There isn’t a really big debate, though.(Paging @JohnRHutchinson)
https://whatsinjohnsfreezer.com/2013/07/15/trex_scavenger_stfu/ …https://twitter.com/sacriliciousm/status/1014167981562257410 …
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So, you monkeys have a language center of your brain. You perceive normal stimuli, but you also have to analyze a lot of abstract thought too. It’s a lot to process. So it’s easier to group things on a surface level and not to think too much about them.
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It’s why things like socialized prejudices and pop culture narratives are so easy to accept. “T. rex could only see motion” (Ah, easy to digest fact nuggets) “Snakes are weird because I can’t process how they move” (Explains why they’re so easy to fear)
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This is also the same thinking where racism, misogyny, and ableism comes from. It’s easy to accept these narratives because there’s so much you have to process everyday. It’s the easy path to accept the first things you hear, without any sort of challenge.
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So I have this dumb account where I hate on popular depictions of raptors. And talk about my crazy arm strength. And how I’m a predator AND a scavenger. A spooonful of easy to digest jokes weirdly carry more authority than all the peer reviewed papers and scicomm in the world.
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And I get it wrong too. So does [CERTAIN ASTROPHYSICIST WHO I’M NOT ALLOWED TO ENGAGE WITH ANYMORE]. And any social media account with “science-y” sounding quotes placed on a photoshop of a galaxy. Science contains nuance. Facts are complicated. Check everyone.
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Anyway, this is a long tweetstorm to explain why it’s so hard to push back against iconic things like “T. rex roaring” or Velociraptor hunting in packs. It’s less about paleontology and more about psychology, how science is conducted, and the imperfect way we teach science.
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Also, STEM isn’t enough. Take a philosophy class. Read about the history of science. The opposite of science isn’t art and the humanities... they compliment each other and crossover all the time.
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(Every time I tweet something in support of humanities, it blows up. But the inverse is true too... Your art history degree cries out for you to take an anatomy and physiology class. Math and knowledge of natural harmonies can make music and poetry so much better.)
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Replying to @SUEtheTrex
My supervisor is a good example: he started in maths and transitioned to history, but he has studied medieval computus which is astronomy and calendrical dates, etc. so his work really combines a lot of things.
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I always loved science, even though I was never very good at it or maths, but I try to approach history from a combination of scientific and artistic mentalities.
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