Re: Gliders to Fliers?

[Josh Smith <smithjb@sas.upenn.edu>]

Dinogeorge@aol.com wrote:

> In a message dated 9/26/99 12:10:52 PM EST, smithjb@sas.upenn.edu writes:
>
> << This is NOT to support George's arboreal theropod ideas, but...>>
>
> Why not support them? Why follow the crowd? As Oscar Wilde once wrote, "I
> dislike having too many people agree with me, for then I must surely be
> wrong." There are so many holes and weaknesses in the ground-up hypothesis
> that it deserves a good thrashing.

        Hey, now you are being characteristic of a paleontologist.  You are
assuming that because I said that I didn't want to use those data to support
your hypothesis, that I obviously don't agree with your hypothesis.  In
reality, my point (and my data) had, in my mind, nothing to do with your
hypothesis.  In fact, in a post you just put up, you said something to the
effect of "who the hell said that these theropods lived in trees?"  I was
making the point that I thought Matt's argument was flawed because I feel he
misinterpreted the data that used to support the idea (i.e., that the early
ceratosaurs under discussion lived in hyper arid environments without
trees).  My point had nothing to do with YOUR hypothesis, but rather with
his.  And I definitely think that labeling me as one who follows the crowd is
a misnomer...


--
Josh Smith
Department of Earth and Environmental Science
University of Pennsylvania
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