5 Reason why Mermaids Can't exist

[AniaR]

Scientists everywhere keep getting pissed off at the animal planet mockumentary. I don't blame them, since they tried so hard to convince people that it was a documentary. I love mermaid lore, and using imagination and fantasy... but I don't think it's fair to make up scientific studies and it undermines ACTUAL issues around Navy Sonar Testing when you say they killed mermaids. -_- anyway here is a great article on it:

http://deepseanews.com/2013/10/fishful-thinking-five-reasons-why-mermaids-cant-physically-exist/comment-page-1/

[Echidna]

http://deepseanews.com/2013/10/fishful-thinking-five-reasons-why-mermaids-cant-physically-exist/comment-page-1/
Eh.
While I had my own issues with the mockumentary, this article goes too much down the "we can disprove this because we know all"-route.
Not too long ago, when fossils were found and the first scientists came up with the idea that earth must be older than 5 thousand years or so, there were very similar scientific "facts" represented why it possibly couldn't be any older
(they were arguing that if the sun were made out of the most durable element then known, carbon, it would have burned out after a few thousand years. Which was correct reasoning for them then, sadly they didn't have all the facts.)

I don't believe in the aquatic ape theory- actually, I do, but I think the end-product of the shallow-wading apes were modern humans-, but I dislike long lists of stuff "disproving" this and that when in fact, humans have barely begun to grasp some of the alien concepts evolution has come up with, especially in the deep sea.

(A few years ago, every scientist would tell you there was absolutely no life in the deep sea, because
1. no light, 2. too much pressure.
That was wrong too.)

[SIF]

:(I agree with Caltuna. While it does draw from the harsh reality of the mass deaths that the sonar testing is causing, the scientific battle about if Mermaids do or could exist is something I do not think should even be discussed. People can believe they are out there if they want to and even if it isn't scientifically backed. Most great ideas that turn into realities aren't at first anyway (like the deep sea bit Caltuna mentioned). The drawing attention thing wouldn't be too bad if the rest of the "Documentary" had been about a currently solid state end result rather than the, currently, fictional "Mermaid" or "Sea Ape" or whatever you call it. Science is only accurate to a current state.

[SeaGlass Siren]

That's what they said about the earth rotating around the sun :P

[AniaR]

that is does rotate around the sun??? lol

[AniaR]

I honestly would have preferred an actual documentary on the history of mermaid lore etc. I mean they do documentaries on cryptozoology all the time, on Nessie, on Champ, etc. They manage to balance out the stories with actual science, and don't blatantly lie to people. I actually had a student at a local university email me about the mockumentary because they believed sonar was killing mermaids. They wrote me a three page email...

[Echidna]

I saw a nice documentary about Champ.
It had scientists and divers looking, and witness reports.
I found it pretty interesting, especially since there's many lakes there that the natives already have pointed out as having "serpents" in them ("serpents" were NOT snakes. Google "horned serpent" for more info, it correlates to many other mythologies actually).


I actually had a student at a local university email me about the mockumentary because they believed sonar was killing mermaids. They wrote me a three page email...

:eek:
the whale beaching shocked me more than all the supposed mermaid stuff tbh :(

[Azurin Luna]

I kinda agree with him, though some of his 'facts' are wrong in my opinion. He said that the mermaids 'plumbing' wouldn't work, I say that evolutionary nature would find a way to make it work. What I do agree with, is that mermaids wouldn't look like the disney versions.

For all I can say, we haven't found everything yet, so they may still be out there, and if not here, maybe on a different planet.

