Call of the Nature, Cryptobiologists

Anh Nguyet Nguyen

Writing – Level 5 – Section A

Summary/Response#

Oct 4th, 2015

Call of the Nature, Cryptobiologists

I wondered how people judge an occupation or whether field of study is important or not. Some people can be seen as odd just because they are passionate and research what they believe. In William Laurance’s (2011) article, “The Call of the Weird: In Praise of Cryptobiologists” he discusses cryptobiologists and their role in and struggles with science. Laurance gives three main points, which include a video as an example, study and research of cryptobiologist and their challenge, and out there still a mystery that can be discovered. The article is well organized, easy to understand, and with strong evidences that convinces the reader of the importance of cryptobyologists.

In the article, Laurance first mentions about a popular video and research of the Tasmanian tiger. Then he focuses on describing the field and research that cryptobiologists follow. He mentions that cryptobiologists are the scientists who study about species which are considered to no longer exist, mythical creatures, and the creatures do exist but have not been discovered yet. Next, the author explains the challenges of being a cryptobiologist. Though a small number are well-respected in this field, many cryptobiologists face many difficulties, such as investing their own money for research equipment, being expulsed from their workplace, and being disregarded by their colleagues. Laurance then goes on to state that mysteries still persist in nature until now, such as how there are some new species that have been discovered, and about the Lazarus species that were believed extinct but then have been found again lately. The article concludes by claiming that everyone should support and facilitate the cryptobiologist instead of deriding their passion.

By listing many examples and names of scientists who work as cryptobiologist, Laurance convinces the reader that the creatures that are found are real. Laurance starts the article by giving the example of the Tasmanian tiger, which is the marsupial carnivore about the size of the wolf.  In the article, the author mentions that the video is not confirmed the animal is Tasminanian tiger, but after the genetic testing via stool samples, the creature was identified as the red fox (14). This is a reliable example because it shows us what the cryptobiologists study are real and have the basis for readers to trust. Every piece of evidence and data given by the author makes the article more reliable and helps to persuade readers to understand that cryptobiologists’ research is serious. Their difficulty is real. The author uses qualified and referable data in his example so readers can feel the he was serious when he writes this article and can even look up the research. After analyzing Laurance’s article, I did some internet search and found out that the animals listed throughout the article are existed with whole websites and a lot of pictures. Then I use “Lazarus” as a key word to search, there are many articles and websites talking about “Lazarus”.