RE: Specimen counts (was RE: Caudipteryx suffered from osteoarthritis)

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@umd.edu>]

> From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu] 
> On Behalf Of Robert Schenck
>
> It just funny when you hear about there being 'too many 
> paleontologists/paleo-students out there', and at the same 
> time not just individual specimens, but collections of series 
> of specimens collecting dust.

Not that surprising:

1) It costs an institution $$ (or other appropriate symbol...) to hire some 
one. Less $$, less hires, more unemployed paleos.

2) It costs an individual $$ to do research. Less $$, less opportunity to study 
specimens, less specimens described.

> (at the same time, I guess if a 
> student actually bothered to learn some chinese and went to 
> china, they'd probably be allowed to work on it, so maybe 
> it's the students's fault too).

Even if they DON'T learn Chinese they would probably have opportunity to study 
them! It is by no means a lack of willpower or
interest to hire young researchers or to do research. It is just economic 
reality.

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu   Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216                        
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Fax: 301-314-9661               

Faculty Director, Science & Global Change Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/sgc
Fax: 301-314-9843

Mailing Address:        Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                        Department of Geology
                        Building 237, Room 1117
                        University of Maryland
                        College Park, MD 20742 USA