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fandomhigh2018-01-03 04:13 am
arboreal_priestess) wrote in fandomhigh2018-01-03 04:13 am
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The Cryptozoologist's Field Guide, Wednesday, Per 1
Even if Verity hadn't been addicted to coffee on the regular, there was no way she would have been able to have her first class without an over-large cup of it this morning. Her evening before had been spent going over her notes, questioning her capability to teach such a course, and then remembering the class she'd heard about last semester, which had gotten her to dive back into the material again.
Rival-teaching: great for the pedagogy, terrible for the sleep cycle.
"Hi," she said, when all the students had filed in. "So, this is The Cryptozoologist's Field Guide, and I'm Verity Price. I come from a long line of cryptozoologists, I actually came to the island to study some of your native cryptids, and I promise this class will have a lot more to learn than perhaps other classes that had purported to share a topic."
See, that was calling out in a classy way. She'd learned it from being on reality TV!
"Since today is our first class, I figured we'd talk a little bit about what cryptozoology actually is." Turning, she wrote on the board:
Cryptid, noun:
1. Any creature whose existence has been suggested but not proven scientifically. Term officially coined by cryptozoologist John E. Wall in 1983.
2. That thing that's getting ready to eat your head.
3. See also: "monster."
"So, cryptids. There are lots of different versions of cryptids out there; including several cryptid species of plants. Cryptids can be sapient or not--this class is going to be focusing on cryptids of general animal intelligence." Because she didn't trust any of you with information on how to spot sapient cryptids yet. "Cryptids are not aliens or creatures of the supernatural, thought some may come from other dimensions or have things that appear to be preternatural powers. The study of cryptozoology is hardly exact, because to have exact information, you need access to large populations and the ability to carry out longterm studies. Neither of those are the case for cryptids, most populations are small, endangered, and scattered rather far from wherever their origins may have been and they all live in secrecy, trying to avoid notice by the normal, human world. Mostly because humans have never been kind to the inexplicable, which is also why so many cryptid populations are so small."
And if she ever did get around to teaching a semester about sapient cryptids, she'd even go into detail about some of what happened to them and why they were so rightly afraid of humans.
"Primarily though, if cryptozoology is the study of cryptids, being a cryptozoologist is primarily about preservation: of individuals, of species, of habitats, and of knowledge. It's a tough, thankless, tiring job, but there are a lot of wonders in it, too."
"But, that's all stuff we'll get into next week. I'm told that this week is for introductions. So name, why you took this course if you have an interesting reason, any experience with cryptids or magical creatures from your world if you have any, and if you don't have anything that suits...I dunno, ask me a question about cryptids or cryptozoology. Let's see what you're interested in and how fast think on your feet."
Rival-teaching: great for the pedagogy, terrible for the sleep cycle.
"Hi," she said, when all the students had filed in. "So, this is The Cryptozoologist's Field Guide, and I'm Verity Price. I come from a long line of cryptozoologists, I actually came to the island to study some of your native cryptids, and I promise this class will have a lot more to learn than perhaps other classes that had purported to share a topic."
See, that was calling out in a classy way. She'd learned it from being on reality TV!
"Since today is our first class, I figured we'd talk a little bit about what cryptozoology actually is." Turning, she wrote on the board:
1. Any creature whose existence has been suggested but not proven scientifically. Term officially coined by cryptozoologist John E. Wall in 1983.
2. That thing that's getting ready to eat your head.
3. See also: "monster."
"So, cryptids. There are lots of different versions of cryptids out there; including several cryptid species of plants. Cryptids can be sapient or not--this class is going to be focusing on cryptids of general animal intelligence." Because she didn't trust any of you with information on how to spot sapient cryptids yet. "Cryptids are not aliens or creatures of the supernatural, thought some may come from other dimensions or have things that appear to be preternatural powers. The study of cryptozoology is hardly exact, because to have exact information, you need access to large populations and the ability to carry out longterm studies. Neither of those are the case for cryptids, most populations are small, endangered, and scattered rather far from wherever their origins may have been and they all live in secrecy, trying to avoid notice by the normal, human world. Mostly because humans have never been kind to the inexplicable, which is also why so many cryptid populations are so small."
And if she ever did get around to teaching a semester about sapient cryptids, she'd even go into detail about some of what happened to them and why they were so rightly afraid of humans.
"Primarily though, if cryptozoology is the study of cryptids, being a cryptozoologist is primarily about preservation: of individuals, of species, of habitats, and of knowledge. It's a tough, thankless, tiring job, but there are a lot of wonders in it, too."
"But, that's all stuff we'll get into next week. I'm told that this week is for introductions. So name, why you took this course if you have an interesting reason, any experience with cryptids or magical creatures from your world if you have any, and if you don't have anything that suits...I dunno, ask me a question about cryptids or cryptozoology. Let's see what you're interested in and how fast think on your feet."
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