+416 You've wondered how scientists know things like what dinosaurs sounded like, or what's beyond our universe, amirite?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

SCIENTISTS ARE FULL OF LIES!!! or at least that's what scrantoncity told me d

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Uh, I'm pretty sure every human is full of lies.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

no way dawg you lying to me

by Anonymous 13 years ago

No, bruh, you done lied to a homie when he be angering you.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

They know what's in our universe because we have satellites up there. They know our universe is expanding; can guesstimate how many stars and galaxies there are; etc. because the universe follows precise mathematical laws. Therefore, once scientists find out what these laws are and how to apply them, they learn more about the universe. As regards to things like how apes, animals, etc. used to live and look, a lot of it is based on the fossils that are provided. For example, teeth can tell a lot about the diet of a living being. Bone length can tell them about the height of such a being, and so on. However, when the data is limited, scientists are forced to resort to "guesses" (hypotheses) until they are otherwise proven right or wrong. Other things like what something sounded like years ago is pure imagination - it's impossible to know that.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I don't know what he/she means "what dinosaurs sounded like...".If there are very well preserved fossils of tissue from vocal cords of, lets say, earlier humans I guess you can try to examine if their speech/vocal cords was limited compared to ours. I don't see what he/she means about dinosaurs.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

I think she meant that they roared, etc. as in Jurassic Park. But even if there were preserved breaths with vocals sounds in them, the reliability would be questionable and most importantly, they would be far and few between.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Well, I'm sure we could examine vocal cord tissue and compare it to today's birds/reptiles to predict whether or not they had the ability to roar.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

If you believe that today's birds are at all related to dinosaurs, sure. AND if you believe that despite all the evolutionary changes from dinosaur to bird, vocal cords remained relatively similar. ;)

by Anonymous 13 years ago

(Etherial):I wouldn't know anything but if you know how vocal cords work, I'm sure you can make a good hypothesis as to whether they were capable of 'roaring'.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

" Actually I found this: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Paleontology-Dinosaurs-1571/2009/5/dinosaurs-really-roar.htm The best way we can infer what dinosaurs sounded like is trying to find out their senses of hearing and what kind of noises did their skulls produce. Most dinosaurs had decent hearing, some even could hear low-frequency noises like elephants today. Another clue is the size of their sinus cavities, inferring what kind of sound they made. Hadrosaurs and ceratopsians had large sinuses, and some hadrosaurs had crests that amplified the sound. They probably were noisy, but roars like a lion were probably out of the question. Another indicator would be the hyoid bone in the throat, something most vertebrates have. This bone allows the animal to articulate sounds. We have a hyoid bone ourselves, giving us a large range of soundmaking capabilities. My guess is that dinosaurs roared, albiet not like lions. They probably sounded more resonant like seals, b..

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Not to say that I don't believe dinosaurs roared. Obviously they made some sort of sounds - nearly every living mammal does. My problem with answers like the one you just copied and pasted is that, from what I see is, it presents everything that would be needed to prove that dinosaurs in fact roared but nowhere does it mention if in fact this data is present and/or in what quantities and quality. Eh, it sounds convincing enough though. :)

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Well I mean to answer the original post: "You've wondered how scientists know things like what dinosaurs sounded like..." This explains how a scientist would go about trying to figure out something like this.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

ono Right.. I already forgot all about the original post. Oh gosh.. It's only 9:30. WAKE UP BRAIN! xD

by Anonymous 13 years ago

The OP was talking about what's BEYOND our univers, but I have no idea what they mean because scientists don't have any solid idea of what, if anything is "beyond" the "edge" of the universe.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Oh whoops, I meant to say that because of previously mentioned mathematical laws, scientists are able to determine that the universe is seemingly expanding but a definite explanation regarding further details about this are still pending. I figured that this is what the OP is referring to. Anyway, it was supposed to be in my original post but my mind got distracted. xD

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Yeah I know that feeling after typing a long comment. At the end you're like "What am I even responding to again?"

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Precisely. :) Or worse, "What was my point again?"

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Oooh that one's the worst! Except maybe when you realize that you're wrong halfway through...

by Anonymous 13 years ago

What? Me wrong? [flutters eyelashes] Neeeever. ;) And apparently, neither are you. [pokes that other post] xD

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Haha yeah. I'm pretty sure that that same anon has made a few other posts about me because there's been one per day for the last two or three days and I think they're all anonymous...

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You have a secret admirer and it's not even Valentine's Day. How special. ;)

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Yeah I guess *nervous laugh* I can think of a few people who it might be. And no it's not me. But I also have (or at least had) an anonymous hater.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Eh, it's not so bad if you imagine them to be hot chicks. Always look on the bright side of things. xD

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Well amirite IS 73% girl hello

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Voila. xD

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Exactly, how do scientists know what's beyond our universe? And why don't they tell us what it is?!?

by Anonymous 13 years ago

You have to be a premium member of the club.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Dinosaurs never happened, just ask the Southern Baptists.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

ever heard about a magic 8 ball? I hear they use that a lot

by Anonymous 13 years ago

Yeah, and I think tarot cards played a big role as well.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

they don't.

by Anonymous 13 years ago

They guess, but Ross from friends is probably right http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdUhNTSqwCA&feature=related

by Anonymous 13 years ago