned out that, while the doctor’s status made the photo credible, it turns out that the picture was falsified (2).
While there are no true cognitive contributions to society that this belief can make, it does make for a fun anecdote. Those who do believe in Nessie might not be misinformed, they could just be misinterpreting what they are seeing. It could lie in their perception of what they are seeing. It is a large possibility that they are seeing something that isn’t Nessie at all. Their desire for there to be something unknown in the waters of Loch Ness could be driving their perception of what they are seeing.
There have been many reports of monsters and other large creatures throughout the lochs in Scotland, but Nessie is by far the most famous of the monsters. The high number of sighting reports could be the reason behind the belief. If anything, the wide popularity of the legend is the reason why people still believe it might be out there.
The prehistoric monster of Loch Ness is a popular extraordinary belief around the world. People from all over come to the Scottish Highlands in hopes of a chance sighting of Nessie. While there is no scientific evidence to prove that it actual exists, it is still a widely held belief that it is real.
Sources:
- http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/loch-ness-monster-sighted
- http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/legend-loch-ness.html
I liked how you specifically outlined how people who might have seen the Loch ness monster were probably obstructed views and other sea life, and I think that was important to note when you discuss eyewitness testimonies. Also how anecdotal evidence is a tell tale sign for the entity (in this case the Loch ness Monster) to be an extraordinary belief. I also like how you showed that there is no cognitive explanation that the belief can provide for the believers and non-believers as well.
Love this post! Definitely creative topic. In your research, did you come across this legend across different cultures? I know that Nessie and the Loch Ness Monster are rooted in Scottish folklore, however, I don’t know if it appears anywhere else in the world? I would imagine that if there were sighting similar to the Loch Ness Monster in different areas, it would arouse a different legend or myth as to maintain the validity that Nessie occupies a certain area of the world. Growing up, this was one of my favorite mytholoogical creatures and oddly enough, I had a stuffed animal named Nessie after it!
I liked reading this post because when I think of extraordinary beliefs, this is often one that comes to mind. We have not talked much about this in class, so I was interested to read your post. I like how you pointed out the perceptual errors that might cause these sightings. Similarly to UFO’s, this might be the sole cause of the error in this belief.
Jaclyn,
I think that this is a great point. Perception in the loch ness monster seems like it would be the reason that people think that they see it, when in reality is could be something entirely different. I feel like if someone sees a large, unidentified object, then they might claim it is the loch ness monster. Just like a UFO! Great correlation.
Charlie
Hi Jaclyn,
This is a really interesting comparison. It seems like people might be more likely to “see” the Loch Ness Monster after they have already heard it exists. I wonder what people are actually seeing in these cases, like how with aliens people are often seeing planes, flares, etc.
The Loch Ness Monster is an interesting extraordinary belief. It’s another mystical creature whose evidence for existence is only through eyewitness testimony. I definitely agree with your statement that the desire for there to be something unknown is what’s driving people’s perception of what they’re seeing, especially because we learned about the importance and influence our perception has on how we make sense of what we see.
Kayla, I liked how you made the distinction between being misinformed and misinterpreting. I also liked how you said how their desire for there to be something unknown in the waters of Loch Ness could be driving their perception. I think the more people who believe in this and hype it up, the more it drives people to want to also see it. It is kind of like the ripple effect. If one person claims to see it, how is that going to effect other people claiming to see it too.
Hey Kayla,
I liked how you said ” The elusive Loch Ness Monster can be considered extraordinary due to the fact that the evidence on it being real is minimal.” Evidence is definitely lacking, why do you think people spend there whole life dedicated to this? Also, do you think that it is possible there is a loch ness monster considering humans have only discovered a small percentage of the oceans species?
It is really interesting to know that the picture originated from a doctor falsifying his evidence when trying to prove the existence of a sea monster. The Loch Ness monster is something that I have heard about my whole entire life and it is just crazy to think that a myth can stand through time and be an icon thats identifiable even today.
I enjoyed your post and my favorite part was about the fact that only a few pictures have been taken but are unclear. The few and unclear pictures seems to be a theme in some extraordinary beliefs, for example big foot. I find it really interesting that people can believe in things without concrete proof. Thank you for the post on a topic I really find intriguing!
i always find posts about the under water and sea life so interesting! I say this because i think that has humans especially scientists we think that we can prove everything and in order for something to be real we have to have proof , for me though i just can’t get on board with this mentality because i believe in God but i can’t PROVE to anyone that He is real, but does that mean he isnt? If we took a map of the entire world and wanted to map out how much water human beings have actually came in contact with, it is the size of a pen drop in comparison to the map. In other words, there is so much more water we have not seen and if there is so much more water we havent seen, there is probably so much more life we havent seen either! Now im not saying i believe in the Loch Ness monster, but what i would say is that people have their own believes and if they truly think they have seen under water monsters, whether it was a hallucination or a day dream or the real thing, we truly will never ever know
I’m glad ole Nessie was important enough to make our blog. While the idea of a dinosaur type water creature living in Loch Ness makes for a fun story, it sadly is almost certainly unreal. Loch Ness is only so large, and people have searched its entirety for Nessie. Professional fishers, sea captains, divers, and monster hunters have all made attempts to find her. Unless she can turn invisible, or has a way to escape Loch Ness we really would have found and killed her by now. I do believe in other sea monsters though!
I think that people believe in Nessie and other things such as big foot because it is like a challenge to actually try and find them. It keeps people busy constantly being on the search for these creatures. It also makes for good stories.
A huge amount of the ocean is still unexplored, so I can see how people may find it easy to believe in something like the loch ness monster. If you think of the creepy depths of the ocean that are too dark and deep for humans, it sounds like a pretty prime place for something like a loch ness monster to hide.