week 2 RJA

Diigo Account     www.diigo.com/user/wdial10
Possible Topics

• nature vs. nurture
• extinction of the dinosaurs
• string theory
• death penalty
• is there a criminal (sociopath) gene

 Research Topic  The topic of my research paper has taken me a long time to decide. I have been thinking about what to write since I registered for this class. The range of topics has gone from steroids in professional sports to is there a gay gene to the string theory in physics. The reason for this wide range of topics is that I have many interests and a lot of useless information in my head. I have always considered myself a trivia buff which means that my knowledge covers a varied array of topics. After much deliberation, I have decided that my topic is going to be one that children everywhere want to know the answer. How did the dinosaurs become extinct?
   I have never studied dinosaurs or had much interest in them until recently. While researching global warming for a speech I had to give, the topic of the extinction of dinosaurs came up in an article I was reading. I think everyone has thought about it at some point in time. My theory has always been the prevalent one. A giant comet hit the Earth and wiped out the dinosaurs. But as popular as that belief is, it is not the only one. Climate change, volcanoes, and disease are also popular ideas.
   After seeing the different theories, my interest was piqued. I am a firm believer in global warming and the idea of climate change destroying a large population of this world had me intrigued. Also the idea that a super disease could kill so many living things was interesting. I feel like the study of the mass extinction is relevant today because of the advances we are making in science. The human race has created some awful diseases and weapons and yet we still could miss an asteroid and still can't control the weather. I have felt like mother nature is out to get us for a long time. If we study what happened to the dinosaurs then maybe we can stop it from happening to us.