Re: Paleontology Funding/Spending Amounts (posted for C. Gross)

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Date: Wed, 03 Jan 1996 12:39:52 -0700
From: GROSS CORY WALTER <GROS4891@adc.mtroyal.ab.ca>
Subject: Re: Paleontology Funding/Spending Amounts
To: paleonet-owner@nhm.ac.uk
Organization: MRC Academic Computing
Priority: normal
Status: O

Date sent:      Wed, 03 Jan 1996 14:33:41 +0000
From:           N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk (N. MacLeod)
Subject:        Paleontology Funding/Spending Amounts
To:             paleonet@nhm.ac.uk
Send reply to:  paleonet-owner@nhm.ac.uk
>
>...After bemoaning the current state of funding for Paleo. to each
>other I speculated that paleontologistshave been somewhat lax about
>cashing in on the obvious popular fascinationfor fossils among the
>general public by preferring to ask governments fortheir research
>dollars. True, my friend, replied, there was much more that
>we could be doing by getting out there and rubbing shoulders with the
>public a little more. However, he doubted that sums of money
>sufficient tocover current levels of paleo. support could be raised
>that way. Personally, I don't buy the idea that paleo. funding has to
>be based on an either/or formula and I am continually impressed by
>the amounts of money the Dinosaur Society is able to make available
>to SVP to fund research at both the student and professional
>levels....
>in addition, does anyone have any idea how much is spent by the
>public on paleontology-related products and activities each year?
>
>Norm MacLeod

    Hello All,

        Well,  I can't tell you exactly how much money is being spent
on Paleo. related stuff,  but I do know that it is a hell of a lot.
The scientific palaeontological community may have been lax in
cashing in on the current phenomenom (especially with dinosaurs),
but commercial interests have not.  I doubt that anyone can challenge
the idea that there is a lot of crap out on the market,  and that's
where the problem lays.

        Cashing in the popularity of things like dinosaurs is a bit
of a double-edged sword.  While promoting the science of
palaeontology,  it also has the ability to spread pseudo-science and
misinformation (how many kids are now running around thinking that
Dilophosaurus really did spit venom?).  I refer you to a rather good
article in the latest issue of Equinox magazine (I'm not sure about
it's availability outside of Canada though) about the dinosaur pop-
culture phenomenom.  Plus there is the chance that it may not be
advancing interest in true palaeontology at all.  I remember hearing
about the Jurassic Park exhibit at the American MNH,  where the
crowds passed right by the skelletal reconstructions to catch
glimpses of footage from the film.

        However,  this cash-cow is too productive to pass by.  I
would rather see products on the market that are developed and
supported by people who are associated with palaeontology than by
commercial interests.  There are some good products in that vein;
such as Safari Ltm.'s dinosaur models & "Carnegie Collection".  I
also imagine that the Tyrrell Museum isn't doing to bad with their
Day Digs and Field Experience programs.  Then the controversy is
raised over who's word do we go by with these products...

Cory Gross
artist,writer,philosopher,scientist
gros4891@adc.mtroyal.ab.ca