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Long ago, millions of years in fact, dinosaurs are said to have roamed the earth without ever interacting with any humans.  Radiometric dating and the fossil record shows this to be scientifically true.  However, historical records (writings, glyphs, tapestries, murals, and more) from all parts of the world show us large creatures living alongside humans.  History records these animals as Dragons or Serpents.  However, many of these look identical to different species of dinosaurs.  The word Dinosaur was not invented until 1841, so that may explain it lacking throughout history.  Were all of these behemoths, from all parts of the planet just myth?   Many accurate scholars and authors whose work we use for historical records tell of many such incredible and dangerous creatures.  

Herodotus (called the Father of History by Cicero), Aristotle, Titus Josephus, Claudius Aelianus, Marco Polo are just a few of many to write about Dragons and Serpents.  C. Aelianus (Roman Writer and Rhetoric Teacher) records Alexander the Great's men being frightened at the size of an ancient dragon which the people in India were worshipping at the time.  Marco Polo tells of the Chinese emperor who was training dragons to pull his chariot and even had an official dragon feeder.  We also have ancient pottery, cave drawings from across the globe, tapestries, and even paintings of such dragons.  Many look exactly like what dinosaurs are said to have looked like.  Even Leonardo De Vinci has a famous drawing called "Dragon Striking Down Lion."  

Of course, these could all just be myths and imaginations.  So, in addition, we also will take a logical and historical look about how aging is calculated in fossils.  There have been some new discoveries as well that may challenge these long-standing ideas.  A T-Rex skeleton was uncovered in Montana in 2005 that shows something no one ever dreamed of finding.  We will use the lens of logic to analyze these methods of dating and recording of fossils.  We will look in to how these dates are arrived at and see if there are any logical fallacies to be found in those calculations.  We will also find out just what classifies as a fossil according to science and how much of a skeleton you must have to fabricate the remaining bones.  

We will also spend a considerable amount of time examining the effects of the devastating volcanic eruption and what new discoveries and ideas it can show.

This class will seek to understand the science better by a study of history and an examination of information with our logical Fallacy Detective hats on.  I love dinosaurs so let's "dig" in. 

Week 1: Defining Terms & Artifacts of Dragons & Serpents in History

Week 2: More Artifacts and Literature on Dragons and Serpents in History

Week 3: Mount St. Helens Eruptions; Logical analysis of Radiometric Dating

Week 4: Logical analysis of Methods Used to Age the Earth and Fossils