Explorers of Deep Time : : Paleontologists and the History of Life / / Roy Plotnick.

• Superior document: Title is part of eBook package: De Gruyter Columbia University Press Complete eBook-Package 2022
• VerfasserIn: Plotnick, Roy,
• Place / Publishing House: New York, NY : : Columbia University Press, , [2022]; ©2022
• Year of Publication: 2022
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource :; 20 figures

Paleontology is one of the most visible yet most misunderstood fields of science. Children dream of becoming paleontologists when they grow up. Museum visitors flock to exhibits on dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals. The media reports on fossil discoveries and new clues to mass extinctions. Nonetheless, misconceptions abound: paleontologists are assumed only to be interested in dinosaurs, and they are all too often imagined as bearded white men in battered cowboy hats.Roy Plotnick provides a behind-the-scenes look at paleontology as it exists today in all its complexity. He explores the field’s aims, methods, and possibilities, with an emphasis on the compelling personal stories of the scientists who have made it a career. Paleontologists study the entire history of life on Earth; they do not only use hammers and chisels to unearth fossils but are just as likely to work with cutting-edge computing technology. Plotnick presents the big questions about life’s history that drive paleontological research and shows why knowledge of Earth’s past is essential to understanding present-day environmental crises. He introduces readers to the diverse group of people of all genders, races, and international backgrounds who make up the twenty-first-century paleontology community, foregrounding their perspectives and firsthand narratives. He also frankly discusses the many challenges that face the profession, with key takeaways for aspiring scientists. Candid and comprehensive, Explorers of Deep Time is essential reading for anyone curious about the everyday work of real-life paleontologists.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- PART I. DEEP TIME -- 1. Those Who Know the Past -- 2. We Have the Best Questions -- 3. I’m Not Ross (or Indiana Jones) -- PART II. EXPLORING DEEP TIME -- 4. Attending Marvels -- 5. Safe Places -- 6. Cool Toys -- 7. Big Data and the Big Picture -- 8. The Ends of the Worlds as We Know Them -- 9. Lessons for and from the Li -- PART III. EXPLORERS OF DEEP TIME -- 10. The Education of a Paleontologist -- 11. Living in the Real World -- 12. The Face of Paleontology -- 13. The Third Reviewer -- 14. Conferring, Conversing, and Otherwise Hob -- 15. Fighting Over Scraps -- PART IV. DEEP TIME AND THE BROAD WORLD -- 16. This Land Is Your Land, Your Fossil Is My Fossil -- 17. For the Love of Fossils -- 18. Presenting the Past -- 19. Those Who Do Not Know the Past -- 20. Drawing on the Past -- 21. The World of Paleontology -- 22. Last Thoughts: SWOT-ing at Paleontology -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Index