Channels, Spring 2018

Channels • 2018 • Volume 2 • Number 2 Page 73 notes that a crisis leads to the blurring of a paradigm and loosening of the rules for normal science. The anomaly becomes more recognized as a result, and scientists devote more effort into figuring out the anomaly. This was the case with more scientists like Robert Bakker putting more effort into proving that dinosaurs were energetic and possibly endothermic. New discoveries, like John Horner’s nesting Maiasaura and the ostrich-like dinosaur Ornithomimus, gave further credence to Ostrom’s paradigm. From the 1960s to the 1980s, the revolution breathed new life into dinosaurs, creating what has come to be known as the dinosaur renaissance. However, the other paradigm shifts did not lead to any scientific revolutions, but they played important roles in the shaping of Ostrom’s paradigm. The history is complicated and more people were involved than what was outlined here. Other important figures include Thomas Huxley, Othniel Charles Marsh, and countless others who also tremendously added to Ostrom’s ideas. Some of them seemed to peer into the future and conclude the same thoughts and ideas that Ostrom did. This supports Kuhn’s idea that from the study of history it is never just one person responsible for a scientific revolution. In studying, the ideas that were not as revolutionary, one can gain an understanding of how normal science and scientific revolutions work. The long history of dinosaur paleontology affects every aspect of our current views of dinosaurs. Conclusion Paleo Artistry has been greatly affected by the changing tides of paleontology. A few artists can actually predict habits and ideas that current scientific research suggests. Charles R. Knight, the artist “who saw through time,” created some of the most realistic dinosaur paintings of his time. His murals now hang on the walls of the Chicago Field Museum. They overlook the vast array of dinosaur skeletons that fill the room and act as the constant reminder of history. Amongst the skeletons, the mighty Apatosaurus stands tall above the other puny skeletons below. Behind the magnificent beast is one of Knight’s many murals. The depiction is of a Brontosaurus walking on the sandy beach towards a deep blue lake. Crocodiles bathe in the sun as the massive beast walks by, dragging its tail in the sand. Other brontosaurs eat leaves from the abundant vegetation on the lake’s bank. The Brontosaurus faces in the direction of the lake almost as if it is looking into the past—a past that is full of exciting discoveries that defined dinosaur paleontology. Nearby, the skeletal mount of the Apatosaurus faces the opposite direction, seemingly looking into the future. The beast in all its fleshless grandeur looks forward to the discoveries that will give humanity an improved view of dinosaurs. This harmonious mixture of the past, present, and future in one room inspired the heart of a young man to pursue his passion for dinosaurs.