Stephen Jay Gould Sex Drugs Disasters Summary
In “Sex, Drugs, Disasters, and the Extinction of Dinosaurs”, Stephen Jay Gould
Gould, annoyed with inconsistency in popular science, takes issue with widely accepted theories that have gained notoriety despite not having any real application of the scientific method. To argue his point he compares and contrasts three notable theories to explain the death of the dinosaurs. Gould explains that good science provides the opportunity to prove or disprove a hypothesis, and anything less is mere speculation.
The first hypothesis (sex) claims that dinosaurs met their demise due to a shift in temperatures that killed of male sperm making reproduction impossible. It is widely known today that a high temperature can decrease sperm count. It is produced outside the body’s core in the testes because the human body’s temperature is too high to survive. Ok, that makes sense. The second theory (drugs) describes a scenario where dinosaurs died from eating toxic plants because their livers are incapable of filtering poison. Huh? Wait…this made sense to people? Gould argues that both theories …show more content…
Not Rock-n-Roll) says an asteroid struck the earth 65 million years ago, and created a dust cloud that kept sunlight from reaching the earth. This prevented photosynthesis, caused temperatures to substantially drop, and as a result dinosaurs to starved to death. As it turns out, we have a winner! This theory is the only one that holds weight because this hypothesis is testable, and evidence has been found to substantiate it. For years, scientists have sought to test and disprove the meteor idea, but repeatedly have discovered evidence all over the world of terrestrial minerals that could only have come from outer space. Gould argues that good science is “a fruitful mode of inquiry, not a list of enticing conclusions.” (Gould 433) In other words, theories have to encourage debate, and they must be testable, or it is nothing more than
Gould, annoyed with inconsistency in popular science, takes issue with widely accepted theories that have gained notoriety despite not having any real application of the scientific method. To argue his point he compares and contrasts three notable theories to explain the death of the dinosaurs. Gould explains that good science provides the opportunity to prove or disprove a hypothesis, and anything less is mere speculation.
The first hypothesis (sex) claims that dinosaurs met their demise due to a shift in temperatures that killed of male sperm making reproduction impossible. It is widely known today that a high temperature can decrease sperm count. It is produced outside the body’s core in the testes because the human body’s temperature is too high to survive. Ok, that makes sense. The second theory (drugs) describes a scenario where dinosaurs died from eating toxic plants because their livers are incapable of filtering poison. Huh? Wait…this made sense to people? Gould argues that both theories …show more content…
Not Rock-n-Roll) says an asteroid struck the earth 65 million years ago, and created a dust cloud that kept sunlight from reaching the earth. This prevented photosynthesis, caused temperatures to substantially drop, and as a result dinosaurs to starved to death. As it turns out, we have a winner! This theory is the only one that holds weight because this hypothesis is testable, and evidence has been found to substantiate it. For years, scientists have sought to test and disprove the meteor idea, but repeatedly have discovered evidence all over the world of terrestrial minerals that could only have come from outer space. Gould argues that good science is “a fruitful mode of inquiry, not a list of enticing conclusions.” (Gould 433) In other words, theories have to encourage debate, and they must be testable, or it is nothing more than