The Definitive Guide to Cryptids

[RolandVT]

В этой теме я буду выкладывать тексты глав моей книги "The Definitive Guide to Cryptids", которую сейчас пишу. Планирую выложить все тексты - созданные ИИ-генератором изображения криптид (по описаниям очевидцев) выложены в другой теме - viewtopic.php?f=7&t=5379.

[RolandVT]

The author of this book has an MS in theoretical nuclear physics from a major European school and an MBA in Information Systems from the University of Texas at Arlington.

He worked in a corporate finance department of a major European investment bank and subsequently for many years was a freelance consultant, instructor and coach in strategic corporate management, business valuation and strategic corporate reengineering.

He developed unique corporate analysis and engineering technologies – and corporate knowledge management technologies. He was always interested in writing fiction and non-fiction; so, after he retired, he became a full-time writer.

He wrote and published (under two different pen names) five non-fiction books – two on business management; one on alternative medicine (self-help) and two on World War II history (one on Wannsee Conference).

Then he switched to fiction and wrote – under several different pen names – twenty-two fiction books. This is his first zoology non-fiction book… whether it will be his last and only zoology book, remains to be seen.

[RolandVT]

I have neither any kind of training nor experience in cryptozoology (or zoology, for that matter) and zoology (and biology in general) in high school was my least favorite subject – I still have no idea how I managed to get an ‘A’.

True, when I was about five years old, I was so interested in dinosaurs (and reptiles in general) that seriously wanted to become a paleontologist (even visited museums and talked to their resident scientists).

But at the age of seven or so, I discovered military history (2/3 of 26 fiction and non-fiction books that I wrote so far are on that subject) … and forgot about zoology for over half a century.

Still, I am confident that I am perfectly qualified to write this book. Why? Because any book on cryptozoology (especially the Definitive Guide) is a knowledge management project. More specifically, knowledge mining project.

More specifically, the author of such books must (1) collect all relevant raw data and information – relevant being the key word; (2) extract the necessary knowledge from them; (3) structure this knowledge in the most efficient and digestible way; and (4) present this knowledge to its readers.

Hence, this is the job for the knowledge management professional. Which is exactly my key area of expertise. And knowledge management tools, methods and technologies are applicable to any and every subject matter – and cryptozoology is no exception.

So I am, indeed, perfectly qualified to write this book.

[RolandVT]

It is a well-established fact that every writer (whether of fiction or non-fiction) usually writes the book that he or she wants to read but can’t find… so he or she has no other choice but to write it.

This was the case will all of my major books (the minor one just wrote themselves… sort of with little motivation on my part). However, this is not the case with “The Definitive Guide to Cryptids”.

This is not the case with this book because I never wanted to read such a book. And for a good reason – I was never consciously interested (and is not interested) in cryptozoology or cryptids per se. Or zoology or even biology for that matter.

I have neither any kind of training nor experience in cryptozoology (or zoology, for that matter) and zoology (and biology in general) in high school was my least favorite subject – I still have no idea how I managed to get an ‘A’.

However, I must still have a subconscious interest in this matter. When I was about five years old, I was so interested in dinosaurs (and reptiles in general) that seriously wanted to become a paleontologist (even visited museums and talked to their resident scientists).

But at the age of seven or so, I discovered military history (2/3 of 26 fiction and non-fiction books that I wrote so far are on that subject) … and forgot about zoology for over half a century. Maybe (just maybe) time has come to do what I wanted to do at the age of five - only in a slightly different field of study.

Still, there (obviously) a far more practical – pragmatic even – and quite conscious and rational motivation for writing this particular book. And this motivation has nothing to do with cryptids… or even with writing a book. Any book.

For almost two years, I’ve been generating pictures (of all kinds) on an hourly basis (I really love doing it – my psychologist was right when she recommended it) using various AI Art generators. Just for fun – with no other purpose at all. After creating 15 000 or so images, I decided that it was time to go pro.

Which way to go was obvious - I decided to create illustrations to books (mine and written by others) using AI generators. And book on cryptids was the obvious and natural choice – every entry in a book or online database on cryptids contains a detailed description of the creature (description that easily converts into a prompt for AI image generator).

