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Provides direction for researchers and collection developers to locate sources of information on mythical, fantastical and symbolic creatures of world folklore and legends and their documentation in primary and secondary texts. Focussing on mythological animals, gives prominence to the unicorn and the dragon as the two most universal and symbolically important creatures, and to sources which concentrate on their status in folklore and legend rather than to literary works.

The chapter sketches out a putative ethnography of Bigfooting, detailing what we can study from analysing television programmes of the practice, but also what we lose by not being there, by not embedding ourselves in the Bigfooting community, and by not participating in their woodland expeditions.

Cybernetics is presented in relation to the future of mankind as seen by the author in 1952. Cybernetics is considered, in the framework of the history of mankind, as generating a kind of continuation of biological evolution by the addition to each individual of new capacities of perception, communication and action. From a collective point of view it generates a composite organism with a giant nervous system covering the surface of the earth.

WORDS COINED BY IMAGINATIVE WRITERS are nothing more than highly cultured pearls of thought. Though they never come into existence spontaneously or naturally, they truly adorn the language and help to perpetuate the works of novelists, playwrights, and poets. Better still, they prolong indefinitely the popularity of many novels, plays and poems that probably would otherwise slip into oblivion. If Henry Carey had never nicknamed Ambrose Philips Namby Pamby, the two eighteenth century poets would probably long be forgotten, and the English language would lack a choice verbalism as well as the humorous lines:

Virtual environments (VEs) are computer‐based, three‐dimensional virtual worlds where users create avatars and interact socially and competitively within the environment. Users spend millions of dollars every year consuming items for their avatars. Marketers have begun offering branded items in these communities with mixed results. The purpose of this paper is to examine motivational, usage, and demographic differences in VEs across two popular VE types: reality and fantasy‐based platforms.

A sample of 106 users of reality and fantasy based VEs was collected using an online survey methodology.

Results indicate that both reality and fantasy worlds are outlets for escapism and immersion. Reality VE users are more motivated to seek social relationships with other users and are more highly involved in the VE than fantasy users. Fantasy‐users are motivated by achievement and manipulation of others and are slightly more likely to be male, younger, and engage in the VE with members of their household.

Studies suggest that message congruency with the gaming context leads to better attitudes toward advertising in online games. This study suggests that tailoring communications for differences due to VE type may produce more favorable outcomes for marketers. Implications for product and branding strategy are suggested.

Little empirical work addresses successful marketing strategy in VEs, although hundreds of brands have entered these worlds. This research is the first to consider VE type and user motivation, usage, and demographics in the framing of marketing messages.

Thinking about being stranded on a deserted island conjures up images of solitude, tranquility, and beauty, as well as an opportunity to relax and swim daily. Further, I need not hear the sound of ringing telephones or weed around cactus plants with my bare hands. The best part of daydreaming about life on the island is that I can dictate the terms of my isolation, for example, no pollution, no sharks, plenty to eat, comfortable shelter, and a horse to ride. One other condition is necessary: I can be rescued after three weeks—sooner if my kids have a scheduled soccer game.

Identifying the fundamental characteristics of meaning and deriving an automated meaning‐analysis procedure for machine intelligence.

Semantic category theory (SCT) is an original testable scientific theory, based on readily available data: not assumptions or axioms. SCT can therefore be refuted by irreconcilable data: not opinion.

Human language involves four totally independent semantic categories (SC), each of which has its own distinctive form of “Truth”. Any sentence that assigns the characteristics of one SC to another SC involves what is termed here “Semantic Intertwine”. Semantic intertwine often lies at the core of semantic ambiguity, sophistry and paradox: problems that have plagued human reason since antiquity.

SCT is applicable to any endeavour involving human language. Research applications are therefore somewhat extensive. For example, identifying metaphors posing as science, or natural language processing/translation, or solving disparate paradox types, as illustrated by worked examples from: The Liar Group, Sorites Inductive, Russell's Set Theoretic and Zeno's Paradoxes.

To interact successfully with human language, behaviour, and belief systems, as well as their own environment, intelligent machines will need to resolve the semantic component/intertwines of any sentence. Semantic category analysis (SCA), derived from SCT, and also described here, can be used to analyse any sentence or argument, however complex.

Both SCT and SCA are original. Whilst “category error” is an intuitive notion, the observably precise nature, number and modes of interaction of such categories have never previously been presented. With SCT/SCA the rigorous analysis of any argument, whether foisted, valid, or obfuscating, is now possible: by man or machine.