Re: One last thing on the bitten _Edmontosaurus_

[Marilyn Wegweiser <mdwegweiser@bsuvc.bsu.edu>]

> If this injury was indeed caused by a _T. rex_ , then wouldn't that destroy
> the theory that _T rex_  used an infectious bite to kill it's prey, ala
> komodo dragons?

I have seen this word "theory" misused far too many times with a 
number of the last 65+ or so email messages, to a point where I must 
address this issue: - please:

A theory is something that has withstood the battery of rigorous 
testing from scientists, in an attempt to test the stated hypothesis 
for weakness and to see if by these rigorous tests, that the 
scientists can cause its failure. If those tests themselves fail to 
cause the hypothesis to fail over and over again, then the Hypothesis 
becomes a strongly tested almost irrefutable Theory. It may continue 
to undergo the rigors of scientific testing, or it may not. It is 
probably a worthless use of one's time, to attempt to disprove 
Pythagorum's Theorum, for example. But, you can try - those are the 
rules of the game. Until any hypothesis undergoes scientific blasts 
of testing by one's colleagues it remains a stated hypothesis - a 
working idea that must be tested.

RE: Geology 101(Rocks For Jocks) - The Scientific Method Lecture 
(Lecture #2). I have it on Power Point using Dinosaur Footprints as 
an illustrative example of hypothesis testing. Should anyone wish to 
see it/use it in your own lecture, please send your request privately 
and I will forward it to you. It has been quite effective, students 
love it. The updated version includes me measuring the real siltsone 
casts of theropod footprints against the feet of the mounted 
Giganatosaurus skeleton (much to the delight of the patrons in 
Atlanta's Fernbank Museum one day in December).

Cheers,
Marilyn

--
                        =00=  =00=  =00=  =00=
                        Marilyn D. Wegweiser, Ph.D.
                Adjunct Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology
                     Cincinnati Natural History Museum

Assistant Professor of Geology
Department of Geology                   mdwegweiser@bsu.edu
Ball State University                   Office: 765-285-8268;765-285-8270
Muncie, Indiana                         FAX:    765-285-8265