So, while usually an artist creates illustrations for the book that has already been written… and I wrote a book to be able to create illustrations for it. Well, I’ve always been unusual – to put it mildly.

The third reason stems from my core (key) competencies – in knowledge management. I have already (and quite successfully) applied my knowledge management expertise to the field of history (The Holocaust, Third Reich, Soviet Union, World War II, etc.) and now want to apply it to a vastly, radically different area - cryptozoology.

The fourth reason is emotional (psychological). In about two years, I wrote more than a dozen books (yes, I am quite prolific) on Holocaust, World War II, and on history of human sacrifice, executions, torture and corporal punishment.

I am no big fan of Nietzsche (to put it mildly); however, this is exactly the case when “the abyss is staring into you”. After I reached a critical mass of books (and posts on social networks on abovementioned issues) … I guess, the stare from the abyss predictably became unbearable. So, I had to radically change the subject for my next book… and cryptids are about as far as you can get from all those.

And, last but not the least, I just want to write the best book on cryptids and cryptozoology there is. In the next section, I will explain why I am confident that this book is exactly that – the best one on the market on this subject.

[RolandVT]

Contrary to a widespread (and incorrect) belief, cryptids and cryptozoology are highly complicated subject areas. I am familiar with all major books and databases on cryptids and/or cryptozoology and, alas, they leave a lot to be desired. Any one of them creates highly primitive, simplistic and limited (and thus highly inaccurate, distorted and inadequate) perception of cryptids and cryptozoology.

For starters, there are four theories of what cryptids really are – and every book presents just one of the two (which one, depends of whether it was written by a believer or a skeptic).

Second, there are five (four plus one, to be more precise) kinds of cryptozoology - and any book presents… again, just one of the two (which one, depends of whether it was written by a believer or a skeptic).

Third, the “universe of cryptids” described in these books, is poorly structured (if structured at all) and thus is usually… well, a mess. Fourth, the description of each and every cryptid in these books is… well, the same. Messy, to put it mildly. Messy and incomplete (often highly incomplete).

And, finally, there is little – if any – analysis (let alone thorough investigation) of each cryptid case. No verdict is passed on what exactly are we dealing with in the case in question: a real animal, an extinct animal, an honest delusion, a deliberate deception (myth/legend) … or something else? And if passed, it is seldom (if ever) supported by sufficient facts/logic/common sense.

My book is free of all these deficiencies – and thus is far, far more valuable to its reader than any other. Which makes it the best book on cryptids and cryptozoology on the market by far. And thus, was worth writing – and definitely worth reading.

[RolandVT]

Like every writer, I wrote this book for myself, of course. But not only for myself – I wrote it for everyone interested in cryptids and cryptozoology – either professionally or just for fun (or both).

These days – thanks to X-Files and similar TV series and movies - cryptids and cryptozoology are well-known and quite popular. Hence, I am firmly convinced that every professional zoologist must be well-versed in these subjects – so this book is intended for zoology professors, instructors, teachers and students as well.

[RolandVT]

Although this book covers the basics of cryptozoology (more precisely, of all five kinds of one), it is The Definitive Guide to Cryptids. Hence, it belongs to the genre of investigative journalism.

Belongs for a simple and fundamental reason: the objective of cryptozoology as a science (Cryptozoology I, according to my classification) is to collect all relevant info on every cryptid, mine knowledge out of it, analyze this knowledge, determine which type and which category the cryptid in question belongs to – and present this verdict (together with supporting knowledge and analysis) to the reader.

And that’s precisely what I am doing in this book.

[RolandVT]

With project of this magnitude, it is impossible to study the primary sources of information. Hence, all raw information – from which knowledge is mined – comes from secondary sources: books (online and offline); online articles and posts and online databases on cryptids and cryptozoology.

[RolandVT]

Structure and logic of this book are pretty straightforward – and exactly what they should be for The Definitive Guide… to anything. My background in in investment banking (corporate finance), this is non-fiction… so I’ll start with Executive Summary (another unique and decisive advantage of my book).

