Dr. Dale Gnidovec’s love for fossils and artifacts radiated from the way he talked about what he saw in the museums in London and Paris. First, I thought it was really cool to get some background info on Orton Hall. I always am inside because I love the library there, but I haven’t been anywhere else in the building. Right away his talk intrigued me when he talked about the Mastodon fossil he saw in London’s museum of Natural history from Big Bone State Lick Park. I’ve lived most of my life right next to Big Bone and have never realized what a big deal it was. I am also really excited to see the Rosetta Stone in France. My family is from Egypt and we actually have a small replica of the Rosetta Stone in our living room in Northern Kentucky so it will be very cool to see it in person. Just like Dr. Gnidovec, I grew up with a love for dinosaurs so I am excited to see in person what types of fossils we will see in the museums of London and Paris.
Month: January 2020
Dr. Anelli
Charles Darwin is a name that I have heard since probably middle school always in relation to the discovery of evolution and the Origin of Species. However, I have never spent the time to study his life in-depth other than his trip around the world. It was very cool to be able to watch the movie, Creation, and then speak about his life with Dr. Anelli. There were things about Darwin that I didn’t quite pick up in the movie that I learned during her lecture. For example, I had no idea he was going to become a priest. I also had always thought he went on his trip around the world with the intent of looking for evidence for evolution, I never realized that he formulated the theory after he came back. I am definitely excited to see his house when we are in London and the replica of the HMS Beagle.
Dr. Weisenberger
I thought this lecture was a great way to kick start our guest speakers. You could tell right away Dr. Weisenberger knew her stuff. She spoke very eloquently and didn’t really look at her notes even though she was telling a lot of stories of these notable Ohio State Alum with great detail. I found her story about the founders and first group of faculty very interesting. She was very descriptive in her story-telling so I could imagine them all in one building trying to make it work. I also thought it was really cool that researchers at OSU were involved in creating the drumstick because that is one of my favorite frozen treats.
Dr Dale Gnidovec
I unfortunately had to leave this discussion after about 30 minutes for a work meeting but what a passionate speaker. I could listen to him talk about literally anything because of his storytelling abilities, personability, and captivating presentation. I am hoping I can catch him in his office to get a quick catch-up on his lecture that I missed. He tied so much history into painting the entire global picture in the eras he was discussing, it was so easy to place your mind in the specific timeline he would focus on. Excited to spend more time listening to him.
Dr. Dale Gnidovek Reflection
I thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Gnidovek’s presentation. I agreed when he said that every kid went through a dinosaur phase and I always enjoy getting to see/hold fossils. It was interesting to learn about major historical figures such as Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Carnegie who played roles in the discovery and excavation of specific fossils. It was also neat to see that fossils found in Ohio are now in museums all over the world.
Carol Anelli Reflection
I found the talk on Tuesday to be very informative. When I had previously learned about Darwin, only his trip to the Galapagos, natural selection, and his theory of evolution were discussed. I found it very interesting to learn more about his background, the scientists that influenced him, and his ties to geology. I also liked looking at the social influences such as the Church that made it difficult for Darwin to publish his work and for that work to be accepted. In my opinion the movie Creation falls more into the category of a Gothic horror movie. While the movie did portray his grief, I think some scenes were over the top, including the scene of the storm coming through his office, complete with glowing and moving specimen jars. I think the movie portrayed him more as delusional than grieving. The movie focused on Darwin as a man, while Darwin as a scientist was shown in more subtle ways. The movie did not portray all the evidence that Darwin collected for his book. However, it did show some of his work with pigeons and he even interacted with his children while teaching them about science.
Dr. Carol Anelli – Darwin Reflection
The movie “Creation” really tends to focus in on the short period of time where Darwin was deciding on publishing his work; don’t get me wrong, it was incredibly interesting, but there was a bit of background information that I felt I was missing. That is where Dr. Anelli came in! I really enjoyed her presentation because not only was it relevant to what we were learning (and reading), but it filled in the blanks for information we might have pondered. Scientists and their lives are so interesting!
As for the three movie reviews, they are very different. One says the movie is filmed sort of like a “Gothic horror movie”; I can kind of see this perspective. The haunting of his dead daughter, the delirium that was caused by his scientific works, the constant thoughts entering his mind – I can see how these were portrayed in a horror movie fashion. The second review says the story was told “with restraint”; I don’t particularly agree with this perspective. The only thing I felt the movie held back on was the background knowledge or other useful information the viewer might have enjoyed. That being said, the director was respectful towards Charles’ burdens and portrayed them in a realistic way. The third review says it was a “sensitive” portrayal. This review isn’t very deep, so I’m not entirely sure what they mean by this. I think the movie was actually rather dark and even heavy at times, but it contained sensitive topics I suppose? I can find ways in which I agree and disagree with all three of these reviews. The “Gothic horror movie” is the most interesting perspective, and I like to look at it in that light!
Dr. Anelli Reflection
I really enjoyed this lecture mainly because of how enthusiastic Dr. Anelli was. I found it interesting when talking more about Darwin’s life and his relationship with family. I also found it interesting that some of his greatest influences rejected his findings. It’s so interesting to learn about how people viewed his ideas back then versus today and this difference of acceptance.
Dr. Dale Gnidovec Reflection
I throughly enjoyed Dale’s speech. It was really great to see his passion and enthusiasm for geology and paleontology, and his excitement I felt was contagious. I like that he pointed out specific museums we would visit while abroad, which made me even more excited for the trip. I would specifically like to do some more research into Mary Anning, who Dale mentioned, before and during the trip. I was really interested in the “subaqueous flying” Dale said was a characteristic of the creatures Mary Anning found. I just think it’s really interesting how geologist/paleontologists can make these different predictions for how Earth and different species used to be and learn from it.
Dale Gnidovec Reflection
I really enjoyed Dale Gnidovec’s talk on fossils. Paleontology is something that I do not really know a lot about, so I appreciated that he was so passionate and excited to talk to us about fossils and minerals. I liked how he related all the fossils he saw in the London and Paris Museums back to Ohio. It makes me excited to go and visit those museums when I am abroad in March. His talked lined up nicely with the later chapters in the book related to geology and paleontology. Sometimes reading about rocks and fossils is not very interesting. Having a lecture on it from Gnidovec expanded upon several ideas in the book. One thing from his lecture that was interesting was the state of Ohio was world famous for specific fossils like the Mastadon. I also found it interesting that the Cryolophosaurus skeleton at the front of the building was found in Antarctica, and the original bones are now housed at the Chicago Field Museum.