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In Stephen Jay Gould’s article, “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaur”, he analyses the difference between science and speculation. Gould starts the article by defining science. He states that science allows humans to know and gain knowledge. In contrast, today many popular ideas are being passed as “scientific” but are actually not. To show the difference between real science and pseudoscience Gould presents the question of how the dinosaurs became extinct. The first possibility is the sex hypothesis. This states that dinosaurs may have become extinct because their testes can only function in a certain temperature. Therefore, when the global temperature increased during the Cretaceous period dinosaur’s testes stopped functioning …show more content…
There isn’t a way to test this hypothesis. As a result, this theory holds little water as true science, although it may hold some validity. The second theory of plant chemical overdosing is also speculation. This theory as well has an untestable hypothesis. The theory that dinosaur extinction was a result of a natural disaster is the definition of real science. It is testable and can be furthered. To test this theory, individuals measured levels of iridium in rocks at the time of the dinosaur’s extinction. Therefore, Iridium is a “the source of testable evidence”. Testable evidence is what separates science and speculation. The testing of iridium alerted many other scientists around the globe to test levels in the rocks at their locations. This fueled the hypothesis and made is well publicly known. The other two theories drifted away and are still not well known. Gould then proves how the theory that the extinction of dinosaurs occurred because of a natural disaster has led to other important findings. He proclaims that because of this theory the renowned scientist, Carl Sagan, studied the climate and nuclear warfare. Sagan found that a nuclear holocaust would instill the same dust cloud that caused the mass deaths of dinosaurs due to blocking the sun. This is also why the Cold War was so …show more content…
Gould’s article, “Sex, Drugs, Disasters and the Extinction of Dinosaurs” begins with an introduction and foreshadowing statement. Gould then develops the body of the article by analyzing each theory for the extinction of dinosaurs. He then states what Science is and then backs up the reason why. Gould then concludes by showing that the theory that natural disasters caused the extinction of dinosaurs, and how this theory has spread and the other fascinating research this led
In this paper Martin is arguing that late quaternary or near time extinctions where caused by human activity or as he calls it “overkill”. Martin recognizes that there have been many forces that have triggered extinctions in the planet on the past but disagrees with the idea that near time extinctions where caused by some commonly believed causes like climate change, disease or nutrient shortage. He argues that the arrival of humans to different continents, islands and the subsequent excessive hunting, the introduction of diseases and other competitors and predators was the cause of extinction of a great number of species “As our species spread to various continents we wiped out their large
For some people the numbers and facts don’t really matter, they read through Manning’s description of extinction and focus on the conclusion he created. Others will focus blindly on the increased extinction rate and rue the day mankind was created. But, there is one group of people who will see “before human domination” (pg. 1) and lose their scientifically accurate minds. Manning is unknowingly referring to the ratio between the background extinction rate and the actual distinction rate, i.e. what scientist think is the extinction rate right now with humans vs. no humans, and referring to it as if it is two completely different rates at two completely different points in time. Small flaws like these are insignificant to the average reader but comparable to kryptonite to credibility from a scientific audiences view. Throughout the essay, these inaccuracies consistently occur, those who know the law of thermodynamics know is not the same as energy transformation in a food-chain and that the scientific method that you simply can’t make conclusions drawn from two different fields of inaccurately portrayed science based on your opinion and call it
In order to better understand these "implications," it is necessary to define and explain the major theories regarding North American megafaunal extinction. The two most widely supported theories are those of environmental change and overkill. Two theories finding less support within the field are those of hyperdisease and "keystone herbivores."
...ories of why dinosaurs went extinct abound, and as there is no theory yet to be truly confirmed as the “right one”, my theory of dinosaur cannibalism is also purely anecdotal. The discovery of the cannibalistic Majungatholus atopus in Madagascar is an important scientific find because it confirms a long-standing theory of cannibalism among certain carnivorous dinosaurs. Behavioral patterns of extinct animals are difficult to establish; however, these bones give authentication to previous unfounded beliefs about the ancient feeding practices of some dinosaurs.
Darwin's theory of Evolution have been known by the world for many centuries. Even so, not all scientists supp...
We use dinosaurs to represent the changes in nature that have occurred throughout time. Studies found that although the “oldest rock did not show evidence of life, the progression of plant and animal life that changed in recognizable intervals, from ancient life, age of reptiles to the age of mammals” (Dino Nature Metaphor, slide 6), measured the age of the earth. When we think of dinosaurs in relation to nature, we think of that very powerful force that controls the cycle of life. Nature was able to yield such magnificent ferocious creatures that walked the earth and then take them back when they served nature’s purpose. Dinosaurs fit perfectly in nature’s constant
Throughout history, the world and its inhabitants have been subject to great change. Whether these changes are biological, ecological or geological they are all influenced by certain factors at play. Great changes take time to observe, usually longer than one's life would allow. The longer the change, the harder to identify the exact cause. When it comes to the species that inhabit the earth, it is notable that some species that lived and thrived long ago are now simply gone. The extinction of entire species of birds, mammals and amphibians occurs throughout time here on earth but the exact cause for their disappearance has been debated. In chapter two of "Twilight of the Mammoths" written by Paul S. Martin, the theories of extinction are challenged.
