I Love Dinosaurs

Since I was really little I have always loved dinosaurs.  In fact for much of my early childhood I was 100% convinced that I would become a paleontologist someday (and secretly I still would love to be a paleontologist).  I grew up with tons of dinosaur books, dinosaur toys, dinosaur bed sheets.  Dinosaurs used to be one of the only things I would draw.  I could name more dinosaurs than anybody else in school.  The movie “Jurrasic Park” was just about the biggest thing to happen in my life when I was in fourth grade.  Once I even got to meet famed paleontologist Jack Horner and got his signature on a favorite dinosaur book of mine.  But alas much of the phase passed.  I wasn’t all that good at biology in high school (and biology is an obvious important role in paleontology).  I also started loving literature and writing more and chose to pursue studies in that field instead.  Still I have never given up my love for dinosaurs.  This past week an article on Discovery. com discussed a recent finding supporting the belief that Tyrannosaurus actually had three fingers on their small hands (this as opposed to two which has for a long tome been the traditional display of the giant prehistoric predator).  A lot has progressed in the study of dinosaurs in my lifetime.  More and more evidence points to the ancient animals having been warm blooded.  The relation between dinos and birds has become more and more evident as more fossils are found with feathers and other birdlike features. Personally I just find the whole science fascinating.  So much can be learned from the fossils and other remains of the dinosaurs and yet so much will always be left to speculation.  We will never likely know the color of dinosaurs, or what kind of personalities they might have had.  It is a great science of the past that demonstrates the vast diversity of life on Earth in the billions of years of our planets existence.  Whenever I see a new National Geographic with some article about dinosaurs making the cover I buy it and read it and enjoy it.  I love going to natural history museums that have good collections of fossils.  I could spend hours looking at the remains, and being amazed that such creatures really did once rule the world.  Dinosaurs kick some serious ass.

~ by Nathaniel on October 18, 2007.