RE: small dinosaurs with feathers

["Williams, Tim" <TiJaWi@agron.iastate.edu>]

"Jura" wrote:

> When reading Heresies or any of GSP, or Norell's work, one
> routinely reads on how birds are living dinosaurs and how "amazing" and
> "impressive" it is to think that the sparrow sitting outside one's
> window is "the same kind of animal" as _T.rex_. 
>
> Never does one read on how "amazing" or "incredible" it is to think that
> we, as mammals, are the "same kind of animals" as dinocephalians, or
> _Dimetrodon_, even though the reasoning is exactly the same.

Exactly right.  I agree 100%.  And maybe somebody *should* write a book that
includes that very sentiment.  Maybe somebody already has!  But if they
haven't, it isn't the fault of dinosaurs and their avian descendents.


> I'm sure if dinosaurs hadn't sparked the curiosity of humans as much as
> they did, the relationship (and semantics) of birds and dinos would
> probably not even come up as an issue. 

Who's fault is that?



Tim