[zapping]

About mermaids, here some pics. I hope you like them... :)



http://www.settemuse.it/arte/foto_sirene/sirene_due_code.jpg http://www.settemuse.it/arte/foto_sirene/sirene_pietra.jpg http://www.settemuse.it/arte/foto_sirene/sirene_drago.jpg

http://www.settemuse.it/arte/foto_sirene/sirene_vaso.jpg http://www.settemuse.it/arte/foto_sirene/sirene_specchio.jpg http://www.settemuse.it/arte/foto_sirene/sirene_capitello.jpg

http://www.settemuse.it/arte/foto_sirene/sirene_mosaico.jpg http://www.settemuse.it/arte/foto_sirene/sirene_legno.jpg http://www.settemuse.it/arte/foto_sirene/sirene_bitonto_piccola.jpg

http://www.settemuse.it/arte/foto_sirene/temi_arte_023_sirene_due_code_grande.jpg


Publius Vergilius Maronis (70-19 BCE) - "Iamque adeo scopulos Sirenum advecta subibat difficilis quondam multorumque ossibus albos" (Aeneis)

[MerAnthony]

I saw read the the link you posted Raina an to me it seems that whoever wrote it didn't do that much research on the subject. For one 2/3 of the oceans have not been explored to the fullest an there are such deep places there that as humans can't go that deep with out being crushed by the pressure. Now when the person wrote #5 he hit it on the head. Yes there is no physical evidence to prove that mermaids do or do not exist. Like take for instance Lock ness monster. There is no proof that it exists but tons of people believe that they have seen it dating back to the late 1800's. An also Champ in lake champlain in NY. There is no physical evidence of proof that this monster exists, but just outside of Port Henery, NY ( where I used to live) there is a bilboard on the edge of town that it says "Sightings of Champ" an it dates back to early 1800's. So It is to my belief that it is possable. People believe that there is life outside our galaxy. An recently we have been finding dolphins an other sea mammals that were thought to be extinct are still alive. So my question is why can't mermaids be real? To me it is just another unknown waiting to be explored.

[AniaR]

They have sonar recordings associated with champ. There's more evidence for champ ( or at least something being there) than Nessie lol

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[Aziara]

Why do people always stick with 'She's half and half, the halves don't work well together, obviously can't exist'? Has no one heard of mammals with scales? Has everyone forgotten this cute little guy? http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/0210.manis_pentadactyla_5_Kadoorie-Farm-and-Botanic-Garden.568.jpg

[Fun123joker]

well i would like to throw out a point herethat you guys are giving a grate example of. even though the documentry was fake, it got you thinking; thats what i love about the documentary. but fake or not...
this f**king scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txgmudo9LMo



story wise: really good

[Merman Dan]

I have been posting comments at DSN for years, now. I'm betting they didn't expect so many mer-minded folks to visit their blog. ;)

I still like the idea of merfolk being monotremes, egg-layers. Some sharks lay eggs (egg cases) and their young have bellybuttons (umbilical scars), so why not merfolk? They do call the egg cases of sharks and rays "mermaid purses" after all.

[SeaGlass Siren]

I like this discussion :3 it's like a treasure trove of information and pseudoscience

[SeaGlass Siren]

that is does rotate around the sun??? lol
Yes!!!

And how there are other planets out there lol


Who knows really if they exist or not. It does make for good discussion though

[Echidna]

I think if they were a material, real species, they would have mostly fish traits- gills, egg-laying, the whole program.
If not warm-blooded, there's also no reason to require fat layers and look like a whale to survive.

However, most historical pictures of merfolk show them with two extremities, which look almost like malformed/mutated legs.
They also tend to hold them in a striking fashion.
It seems to me some deeper, mythological symbol, not exclusively referring to an actual species.

Furthermore, looking at the way they're portrayed- whether with a single fish fin, or two almost squid-like extremities below waist-, something about them makes me uneasy.
Hard to put a finger on it, it's just a hunch, but they have something distinctly alien about them.

[AniaR]

I have to be honest I just think it's funny how much mermaids flips out about mermaids not being real. I mean, furries don't really flip out that anthropomorphic humans aren't real. Faries either or anyone else who dresses up. I'm not saying you have to accept it 100% but people sure like living in denial about it :p and getting angry too. lol.

[Aziara]

For me, it's not so much whether they exist or not. It's just the arrogance of people quoting 'science'. True science is what can be observed, so technically science cannot disprove anything. And I'm pretty sure there's plenty of sea creatures we don't know about yet. Whether any of them are merfolk-like, remains to be seen.

