February 7, 2008

Cryptozoology Futurology

future experts

Yes, I have turned up in this new book, What’s Next: The Experts’ Guide: Predictions from 50 of America’s Most Compelling People by Jane Buckingham.

I am one of the fifty “most compelling people” in the country. I’m still trying to explain what that means to my sons. I do like the company I get to keep in the pages of this tome, which has just hit the bookstores.

What’s Next takes cryptozoology seriously. It contains my next decade’s predictions about where I see the field going and what animals I feel will be discovered. I won’t spoil this author’s book by publishing my list of predictions here.

Well, come to think of it, let me share a favorite I’ve stated before, one of several in the book:

Explorers looking for “living dinosaurs” (in Africa) will find evidence that the animals they’re seeking are actually unknown forest rhinos. ~ Loren Coleman, page 53.

wet rhino

A wet deep rainforest rhino photographed in Asia, used to illustrate how un-rhino-like the species sometimes appear.

I thought I would mention the book and have a little fun by opening the floor to what you folks think is in store for cryptozoology’s future.

While you ponder that thought, here is the book’s description from the publisher, Harper.

What will the next ten years look like?

In her role as founder and president of The Intelligence Group, a consulting and trend-spotting company at the forefront of predictions about the ever-elusive youth and consumer market, Jane Buckingham spends her days looking for the telling details in today’s culture that give clues about what our future holds. What’s Next: The Experts’ Guide is the result of her conversations with dozens of fascinating people in a wide range of industries, all giving their highly individual perspectives on the world as they know it.

From education to the environment, from robotics to drug policy, with an emphasis on up-and-coming industries and news-making topics, some of the most compelling and timely matters of our era are addressed by dozens of contributors, including:

Renowned computer scientist Steve Ward, PhD, on the biggest issues regarding emerging technologies, intellectual property, and alternate economic models.

Actors Felicity Huffman and Bill Macy, on the need for new creativity in storytelling.

Campaign adviser Joe Trippi, on how politics will be turned upside down in the next five to ten years.

Latina magazine founder Christy Haubegger, on the optimism and growing prospects of the young Latino population.

Architect Greg Lynn, on how technology is uniting the world of design, from automobiles to art to movies.

Filled with surprising insights and details, What’s Next: The Experts’ Guide also shows how these leaders work, what they believe will be important, and what they think is not worth our time. In a world that seems to be changing faster than ever, What’s Next offers intriguing insights into how we can keep up—and stay ahead.

LCbyCitroAgain

Additional authors among the “50 of America’s Most Compelling People” include:

Loren Coleman, cryptozoologist and author

Tony Hawk, skateboarder

Amy Ziff, travel writer

Shaun Alexander, NFL player

Alan Dershowitz, Harvard law professor

Dr. Joy Browne, radio talk show host

Rodney A. Brooks, MIT robotic professor

dino hunter

What are your cryptozoology predictions for 2008? For the next decade? What new animals will be discovered? What cryptid expeditions will be fielded?

Loren Coleman About Loren Coleman
Loren Coleman is one of the world’s leading cryptozoologists, some say “the” leading living cryptozoologist. Certainly, he is acknowledged as the current living American researcher and writer who has most popularized cryptozoology in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. Starting his fieldwork and investigations in 1960, after traveling and trekking extensively in pursuit of cryptozoological mysteries, Coleman began writing to share his experiences in 1969. An honorary member of Ivan T. Sanderson’s Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in the 1970s, Coleman has been bestowed with similar honorary memberships of the North Idaho College Cryptozoology Club in 1983, and in subsequent years, that of the British Columbia Scientific Cryptozoology Club, CryptoSafari International, and other international organizations. He was also a Life Member and Benefactor of the International Society of Cryptozoology (now-defunct). Loren Coleman’s daily blog, as a member of the Cryptomundo Team, served as an ongoing avenue of communication for the ever-growing body of cryptozoo news from 2005 through 2013. He returned as an infrequent contributor beginning Halloween week of 2015. Coleman is the founder in 2003, and current director of the International Cryptozoology Museum in Portland, Maine.

Filed under Books, Breaking News, Classic Animals of Discovery, Conspiracies, Cryptomundo Exclusive, Cryptotourism, CryptoZoo News, Cryptozoologists, Cryptozoology, Expedition Reports, Media Appearances, Men in Cryptozoology, New Species, Photos, Pop Culture, Public Forum, Reviews, Year In Review