The debate of whether dinosaurs were cold blooded or warm blooded has been ongoing since the beginning of the century. At the turn of the century scientists believed that dinosaurs had long limbs and were fairly slim, supporting the idea of a cold blooded reptile. Recently, however, the bone structure, number or predators to prey, and limb position have suggested a warm blooded species. In addition, the recent discovery of a fossilized dinosaur heart has supported the idea that dinosaurs were a warm blooded species. In this essay, I am going to give supporting evidence of dinosaurs being both warm and cold blooded. I will provide background information on the dinosaur that was discovered and what information it provides scientists.
Michael Crichton’s classic novel Jurassic Park sparked controversy among scientists, excited science-fiction fans, and captivated paleontologists as Chrichton proposed the idea that dinosaurs could be cloned. The plot elicited criticism from scientists around the world, but support from others. Cloning a dinosaur was made possible in the fictional text: take some amber, fill in missing DNA, obtain an ostrich egg, keep the egg in a controlled environment, then a dinosaur is born. Unfortunately, each of the steps are of intricate design.
One of the previous papers in English class required the class to pick a paper to explore, this question will be concentrated on further in the synthesis essay. What evidence do scientist have to prove that prehistoric sharks existed? The reason behind picking this question wasn’t just to find proof that these monsters swam the seas, but to learn more about them from different resources. One of the resources that were used was a chapter in Angelo Mojetta’s book Sharks, called “ The Birth Of A Legend”. The other resource that was used for information was an article in Discovery Channels website called “ Prehistoric Sharks”. Sharks and Discovery Channel are the two resources that led to many other questions about their different, and similar views on prehistoric sharks existence.
[1] This problem with the theory of evolution was addressed by Stephen Jay Gould and other evolutionists. They postulated the punctuated equilibrium theory of evolution, which does not predict the numerous fossils predicted by the orthodox theory of evolution.
“Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs” is written by Stephen Jay Gould, professor of geology and zoology at Harvard. This essay is one of more than a hundred articles on evolution, zoology, and paleontology published by Gould in national magazines and journals. It tells about scientific proposals for the extinction of dinosaurs – a confusing but an exciting problem that humanity tries to solve. By analyzing and describing each of the claims for the reptiles’ demise – sex, drugs, and disasters – Gould differentiates bad science from good science and explains what makes some theories silly speculations, while the other, a testable hypothesis.
The most significant event of the Cretaceous era came at its end. Nearly 65 million years ago, the second most severe mass extinction in earth’s history occurred. This resulted in the loss of around 80% of species living at the time. Though nowhere near as severe as the end-Permian mass extinction, the end-Cretaceous extinction is the most well known mass extinction event. This is due to the violent event that caused it the extinction, as well as the chapter of earth’s history that it closed: the Dinosaurs. The Cretaceous Event ( often shortened to K-T event) Of the animals that were killed off were the flying reptiles (pterosaurs) and the last few mosasaurs and plesiosaurs, both early marine reptiles. Many mollusks and species of microscopic plankton were killed. Terrestrial plants suffered mass extinction as well. Almost 60% of terrestrial plants were lost. This led to high extinction rates among insect populations, especially insects that were highly specialized to feed on just a few types of plants had it the worst. It took approximately 9 million years for the global insect populations to recover from the Cretaceous extinction. Immediately after the extinction, the earth saw an explosion of short term species who respond well to fire, or other external disturbance. Evidence of the catastrophe comes from a thin rock layer deposited worldwide just after the impact. It is dominated by fossil plants whose descendants recover quickly after fires of other disturbances, such as Fire Weed in Alaska. The causes of the Cretaceous extinction are still being debated by paleontologists. Scientists agree that the main cause of the extinction was a...
...pdated 1995, accessed 3 Sept. 2000), Dino Buzz – What killed The Dinosaurs ? – Current Arguments,
Science is the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. While speculating is the forming of a theory or conjecture without firm evidence. In From “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs,” Stephen Jay Gould discusses and evaluates the difference between science and speculation. Gould also examines three possible reasons that could he accredited to the dinosaur’s extinction which are: sex, drugs and disasters. Gould believes that the theory of disasters is the most adequate out of two other theories. This is because Gould believes that the theory of disasters generates tests, which makes a scientist