Jordan Peterson would say that man’s created mythologies (such as dragons) are hard-wired into humans by very deep biological and psychological processes, perhaps for our daily survival as a species, but also perhaps for some deep metaphysical explanation or representation of our existence and justification for being.
By that logic, Da Vinci never saw a real dragon, but the concept of them exists within all of us
It is likely that people in various cultures DID run across fossils and thus created these beings as something that was real.
Likely “dragons” are due to dinosaur-type fossils and it’s pretty well accepted that the Cyclops was due to elephantine (Mammoth, Mastodon) fossil skulls.
Do not the classic “troll” or “ogre” resemble what we now call Neanderthals? (Taller, heavy-set, enlarged bones and larger skull, heavy eyebrows and a hunched look.)
And photos of a dwarf mammoth skull resemble the mythological cyclops - the vast nasal cavity is seen as a single eye, which do NOT resemble very visible “classic” eyesockets in a human skull.
I recall somewhere seeing a study of what sorts things scare or make infants react when they see them even though they have no prior experience with these animals. The only thing I specifically remember getting a reaction are large birds of prey swooping with talons extended.
Freegards
Did you actually refer to that as logic?
man’s created mythologies (such as dragons) are hard-wired into humans
That explains religions and dragons.
But what about braille buttons at a drive-up ATM?