Comments on: Atmospheric Jellyfish

By: Darius Nauman

Darius Nauman — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 00:27:06 +0000

Hi, I think your web site might be having cell phone browser compatibility issues. When I look at the website in Firefox, it looks very good but when opening in Opera, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!

By: Dekker

Dekker — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 05:39:07 +0000

Hi again Richard, I’m not really sure what you’re saying here. I clearly say that there are a few theories of what these “things” might be and I have clearly called them a cryptid, which is defined by reference.com as “A term used in the study of cryptozoology to refer to a creature whose existence has been suggested but not demonstrated scientifically.” I think perhaps you’re getting hung up on the word jellyfish. This can be confusing if you can’t reach outside of your known definitions. The term was applied by people who’ve described these (unproven to exist) creatures due to their appearance. They may in-fact not have ANYTHING to do with jellyfish, but according to witnesses these “things” LOOK similar to what they remember jellyfish looking like. If they are proven to exist it would be at that time when they are assigned a classification based on taxonomy. I highly doubt that there is an actual jellyfish floating around in the sky, but I’ve posted a few theories about how such a thing would be possible, including that it may be some form of plant life. Once again… just theories and thought experiments. Now let’s address the misrepresented fact you’ve provided in your argument… all historical signs point to the fact that no one who discovers zoological evidence of these cryptids would become rich by anyone’s standards. New species of animals and plants are discovered quite frequently by research teams around the world and they are offered up to a news audience in a small and fleeting blurb after publication of the findings in a journal of applicable science. When you can provide me with a business plan of how you go about monetizing the discovery of an atmospheric jellyfish then perhaps I will entertain the idea of hunting one down provided proper seed financing could be raised to execute the business model. However, I still doubt I’d take up such a challenge since I’m a media maker and not a scientist.

By: Richard Roll

Richard Roll — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 04:45:11 +0000

You wrote as if “atmospheric Jellies” are real, but neglected. If they are real – since their existence is so contrary to everything we know about jellyfish and the laws of nature – whoever can prove so becomes rich and famous. You can be rich and famous.

I suspect that you don’t know or care anything about “atmospheric jellies.” I suspect that you write about them because you think they’re interesting fodder for imaginative speculation.

That’s fine, if you can be honest about it. If you can say “here is something interesting and fantastic (fake)” you are at least honest.

You present this stuff as if it were actually real, which is sad.

By: Dekker

Dekker — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:54:13 +0000

Ha! What makes you think that I’m disinterested in talking to jellyfish experts? As a matter of fact I’ve had some lovely conversations with people at the Florida Aquarium, Monterey Bay, and online. I have a long history in oceanography, so let’s be honest… there isn’t enough hard evidence that these thing exists to make most jellyfish experts interested. You become an expert in something because you love it. Why would a jellyfish expert spend all their time in a high-altitude creature hunt when they could be studying the mysteries of some very interesting animals that still have much to teach us?

By: Richard Roll

Richard Roll — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 04:58:34 +0000

The world’s experts on jellyfish are all on the Internet, and some would probably be happy to hear from you. You can probably find them by Googling “jellyfish phd.”

If asked about “atmospheric jellies” those who respond would probably say that there is no credible evidence of jellyfish in the atmosphere, and some might try to explain how such a thing is unlikely, given the laws of nature as we know them.

You might dismiss their opinion, because you feel that they don’t have sufficient imagination. But, well, you’d think that if anyone would be interested in flying jellyfish, they would.

These guys have lost of free time, and most of it is spent thinking about jellyfish. If they could produce any evidence of an awesome, heretofore unknown jellyfish, they would.

I recommend that you send them email and survey them. This is the least that you could do, before dismissing the jellyfish science community as backward and unimaginative.