Human chronometerI’d like to share a quick story of something that happened to me yesterday, that really freaked me out;
I was at work when one of the guys asked me if I’d like to go fishing with him and his brother the next day. Seeing that I had exams to study for, a set of data to collect for a biology prac on Friday, and lectures to attend, naturally I said yes.
And being the meticulous kind of guy that I am, I asked what time we were leaving, and if he wanted me to drive to his house, wait at mine, or meet them there. We settled on six the following morning, because I had a tutorial to attend in the afternoon. But a few hours later the guys cancelled the whole deal, because his brother didn’t want to get up at six.
My tutorial the following day was scheduled for 3:00 pm. So that night I set my phone to wake me up at 8:00 am. I figured I could sleep in a bit and review before heading into the city...
Get this; the next morning I woke up at 6:00am! All by myself, the alarm hadn’t gone off yet, no one knocked on my door, and there were no loud sounds from the living room. I just felt the need to get out of bed. And if you know me, that’s not a regular occurrence. I hate getting out of bed in the mornings. Left to operate at will, I have often slept till noon... but I woke with this excitement, as if anticipating something fun...
Then I realised what had happened. I had mentally set that damn clock in my brain to wake me at 6:00 am to go fishing!
With a grunt I pulled the covers over my head and went back to sleep for another two hours.
Blessing or a curse? You decide...
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I actually have the DVD...
I liked that show. Great story line, cool characters, and the animation was very well done.
How did you get that clip? Would you mind sending me a copy?
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Miyess
Check out my Paleo group...
Paleontology Inc. [link]
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Member of:
Domain-of-Darwin [link]
I believe you can save link as with the Download button.
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Commissions are always open.
If you like my art feel free to commission me
Every commission helps pay for my Rent & Food while in college.
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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken' [...]. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion."
-Carl Sagan-
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Miyess
Check out my Paleo group...
Paleontology Inc. [link]
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Member of:
Domain-of-Darwin [link]
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Miyess
Check out my Paleo group...
Paleontology Inc. [link]
---------------------------------------------
Member of:
Domain-of-Darwin [link]
And also, how do the walking with dinosaurs people know that before mating the diplodocus stood on its rear feet and basically howled? that show is full of stuff like that that seems so impossible for them to actually know.
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Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes, then, when you criticize them, you'll be a mile away, and will have their shoes.
That’s cool...
...“how do the walking with dinosaurs people know”...
They don’t. No one does.
Fossilized bones will only get you so far... but don’t get me wrong; they’re still full of useful information. They tell us firstly how big the critter was, what food it ate & what shape it was. Fossilized bones have even preserved evidence of pathologies (like tumours and healing scars after bone-breaks), injuries and scavenging (both by large animals and burrowing insects). But they can’t really help us when it comes to figuring out the behaviour or color of extinct animals.
Endocasts (casts made from the brain-case cavities of fossils) give us an idea of the shape and size of the brain. This allows researchers to compare the brains of extinct organisms with those of extant ones found today. Based on our understanding of brain function and behaviour of modern animals, we can assume similar functions for corresponding sections of the brain, and take it one step further assuming similar behaviour.
For example;
A study of the endocast of the brain of T-rex found it had a brain that more resembled the brain of a crocodile than a bird. This led the scientists to think a tyrannosaur would treat prey in a similar fashion to a crocodile.
With CAT-scan technology available to researchers nowadays, they don’t even need to break open the fossils anymore.
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Also by studying the interactions between predator and prey in the wild, we can suggest possible behavioural patterns in dinosaurs and other extinct animals.
For example;
A recent dig in Canada yielded the remains of several Albertosaurs. They were of all different ages, and had died in the same place at the same time. The scientists concluded that these tyrannosaurs lived and hunted in packs, possibly in a similar manner to modern lions.
When dinosaurs were first discovered, pretty much all reconstructions depicted them with slate coloured skin. That’s because they were thought of as overgrown, lumbering reptiles (often dragging their tails behind them), and the largest reptile the scientists could compare a dinosaur with was the crocodile.
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Nowadays we have explored much more of the natural world, and with more evidence supporting a possible warm blooded metabolism for dinosaurs along with evidence they were related to birds, we reconstruct them that way – agile and colourful. We look to nature for inspiration when it comes to color schemes...
Little is known about what sort of sounds the dinosaurs might have made. Did they communicate? Most palaeontologists think so. Like modern-day birds and reptiles, dinosaurs probably made noises to signal that they were looking for a mate, that there was danger, or that they were hurt. Babies may have made sounds to let adults know they needed food or were if they were in trouble. Endocasts of certain dinosaurs indicate they had a good sense of hearing and the ability to hear both high- and low-frequency sounds. All of which mean their world could have been very vocal.
Clues in dinosaur skulls help us figure out how well they could smell. In fact, the olfactory lobe (used for analysing smells), of most dinosaurs was quite well developed. Also, the size and shape of the nasal chambers indicate predators had an excellent sense of smell...
If you’re interested in this sort of stuff, I would suggest this book;
"Walking with Dinosaurs": The Evidence - How Did They Know That?
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The walking with Dinosaurs team consulted the scientists at almost every step of the way. The dinosaurs’ behaviour, colour schemes, and sounds are a bit wild, but inspired by living critters. If you have the DVD box set, watch the “making of” in the extra features. They explain the logic behind the designs...
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Miyess
Check out my Paleo group...
Paleontology Inc. [link]
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Member of:
Domain-of-Darwin [link]
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