Re: Brontosaursus

[Bart Singer <singer@tab00.larc.nasa.gov>]

Larry Loen writes:
     [lots of stuff deleted]
> I can think of nothing _more_ confusing than the present case,
> where I can still pick up different books freshly published that use
> Brontosaurus and Apatasaurus.  Is it really worth it to spend
> the next 50 years having to teach every school child about this
> issue, or can the scientists rise above pedantry in this one
> special case?
> 

I actually think that this is an excellent story for teaching children
about dinosaurs, biological names, classification and the scientific
process.  Over the next 50 years, only a few adults are going to continue 
to be confused by this issue.  If handled correctly, this misnomer can 
help school children learn a lot more about science  than simply learning
the correct name of a dinosaur.