brabbit, i had a hankering u were being sarcastic, good job.

and you can't use the 'bigfoot would be easy to find based on anecdotal sightings' explanation immediately after you trump 'laymen and their statistically unreliable anecdotes and then go on to make your point #4 - anecdotes mean nothing...
i was referring to the hypothetical

plus they just found a new big ape species like 5 years ago in congo
thats the congo, and its unrelated to bigfoot sightings. the congo is also one of the most unmapped land on the planet and its actually expected that there exist large species there that have not been found.

95% of the ocean remains unexplored (fact). i do not believe that the lochness monster exists (loch ness is in fact a loch, not an ocean). i just wanted to point out that there is a lot left to discover about the deep blue...
there sure is, but given how the ocean works, we can be confident that we have found all whale-sized animals that come to the surface by now.

i'm confused by your claim that phenomena like ghosts can not exist because they are not scientifically proven and "Our understanding is that science is the only method of gathering knowledge in existence" yet you refrain from considering your own previous statement about the inherent limits of science, that "science is largely about making predictions then using current understanding to discover those predictions." i guess we are both agreeing that if there is no current understanding or practical means in which to discover a prediction, then that prediction will remain untestable within the limits of the scientific method...yea?
i think youre misunderstanding how the scientific method and progress of knowledge works.

the claim that science (empiricism) is our only method of gathering knowledge is true since empiricism is the only way to actually know something, and it applies to every aspect of the universe that humans is able to recognize.

making predictions is an aspect of the scientific method, but scientific knowledge still happens without predictions.