[AniaR]

it's not their job to disprove it though lol it's the job to be proven and so far no one can. We're so obsessed with finding human like creatures. What if Manatees really were the only mermaids all along ;) (just playing devils advocate)

[Merman Dan]

I have to be honest I just think it's funny how much mermaids flips out about mermaids not being real. I mean, furries don't really flip out that anthropomorphic humans aren't real. Faries either or anyone else who dresses up. I'm not saying you have to accept it 100% but people sure like living in denial about it :p and getting angry too. lol.

Ummm..... faeries ARE real. ;)

[Fifi Tigg]

Real or not I don't really care!
Just like the tooth fairy and Santa Claus it's my job as a parent to keep the fantasy and wonder alive! ;)

[Anahita]

Why do people always stick with 'She's half and half, the halves don't work well together, obviously can't exist'? Has no one heard of mammals with scales? Has everyone forgotten this cute little guy? http://s3.amazonaws.com/mongabay-images/13/0210.manis_pentadactyla_5_Kadoorie-Farm-and-Botanic-Garden.568.jpg

This, yes. Why the hell does everyone forget that mammals can have scales? Mammals are crazy, we abide by no rules! (Except a spine/skeletal system I guess...) Seriously, mammals give live births - er, except for a few that lay eggs. Mammals are covered in hair - er, except for a bunch of them that are hairless except for whiskers. Mammals can't have scales -er, except for a few that totally have scale armor..... It just goes on and on.

Honestly though, the "fish" part ignores the most obvious of all things - Ancient people, the first ones to make note of mermaid stories, did not differentiate between marine mammals and fish. It lived in the ocean, it was a fish. Seriously, they thought dolphins and whales were fish, and even to this day, it pervades in some colloquialisms in the middle-east and some modern terms for the creatures (Iran occasionally sees the use of "Noah's fish" to describe a whale, and the word porpoise comes from "porc-poisson" or "pork-fish"). So honestly, I feel that if they did see a mermaid, it's only natural they'd depict that dolphin half scaled, like a fish, because that's what they thought everything was. (they certainly depicted dolphins in a very fishy manner as well)

[Anahita]

I have to be honest I just think it's funny how much mermaids flips out about mermaids not being real. I mean, furries don't really flip out that anthropomorphic humans aren't real. Faries either or anyone else who dresses up. I'm not saying you have to accept it 100% but people sure like living in denial about it :p and getting angry too. lol.

I honestly actually believe they're just dugongs. BUT my issue with mermaids being disproved of has little to do with them being disproved and seems always to lay with HOW they're disproved. Like acting like we know about everything in the ocean so that solves that! Or, mammals can't have scales, nor apparently can they have a tail, so it HAS to be a fish bottom on a mammal top.... etc.

[Aziara]

Anahita totally explained my point of view much better than I did, lol. Here's a heraldic dolphin for a visual. It looks like a fish with a duck beak. http://www.heraldicclipart.com/catalog/Dolphin%20hauriant.GIF

[AniaR]

lol a duckphin!

[Anahita]

Hahaha, the duckphin totally looks like it could be one of those little anime monster things :)

[SeaGlass Siren]

Looks like a fishy Bart simpson

[zapping]

http://www.cinellicolombini.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Pieve-di-Corsignano-Pienza-Sirena-sexy.png

Also, we have a strong relation with water. "The amount of water in the human body ranges from 50-75%. The average adult human body is 50-65% water, averaging around 57-60%. The percentage of water in infants is much higher, typically around 75-78% water, dropping to 65% by one year of age."

Through repeated experiments Dr. Masaru Emoto demonstrated that human thoughts and emotions could alter the molecular structure and crystalline forms of water.
According to Dr. Emoto, water is alive...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d9Nxg2s3MM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnZm1KvlvgA

[zapping]

http://www.cinellicolombini.it/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Pieve-di-Corsignano-Pienza-Sirena-sexy.png

Also, we have a strong relation with water. "The amount of water in the human body ranges from 50-75%. The average adult human body is 50-65% water, averaging around 57-60%. The percentage of water in infants is much higher, typically around 75-78% water, dropping to 65% by one year of age."

