Stephen Jay Gould Sex Drugs Disasters And The Extinction Of Dinosaurs

Unlike the others Gould is able to bring forth substantial evidence that can be expanded upon and tested by scientists. Some of the evidence he brings forth is how the possibility of a meteor strike is not all that impossible.This can be examined upon by physicists Luis and Walter Alvarez “The number of Apollo objects and the immensity of geological time virtually guarantee that impacts will occur once in a great while.”(Gould 17) Further substantiated by the discovery of iridium which is found in meteorites near cretaceous extinction sites. What I liked that Gould does is show that like a good hypothesis it can be tested or disproved. It is not simply what he believes to be true, He does this with a finding by the University of Maryland. “Reporting that volcanic eruptions of Kilauea on Hawaii had belched forth unexpectedly high levels of iridium; perhaps an extraterrestrial source need not be sought.” (Gould

The question of what caused the extinction of megafauna during the Late Pleistocene period is one that archaeologists have struggled to answer for decades, but why should it matter? Discovering with certainty the cause of megafaunal extinction would

He narrowed his hunt down to a location in Denmark, where he had sent a colleague to perform an iridium analysis test at ("Asteroids and Dinosaurs: Unexpected Twists and an Unfinished Story," n.d.). When the results came back, Alvarez knew that whatever happened had not been a small-scale disaster. Once again, Alvarez was back to asking questions. What caused the increased iridium levels at the KT boundary? Except this time, he realized that his observations supported the ten year old hypothesis that had been proposed by paleontologist Dale Russell and physicist Wallace Tucker ("Asteroids and Dinosaurs: Unexpected Twists and an Unfinished Story," n.d.). They brought up the possibility of a supernova being the cause of dinosaur extinction. Supernovas are known to release high amounts of iridium, so such a hypothesis fit perfectly with Alvarez’s team’s discovery. However, the hope of having found a conclusion was short-lived. Luis Alvarez had mentioned that if said supernova had occurred that it would have released amounts of plutonium which would have been found alongside the iridium; no plutonium was found at either site. After more digging, the team came up with a new hypothesis ("Asteroids and Dinosaurs: Unexpected Twists and an Unfinished Story," n.d.). Perhaps an asteroid had struck Earth towards the end of the Cretaceous period, blowing enough dust into the atmosphere to

who theorize that volcanic eruptions could have been the cause for the extinction of dinosaurs

Gould praises Alvarez for his theory and the fact that it is flexible and sparks debate. Consider this: a man proclaims to the world that the sky is gray. This is not based off of any factual evidence, and it sparks no debate because people will either believe the theory against factual evidence or disagree with it because it is not factual. Now if a man were to say the sky is blue and openly inquire about why it is that color, new doors are opened, and discussion is created. Most people would believe this man, because his theory is based off of factual evidence, and it would generate a discussion because his theory raises a new question that can be spoke on limitlessly. This is the same point that Gould is trying to make; baseless thoughts shun discussion while factual ideas tend to open a forum for debate and new ideas.

Large amounts of iridium – a chemical element that is not a part of the Earth’s crust composition – were originally found in rocks of Europe and United States, and have been found everywhere ever since. Iridium, common in meteorites, is a testable evidence of the disaster hypothesis. Gould continues that the Cretaceous debacle, which is one of five episodes of mass dying, occurred at the same time as the large comet might have smashed into the Earth. The author believes this is not merely a coincidence, rather, it is a proof of the cause-effect relationship. The demise of a wide range of habitats along with the extinction of dinosaurs gives an inestimable advantage to the disaster theory over other claims, the author adds. The comet struck the Earth, and habitats, from terrestrial to marine, died with geological suddenness. Finally, this hypothesis has had an impact on the study of an atomic war and its consequences. A nuclear war, Gould says, may cause a huge drop in temperatures and result in the extinction of humanity. Testable evidence, study, development, contribution – all this makes good science.

Nobody can really say what actually eliminated the species, although everyone has their very own idea. Asteroid impact, atmospheric changes (hot to cold), catastrophic eruptions and astronomical events (supernovas etc.). Some have ventured that early mammal inhabitation slowly “pushed” the dinosaurs to extinction. The most favored theory in the scientific field is that of the meteor impact. As always though, knowing when is part of discovering how and why.

The Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction, also known as the K-T extinction, was a global extinction event that struck the Yucatan Peninsula at the end of the end of the Mesozoic Era, 65 million years ago. Walter Alvarez first discovered a meteorite big enough to be called a small asteroid that hit the Earth, creating the Chicxulub crater. Once the asteroid struck the North American continent, there were igneous rocks underneath the crater that contained high levels of a rare siderophile element, iridium. This catrostopic event had a massive effect on the environment, as several mammals, birds, and plants became extinct. It also caused an impact winter that made it impossible for plants and plankton to photosynthesis, as 75% of inland animals and 90% of marine species were affected. Not only did it cause an impact winter, but the asteroid also caused volcanic eruptions, climate change and sea level rise. Geologists have also found rich dinosaur, plant and marine fossils to illustrate the K-T extinction. This event not only caused species to become extinct, but it also had an adaptive radiation, as other species were able to diversify.

A handgun’s sole purpose is to kill a human being. Manipulating that power would lead to immense consequences, if the gun were to fall into the hands of an individual who is not in their right mind. Today, Nevada stands as the eighth state that enforces background checks on gun sales or transfers, through the work of Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg’s Question 1 hypostatized Stephen Jay Gould’s article, “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaur” by illustrating the pseudoscience behind establishing universal background checks to limit gun control. David Montero’s “When it Comes to Gun Laws, Nevada Could be Edging Closer to California,” and John Lott’s “The Gun Question,” discuss the topic of gun control and Nevada’s proposal to limit the amount of people able to obtain such guns by instigating background checks. Nevada’s new law of gun transactions requiring comprehensive background checks is flawed and vaguely written, the government must first improve the accuracy of the background checks and resolve the ongoing issues of crime in poverty before progressing.

The Chicxulub crater is located on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula and evaded detection for decades because it was buried while at the same time being reserved beneath a kilometre of younger rocks and sediments. Most scientists now agree that the Chicxulub crater is evidence that a huge asteroid or comet crashed into the Earth's surface 65 million years ago causing the extinction of more than 70% of the living species on the planet, including the dinosaurs. This collision idea was first popularised in 1980 by Luis Alvarez and his son, Walter Alvarez, where they developed the Alvarez hypothesis. They were studying a one centimetre-thick layer in Italy, which

In Stephen Jay Gould’s “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs”, Gould investigates three possible theories hypothesizing the reason behind the extinction of dinosaurs. The first theory suggests that dinosaurs became extinct due to a rise in temperature, which caused sperm to die, leading to the sterilization of male dinosaurs. The second hypothesis offer that many dinosaurs consumed bitter plants that contained psychoactive agents which their lives could not detoxify out of their systems. The last speculation about the dinosaur’s extinction is that a large cloud of dust formed in the atmosphere after an asteroid hit Earth’s surface. This dust cloud blocked out the sunlight, causing temperatures to drop and made photosynthesis impossible. Gould uses these three theories to lead to his central claim that science isn’t just about making fascinating claims, but should have a well developed hypothesis.

Although Martin is correct in his observation that humans have a direct impact on extinction, he cannot refute the fact that meteors can cause extinction. His argument in regards to dinosaur extinction was flawed. Martin argues that every child in the first grade knows that dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago. However, there is no evidence that there were humans on this Earth when dinosaurs existed so his whole argument becomes null. He cites factual inaccuracies in this

Over 98% of all organisms that have lived on Earth are now extinct. A mass extinction event occurs when a large number of species die out within a small time frame (relative to the age of Earth). Mass extinctions are intensively studied for both cause and effect, as there is usually room for debate regarding catalysts that precede the extinction and the massive influx of new biological species that follows. There have been five major mass extinctions, dubbed the “Big Five,” that have wiped out at least 50% of the species living at those times. The most well known mass extinction of the Big Five, with the decimation of every species of non-avian dinosaur, is the Cretaceous-Paleogene

This researcher proposes that the dinosaurs did not die of heat, in fact she thinks the opposite, that they froze to death instead. Both articles have the same idea about a meteorite hitting the earth yet there is no concrete evidence as to what caused the meteorite to strike and what it did when it got here.

The asteroid impact extinction theory began in 1980 with Luis and Walter Alvarez, a father and son team. They theorized that an asteroid struck the Earth at the close of the Cretaceous period, causing devastating effects and mass