Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
I had detected, with only a few misses. “Nice job!” I told him, and we then went
over his test results, just like I would with any eager and talented student of mine.
We were getting very happy indeed.
Tom soon joined us. Like Greg, he also wondered what had held our interest
so raptly, and he asked the same question as Greg: “What'd you find?”
My reply to him was slightly different, though, as I got a little professorial and
answered his question with a question: “What do you think is there?”
Tom looked coolly at the rock surface, bringing to bear more than 40 years
of paleontological experience, with more than 30 of those years spent studying
the Cretaceous rocks and fossils of Victoria. A moment passed, then he pointed to
the best-preserved dinosaur track and said, matter-of-factly, “Looks like a dinosaur
track.”
I nodded. “Yes, it is. See any others?”
One by one, he pointed to each track, and like Greg he found nearly every one
Ihadidentified.Thiswasanothergreatexampleofalittlescientificprinciplecalled
repeatability. That is, a scientist should be able to have her or his results repeated
independently by other scientists.
I wasn't through with Tom, though, and asked him to take a close look at the
little chicken-sized track nearest me. “Anything special about this one?”
That stumped Tom. “Help me out. What am I supposed to see?”
“Look behind it. See anything like it?”
He quickly put his finger on the small track preceding the one nearest me.
“Good. Anything behind that one?” I said.
“That one,” he said, putting his finger on another identical small-sized track.
I beamed again. “It's a trackway.”
Whenthatlittlebitofinformationsankin,Tomallowedhimselftheindulgence
of a very small Mona Lisa-like smile. Of all people in the entire continent of Aus-
tralia, there were maybe five who would appreciate the significance of what was in
front of us now, and Tom was one of them.
