When four nutty professors write an article together! Thes nutty and scheming professors only quoted a few, rare and spectacular auction sales of fossils. This far from reality!
There are so many fossils found, many of them even duplicates. Many, if not most auctioned fossils are of little market value and their pricing is low. Why do these nutty professors not visit more auctions and buy cheap fossils?
Auctioning of fossils does not totally prevent or exclude scientific research. Maybe the next owner of a fossil is very willing to donate his acquisition to research!
Some of the arguments made by these four nutty professors are quite dubious and not very convincing! E.g. "Leading scientific journals won’t publish research based on them [auctioned fossils] for a simple reason: science demands permanent access."
"Last year, a Stegosaurus nicknamed “Apex” sold at auction for US$40.5 million. A juvenile Ceratosaurus fetched US$30.5 million just last month.
Supporters of these sales argue that they’re harmless, or even good for science. Others compare fossils to art objects, praising their beauty or historical charm.
As paleontologists, we say plainly: these views could not be more misguided.
Fossils are neither art objects nor trophies. They are scientific data [???] that provide a tangible record of Earth’s deep history. Fossils are essential tools for understanding evolution, extinction, climate change and the origins and disappearances of ecosystems. ...
Science should not be for sale [???]. ..."
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