The Great Dinosaur Debate by Robert T. Bakker

Bakker wants to enter the world of the dinosaur, not just study the creatures as an inanimate museum specimens. Kids and adults alike got a kick out of his discussion of prehistoric farts and poisonous snot. He's fond of commenting on the visceral aspects of prehistoric life. Now, once lumbering, tail dragging behemoths were running, their tails held parallel to the ground as they raced through museum halls.īakker is consumed with understanding dinosaur behavior-the bad and the good. Across the country, museums were dismounting decades-old dinosaur skeletons and building new exhibits that showed the ancient bones in a new light. His 1986 'Dinosaur Heresies' bulldogged to the general public the idea that was already changing the science of dinosaur paleontology. If Ostrom was the Darwin of the warm blooded dinosaur theory, Bakker was his Huxley. But, Ostrom supported his claims with evidence, and the skeptics soon fell into line. At first, the critics were highly skeptical. He has earned a reputation as a one of dinosaurology's loudest spokesmen-a paleo preacher always looking for converts to the exciting world of prehistoric life.Īt Yale, Ostrom, with student Bakker at his side, first proffered the theory that dinosaurs were not cold-blooded brutes, but warm-blooded, highly adapted, highly intelligent, and highly social creatures. Since then, Bakker has taught and conducted research a Johns Hopkins University, as well as the universities of Colorado and Wyoming. Bakker was destined to become a dinosaur hunter.īakker studied paleontology under the renowned paleontologist John Ostrom at Yale University and later earned a Ph.D.

The article and its dramatic illustrations captivated that ten-year-old’s fascination, and since that day Robert T.

In 1955, a lowly fourth grader read a magazine article on the mysterious beasts called dinosaurs.

The Great Dinosaur Debate by Robert T. Bakker