Protoscience - the origin of new sciences

Cryptozoology is the attempt to study rumored animals such as Big Foot and the Loch Ness Monster. The prospects for conversion of this protoscientific field into a mature science seem limited because every time evidence for a rumored animal is obtained, the study of that animal automatically falls into the domain of zoology proper. For example, giant squids were once only rumored, but now samples have been collected and the rumors verified. The radical fringes of cryptozoology are often considered pseudoscience by mainstream biologists. Many cultures have rumors of "Little people". The recent discovery of fossils of Homo floresiensis has been suggested to indicate that human cultures may have preserved a record of interactions with small humans from thousands of years ago.

[edit] External Links

• Wikipedia article on Cryptozoology
• skepticism
• P. Burns links page
• 投込み寺
• "The A - Z of Monster Hunting" by anonymous recommends "cryptozoology should be undertaken with the same stringent and empirical scientific standards and reasoning as other sciences, but with ... an open mind."
• Top Monsters in Cryptozoology
• Wikianswers: "Cryptids and Legendary Creatures"