Why dinosaurs matter (also: Rolf fact-checks the dino book he wrote at age 7)

“Common sense is a very poor guide to understanding the universe. Science is kind of the opposite of common sense. It seems fanciful to think that a bird is a dinosaur, but that is literally true.”  –Kenneth Lacovara

In this episode of Deviate, Rolf and Kenneth discuss why dinosaurs matter, especially for little kids (5:00); how we have come to learn what we know about dinosaurs (23:00); the “butterfly effect,” and how we use the ancient past to predict the future (35:00); the distinctions between the dinosaurs, and what field-work looks like (42:00); and myths about dinosaurs (53:00).

Kenneth Lacovara (@kenlacovara) is a paleontologist and geologist. He is a professor at Rowan University and fellow at the Explorers Club where he received the Explorers Club Medal, the highest honor bestowed by The Explorers Club. He is the author of the book Why Dinosaurs Matter, which is based on his TED Talk, “Hunting for dinosaurs showed me our place in the universe.”

Notable Links:

• Dinosaurs, by Rolf Justin Potts (PDF of Rolf’s hand-illustrated 1978 “book”)
• Paleontology (scientific study of life predating the Holocene Epoch)
• Jurassic Park (movie)
• Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event
• Hallucigenia (genus of Cambrian xenusiids)
• Triassic (geologic period)
• Jurassic (geologic period)
• Origin of birds (started as theropod dinosaurs)
• Clades (organism group consisting of a common ancestor and its descendants)
• Sauropsids (clade consisting of reptiles and birds)
• Synapsids (animal group that includes mammals)
• Hominids (taxonomic family of primates)
• Butterfly effect (chaos theory postulation)

Dinosaurs mentioned:

• Tyrannosaurus Rex (carnivorous theropod)
• Stegosaurus (armored herbivore)
• Triceratops (herbivorous ceratopsid)
• Ankylosaurus (armored herbivorous)
• Brontosaurus (herbivorous sauropod)
• Velociraptor (carnivorous theropod)
• Allosaurus (carnivorous theropod)
• Dreadnoughtus (herbivorous sauropod)
• Brachiosaurus (herbivorous sauropod)
• Diplodocus (herbivorous sauropod)
• Titanosauria (herbivorous sauropod)
• Argentinosaurus (herbivorous sauropod)
• Camptosaurus (beaked ornithischian)
• Spinosaurus (carnivorous theropod)
• Teratosaurus (Triassic archosaur)
• Pterodactyl (flying pterosaur)

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The Deviate theme music comes from the title track of Cedar Van Tassel’s 2017 album Lumber.

Note: We don’t host a “comments” section, but we’re happy to hear your questions and insights via email, at deviate@rolfpotts.com.