The book proper will consist of ten chapters. The first chapter will cover the very basics of cryptozoology. First, I will list and define four types of cryptids, seven categories of cryptids and five kinds of cryptozoology.

Then I will cover five kinds of cryptozoology (yes, there are five – not one): first Scientific Cryptozoology; then Cryptozoology as Mythology (these two are the best known – but not the only ones); Occult Cryptozoology and Cryptozoology of Ultraterrestrial Beings based on Interdimensional Cryptid Hypothesis. And then the last one (which only pretends to be cryptozoology): Cryptozoology Industry.

In the next two sections, I will cover two important topics: cryptozoology infrastructure (these days, it is quite extensive) and brief history of cryptozoology. After that, I will present the most important (and practical) part of this guide: How to Investigate Cryptid Cases the right way (alas, very few cryptozoologists do).

This mini-guide will be followed by two critically important issues in cryptozoology – the concept of Minimum Viable Population (surprisingly, very few cryptozoology books even mention it) and the issue of timing of cryptid sightings.

The second chapter will be devoted to top five cryptids (in my not-so-humble opinion). Loch Ness Monster, Chupacabra, Mothman of Point Pleasant, Jersey Devil and Megalodon. The reason for choosing these five is obvious: they’ve been promoted by the most popular movies and TV episodes that feature cryptids. Promoted so successfully that they became household names.

The next seven chapters will cover seven categories of cryptids. Ex-Cryptids (recently discovered animals that were cryptids for decades and even centuries); Credible (cryptids that are likely to be discovered in flesh and blood); Living fossils and other extinct animals (yes, they are really extinct); Not in Flesh and Blood (self-explanatory), Wild Men (these deserve their own category); Demonic (demons in animal form – yes, these do exist) and, finally, purely mythological animals (werewolves, mermaids and the like).

The ninth chapter is devoted to Special Cases (the most important being the Beast of Gevaudan) and will be followed by Conclusions, Appendices and Bibliography.

[RolandVT]

By definition, a cryptid is an animal or a “wild man” (intermediate species between an ape and Homo sapiens) whose existent has not been proven beyond the reasonable doubt. In other words, there is no compelling evidence that it exists.

What constitutes such evidence? The best evidence is, obviously, the captured live specimen followed by a recently deceased body, skeleton, bone(s) and anybody part from which a DNA can be extracted. DNA that will prove beyond the reasonable doubt that we are dealing with new animal species.

There is nothing from this list for any cryptid (that’s exactly why it is called a cryptid) – only reports of sighting(s) of the creature in question. Hence, for now, a cryptid is only a thoughtform that may or may not exist in flesh and blood.

The first type of a cryptid are the ones that do (and one day – hopefully – will be officially discovered by the science of zoology). In other words, one of these days a live specimen will be captured (or another compelling evidence will be obtained).

The second type (obviously) are the ones that do not. In other words, those that are myths. Legends. Based on either honest delusions (illusions, misidentifications) or hoaxes perpetrated for money or fame (or both).

The third type are apparitions. Ghosts. Spirits. Specters. Phantoms. Intangible spiritual entities in animal form (they look like animals – but are not animals in flesh and blood).

And, finally, the fourth type. The most interesting ones (IMHO). Ultraterrestrial cryptids. Like apparitions, these are intangible spiritual entities; but, unlike apparitions, these are visitors not from the invisible, intangible spiritual world – but from parallel universe(s). Thus, these cryptids are fundamentally identical to UFOs (only look differently) … if you accept the interdimensional UFO hypothesis (many prominent ufologists do).

Type I cryptids are studied by scientific cryptozoology; Type II – by mythological (branch of mythology and folklore studies that deals with cryptid myths); Type III – by occult cryptozoology; and Type IV – by ultraterrestrial cryptozoology.

Hence, the fundamental objective of cryptozoology in general is (1) study the thoughtform in question – reports, environment and circumstances of its alleged sightings; (2) identify the type that the entity in question belongs to; and (3) further study this entity using the tools and methods of the appropriate branch of cryptozoology.