Is paleontology going extinct?
The author of a new book on dinosaurs laments the demise of his discipline
[Published 14th August 2009 02:54 PM GMT]
Even before Jurassic Park brought dinosaurs to cinematic life, the ancient reptiles were fascinating to most people, especially kids. These days, mountains of books, toys and other paraphernalia are marketed to kids between ages 2 and 10. Most youngsters know Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops by sight, and many have mastered hundreds of arcane paleontological names as well. People assume that with all this dinophilia, and with all the money spent on dinosaur paraphernalia, paleontology must be rolling in dough. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, paleontology in the US and in most of Europe is starved for f unds and jobs, and in many places paleontology is on its way to extinction.
The best argument I've heard that explains the near unanimous childhood fascination with dinosaurs can be put in three words: "big," "real," and "extinct." Dinosaurs are like the dragons and monsters of childhood imagination. They were real, but they're not too scary, since they're now extinct. In some cases, kids who can memorize hundreds of bits of dinosaur trivia feel empowered, especially when they know something that the adults in their lives don't. Teachers know that talking about dinosaurs gets kids interested in science, and that they are an effective gateway to promote scientific thinking and literacy.
Somehow, as toddlers become teens, the fascination with dinosaurs (like other childhood interests) wanes. Dinosaurs are no longer considered cool, and most American adolescents lose interest in science as well. By the time they reach their late teens, most students take chemistry or biology only because those courses are required. Most American teachers know they're fighting an uphill battle to keep students focused on science.
Nonetheless, interest in dinosaurs and paleontology is still widespread, if attendance at natural history museums is any indicator. But the job market for paleontologists in most countries is abysmal and getting worse, threatening the entire field with extinction (for more details, see my new book, Greenhouse of the Dinonsaurs, Chapter 10). In the US, fewer than one in ten graduate students (who spend at least ten years in college getting a hard-earned PhD) find a job as a professional paleontologist, either in a museum or a teaching job that allows research. When a paleontologist retires from a university, she's typically not replaced by another paleontologist. In many cases, generations of accumulated knowledge and expertise are lost because there are no jobs and therefore no students to learn from aging mentors.
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Greenhouse of the Dinosaurs: Evolution, Extinction, and the Future of Our Planet, by Donald R. Prothero, Columbia University Press, New York, 2009. 288 pp. ISBN: 978-0-231-14660-9. $29.50.
Donald R. Prothero is Professor of Geology at Occidental College in Los Angeles and Lecturer in Geobiology at the Cali fornia Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He is currently the author, co-author, editor, or co-editor of 25 books and over 200 scientific papers. He has also been featured on several television documentaries, including episodes of Paleoworld (BBC), Prehistoric Monsters Revealed (History Channel), Entelodon and Hyaenodon (National Geographic Channel) and Walking with Prehistoric Beasts (BBC).