Through repeated experiments Dr. Masaru Emoto demonstrated that human thoughts and emotions could alter the molecular structure and crystalline forms of water.
According to Dr. Emoto, water is alive...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d9Nxg2s3MM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnZm1KvlvgA

[zapping]

http://www.musan.it/layout/musei/image/Castelleone%20di%20Suasa%20-%20Parco%20archelogico%20-%20sirene%20e%20tritoni%20-%20particolare%20di%20mosaico%20pavimentale%20dell a%20Domus%20Coedii.jpg


Also, we have a strong relation with water. "The amount of water in the human body ranges from 50-75%. The

average adult human body is 50-65% water, averaging around 57-60%. The percentage of water in infants is

much higher, typically around 75-78% water, dropping to 65% by one year of age."

Through repeated experiments Dr. Masaru Emoto demonstrated that human thoughts and emotions could alter

the molecular structure and crystalline forms of water.
According to Dr. Emoto, water is alive...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d9Nxg2s3MM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnZm1KvlvgA

[zapping]

I saw read the the link you posted Raina an to me it seems that whoever wrote it didn't do that much research on the subject. For one 2/3 of the oceans have not been explored to the fullest an there are such deep places there that as humans can't go that deep with out being crushed by the pressure. Now when the person wrote #5 he hit it on the head. Yes there is no physical evidence to prove that mermaids do or do not exist. Like take for instance Lock ness monster. There is no proof that it exists but tons of people believe that they have seen it dating back to the late 1800's. An also Champ in lake champlain in NY. There is no physical evidence of proof that this monster exists, but just outside of Port Henery, NY ( where I used to live) there is a bilboard on the edge of town that it says "Sightings of Champ" an it dates back to early 1800's. So It is to my belief that it is possable. People believe that there is life outside our galaxy. An recently we have been finding dolphins an other sea mammals that were thought to be extinct are still alive. So my question is why can't mermaids be real? To me it is just another unknown waiting to be explored.

15580

Also, we have a strong relation with water. "The amount of water in the human body ranges from 50-75%. The average adult human body is 50-65% water, averaging around 57-60%. The percentage of water in infants is much higher, typically around 75-78% water, dropping to 65% by one year of age."
Through repeated experiments Dr. Masaru Emoto demonstrated that human thoughts and emotions could alter the molecular structure and crystalline forms of water.
According to Dr. Emoto, water is alive...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6d9Nxg2s3MM


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnZm1KvlvgA

[Mermaid Oshun]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ILSyt_HhbjgWater has Memory

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j51I7YYua_YWater, a Malleable natural computer on EarthI too will listen to classical music while I do art today and surround myself with water which I will pray over and drink all day!
I will also consciously think positive thoughts at all times. If I am accidentally around something that is not so positive, I will drink from my jug of music exposed to beautiful music and thoughts, I will do this not to make myself more attractive necessarily, but rather to make myself a better person, each and every day.
May we try to surround ourselves with as much beauty, love and positive energy as possible each and every day!
I LOVE you all!

[AniaR]

I think it's kinda funny how mad the community gets when someone says mermaids aren't real. How defensive. Whatever floats your boat. There is very little evidence to support the *actual* aquatic ape theory- not the one presented in Mermaids the Body Found. And I think Deep Sea News (a huge organizations of ocean scientists) gets it on the money for *some* of the reasons why mermaids wouldn't exist, and I think there are a whole list of other things too. I think the issue is, they are not going to exist in this half human half fish (or half dolphin) way that has become the cultural icon. If they were to have existed in any point in time, it's likely they'd be one of the evolutionary stages of animals that already exist. If they were mammals I'd expect them to look a lot like manatees, or the earlier versions of whales. Whales still have leg bones even though they have no legs.

I will say though, I do think it's why some outsiders look down on the mermaid interest and mermaid community- because we react a little crazy about mermaids being real. I follow several prominent scientists on twitter and they're constantly complaining about. One of the scientists is frequently interviewed by CNN and other major networks about his responses to most recently blackfish, and in the past shark week and the megaladon shark mockumentary and the mermaid mockumentary. Mermaids have a bad rep in the science community.

P.s. two posters above me- love those posts. I have "be water" tattooed on my wrist. And being someone who lives in chronic pain there is quite a lot of theory around the healing power of water that I enjoy.