Comments on: Academics on archosaurs: Heinrich Mallison

By: Mark Robinson

Mark Robinson — Thu, 24 May 2012 04:13:54 +0000

Speed-walking dinosaurs: I’ve just had a vision of what Late Cretaceous tyrannosaurs would’ve used those feathers for – hot-pants and leg warmers!

By: Herman Diaz

Herman Diaz — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:53:57 +0000

“Suddenly, many questions resolve themselves into a fitting picture, and many supposed/questionable convergences default into shared inheritance!”

I’d like to hear more about that.

By: Heinrich Mallison

Heinrich Mallison — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:12:52 +0000

and as a result, we see a brain drain happening!
In fact, though, German research spending did not really increase; it just got a very reasonable correction for inflation.

By: David Hone

David Hone — Wed, 23 May 2012 21:09:53 +0000

I did see something a couple of years back at the height of the money crisis that investment in science was the most consistent returner of money. For every pound invested, the economy saw back two pounds each year (so 2 quid the next year and the year after that etc.). Nope, no source at all, sorry, just memory. But when you think about things like the LHC which has developed whole new technologies you can see just how productive science can be. Sure, palaeo is at the low end of that – it’s return is, on average, not going to be competing with people working on cancer or robotics, but you can’t predict where the return will come, and all sorts of people are involved in work that could bring interesting and odd spin offs. Certainly it was notable that when the real cuts hit, a lot of countries actually increased their science funding. Well, not the UK, obviously, but the US, Germany, China and France all upped their investments I remember.

By: Robert A. Sloan

Robert A. Sloan — Wed, 23 May 2012 20:37:32 +0000

Basic research actually pays off for the tax base. First off, the researchers have an income sufficient to their needs and they buy all the equipment and services needed to do the research. That’s stimulus. Then you have the possibility in every dinosaur dig or study of turning up something newsworthy that makes its way into the entertainment sphere, generating still more jobs and capital. And of course it leads to other discoveries that can lead to innovation and new products, something invented for paleontologists can find its way into the campsites of vacationers just because it’s an improvement.

The idea that science is a luxury is ridiculous. I can’t think of a science that doesn’t actually benefit society at many steps along the way. It’s the same with the arts. The people funding stuff forget that these things lead to real jobs that are good jobs. But the people who get a job as research assistant or vehicle driver or even the ones working the camping goods store or scientific supply house that gets more hours, they do notice a big difference.

There’s what I’d say to anyone who’s cutting funding for science. It’s not a waste and it’s not a frivolity. It’s a way to gain real benefits from meaningful work that benefits everyone both short term and long term.

By: Kilian Hekhuis

Kilian Hekhuis — Wed, 23 May 2012 13:19:16 +0000

Thanks, I’ll be sure to check it out!

By: Heinrich Mallison

Heinrich Mallison — Wed, 23 May 2012 08:36:17 +0000

Kilian, you can find posts on my blog about it, detailing my SVP talk last fall:
http://dinosaurpalaeo.wordpress.com/2011/11/10/my-svp-talk-fast-forward-dinosaurs-part-1/
http://dinosaurpalaeo.wordpress.com/2011/11/12/my-svp-talk-fast-forward-dinosaurs-part-2/
http://dinosaurpalaeo.wordpress.com/2011/11/13/my-svp-talk-fast-forward-dinosaurs-part-3/

Also, Matt Kaplan wrote a very good summary of the SVP presentation, which you can find here:
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/111107/full/news.2011.631.html

Heinrich

By: Kilian Hekhuis

Kilian Hekhuis — Wed, 23 May 2012 07:21:46 +0000

Hope to hear more about that “speedwalking dinosaur hypothesis”.