Gregory S. Paul 1064047 221384733 2008-06-24T08:16:26Z Dinoguy2 140946 /* Writing */ '''Gregory S. Paul''' (born [[1954]]) is a [[freelance]] [[paleontologist]], [[author]] and [[illustrator]]. He is best known for his work and research on [[theropoda|theropod]] [[dinosaur]]s, and his detailed [[illustration]]s, both live and skeletal. == Illustrations == Paul helped pioneer the "new look" of dinosaurs started by [[Bob Bakker]]. He was among the first professional artists to depict them as active, [[warm-blooded]] and &mdash; in the case of the small ones &mdash; feathered. Many later dinosaur illustrations are a reflection of his anatomical insights or even a direct imitation of his style. The fact that he also works closely with paleontologists lead many to regard his images as a sort of scientific standard to be followed; this tendency is stimulated by his habit of constantly redrawing older work to let it reflect the latest finds and theories. Much of it is in black-and-white; in ink, crayon or pencil. Even one of his scientific critics, [[Storrs L. Olson]], described him in a review in the ''[[Scientific American]]'' as "a superior artist". == Writing == === Paleontology === Aside from many scientific articles {{Fact|date=June 2007}}, Paul has written two books on paleontology, both lavishly illustrated by the author himself: * ''Predatory Dinosaurs of the World'' (1988, ISBN 0-671-61946-2): Aimed at a popular audience.<ref name=GSP88a>{{cite book |last=Paul |first=Gregory S. |title=Predatory Dinosaurs of the World |year=1988 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-671-61946-2 }}</ref> * ''Dinosaurs of the Air'' (2002, ISBN 0-8018-6763-0): Quite scholarly, the book puts forth the hypothesis that some theropods, especially [[Maniraptora|maniraptor]]s like the ''[[Velociraptor]]'', were descended from flying dinosaurs who later lost the ability to fly. ===Religion=== {{seealso|Morality#Religion and morality}} Paul authored a paper in 2005 entitled "Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popular Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies: A First Look".<ref>Paul 2005.</ref> He states in the introduction that the paper is "not an attempt to present a definitive study that establishes cause versus effect between religiosity, secularism and societal health".<ref>Paul 2005, p. 2.</ref> This paper has been criticized on statistical grounds, including the seemingly arbitrary sampling of 18 countries out of more than 193 for examination, its indirect measure of "religiosity" (the author's term) and its "chi-by-eye" interpretation of [[scatterplot]]s rather than quantified measures.{{Fact|date=April 2007}} Moreno-Riaño, Smith, and Mach wrote in a published article in the same journal that "[Paul's] methodological problems do not allow for any conclusive statement to be advanced regarding the various hypotheses Paul seeks to demonstrate or falsify."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/2006/2006-1.html|title=Religiosity, Secularism, and Social Health|date=2006|publisher=[http://moses.creighton.edu]|accessdate=2007-05-27}}</ref> Note: Moreno-Riaño, Smith, and Mach, were, at the time of their paper, from Cedarville University, OH. This Christian University requests adhesion to a binding Doctrine Statement <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cedarville.edu/academics/avp/truth/doctrinalstatement.cfm|title=Doctrine Statement - Cedarville University|date=2008|publisher=[http://www.cedarville.edu]|accessdate=2008-04-22}}</ref> that constrains the freedom of what a member of the faculty or a student could conclude in matters touching the University religious tenets. Gary F. Jensen of [[Vanderbilt University]] is one of the scientists who criticizes the methods used by Paul, including that "Paul’s analysis generates the 'desired results' by selectively choosing the set of social problems to include to highlight the negative consequences of religion". In a response <ref>Jensen 2006.</ref> to the study by Paul, he builds on and refines Paul's analysis. His conclusion, that focus only in the crime of homicide, is that there is a correlation (and perhaps a causal relationship) of higher homicide rates, not with Christianity, but with [[dualism|dualistic]] [[Christian]] beliefs, something Jensen defines as the strong belief in all of the following : God, heaven, devil and hell. Excerpt: "A multiple regression analysis reveals a complex relationship with some dimensions of religiosity encouraging homicide and other dimensions discouraging it." == Named dinosaurs == Paul has named the dinosaurs: * ''[[Acrocanthosaurus]] altispinax'' * ''[[Albertosaurus]] megagracilis'' * ''[[Aublysodon]] molnari'' * ''[[Avisaurus]] archibaldi'' (with Brett-Surman; a bird) * ''[[Brachiosaurus]] (Giraffatitan) brancai'' (a sub-genus) * ''[[Mantellisaurus]] atherfieldensis'' * ''[[Potamornis]] skutchi'' (with Elzanowski & Stidham; a bird) * ''[[Dollodon]] bampingi'' * ''[[Dakotadon]] lakotaensis'' The first three of these are now commonly assigned to other genera. The theropod ''[[Cryptovolans]] pauli'' is named after him in recognition of his (presumed correct) predictions about feathered and flying dinosaurs. ==Footnotes== {{reflist}} ==References== * {{cite journal | last = Jensen | first = G. F. | year = 2006 | title = Religious Cosmologies and Homicide Rates among Nations | journal = Journal of Religion & Society | volume = 8 | issue = | pages = 1&ndash;14 | issn = 1522-5658 | doi = | id = | url = http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/pdf/2006-7.pdf | language = | format = PDF | accessdate = 2007-04-07 }} * {{cite journal | last = Paul | first = G. S. | year = 2005 | title = Cross-National Correlations of Quantifiable Societal Health with Popularity Religiosity and Secularism in the Prosperous Democracies | journal = Journal of Religion & Society | volume = 7 | issue = | pages = 1&ndash;17 | issn = 1522-5658 | doi = | id = | url = http://moses.creighton.edu/JRS/pdf/2005-11.pdf | language = | format = PDF | accessdate = 2007-04-07 }} * {{cite book | author = Paul, G.S. | year = 2002 | title = Dinosaurs of the Air: The Evolution and Loss of Flight in Dinosaurs and Birds | location = Baltimore | publisher = Johns Hopkins University Press }} == See also == * [[Feathered dinosaurs]] {{DEFAULTSORT:Paul, Gregory S.}} [[Category:1954 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:American illustrators]] [[Category:American paleontologists]] [[Category:Scientific illustrators]] [[nl:Gregory S. Paul]]