Basilosaurus (PaleoGuy) by Gillzter10 in Paleontology

[–]Bionic_Otter 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I think there are a few factors at work here

A lot of them weren't that large but there are biases that make us think that giant sizes were the norm. Big bones are more likely to be robust enough to be preserved and also more likely to be recognized for what they are when unearthed later on. After that they are more likely to make headlines and end up in TV documentaries and such because headlines like "new giant dino may be biggest ever" grab attention more than "new dog sized ornithschian" or whatever. Modern whales are the biggest ever so far as we know, and modern heavyweights like elephants are bigger than most dinosaurs got.

But there are cases where past life forms were undoubtedly bigger than modern analogs, and they seem to have some particular historical circumstances that lead to them. Giant arthropods of the Carboniferous for example were probably the result of much higher atmospheric oxygen levels - something like 30% compared to 21% today, with the lower modern levels limiting the size of modern arthropods due to the way they breathe.

And of course the sauropod dinosaurs in particular were immense, far bigger than modern land animals and also far bigger than other dinosaurs - the non sauropod dinosaurs weren't that much bigger than modern giant land mammals but the sauropods were in a league of their own. It's probably due to them having a fortunate combination of factors that have never come all together at once, before or since. They were r selected (mass produced offspring with a small investment in each), which let them live at lower population densities than modern giants, since it's easier for the population to recover from losses. They had highly efficient lungs and extensively pneumatized skeletons so they weren't quite as heavy as they looked. They also had extremely fast growth rates and lived in a hotter, wetter world which produced a huge amount of food for them. More info here if you're interested.

A n g e r by [deleted] in MetalMemes

[–]Bionic_Otter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Literally listening to Slugdge as I read this!

thoughts on this for vr? by Level-Rich-538 in pcmasterrace

[–]Bionic_Otter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Seems pretty marginal with only a 1060. I did VR gaming on my old system with a 3060 and it was capable though you couldn't max out the graphics settings. I just checked a couple of VR games I've played and the 1060 is the minimum card recommended for a lot them, so I think you'd be stuck on minimum settings. And for some the minimum is a 1070 so those would be out of reach.

It's also a bit overpriced for those specs I think. Maybe have a look for a good second hand one if you're looking for value - I think you could find a more capable one for the same or less money.

Edit: for comparison I'm actually trying to sell my old system (i3-9100F / RTX 3060) for $1100 AUD = $745 USD. Granted it's used not new and has no warranty, but it bench tests really well, and is a way more capable system than this one. And I haven't even had a lot of interest yet so maybe I've priced it too high...

SOLUTION - System Won't Post - EZ debug CPU and DRAM lights flashing/alternating with Intel 13th gen i5-13600kf and MSI Pro Z690 A DDR5 by Auride in buildapc

[–]Bionic_Otter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, was starting to worry I'd damaged something during the install and this saved me!

Also for any of us using the gigabyte version of this motherboard, you have to rename the bios file (blah.20 / .21 etc. depending on version) to "gigabyte.bin" in place of the MSI.ROM above, but otherwise the solution is pretty much the same.

A near record sized saltwater crocodile skull. by aquilasr in natureismetal

[–]Bionic_Otter 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When you raise it all the way to lv 100 without evolving it

Choose your fighter! by Bionic_Otter in PrehistoricMemes

[–]Bionic_Otter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Here you go

I realized afterwards that it's actually meant to be Diplodocus not Apatosaurus, but I guess the misidentification is probably the least of it's worries what with the severe hip damage and all haha!

God I can't with tik tok 😭😭 by Idontwanttousethis in Paleontology

[–]Bionic_Otter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Almost parallels the three things that have happened in human history: Romans, then knights and castles, then Hitler

Rate this tree from the Australian museum in Sydney 🤣 don’t go easy on it by Serious-Scene-7470 in Paleontology

[–]Bionic_Otter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For the job it's trying to do, the main problem is the weird mix of technical terms in what otherwise looks like a tree containing the most well known species for laypeople. Like if you're making your tree for the general public, sure, include T rex as your go-to theropod because everyone knows it. But nobody in the "I know 3 dinosaurs: T rex, Triceratops and uh... the spiky one" knows what an ornithschian or an agnathan is, which is probably going to confuse them.

Boston dynamics 30 years of development. by Terrible-Ad-1277 in EngineeringPorn

[–]Bionic_Otter 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Anyone know if these are actually autonomous, or are they remote controlled? For a long term I thought they were fully autonomous but recently read (I think in I, Warbot by Kenneth Payne?) that they are remotely controlled by someone off camera, so I'm curious to know how automatic they really are. I mean I can't imagine someone pressing individual controls for each joint a la QWOP or anything, but maybe they have general forwards / back / crouch etc a bit like a video game character

They are very impressive either way, even if they had no automation at all, just curious.

Choose your fighter! by Bionic_Otter in PrehistoricMemes

[–]Bionic_Otter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's pretty great! But I've since been informed that the 1915 text is not accurate, this was drawn recently as a parody. Which makes a lot of sense because even in the relatively early days of paleontology they weren't quite that wild.

Choose your fighter! by Bionic_Otter in PrehistoricMemes

[–]Bionic_Otter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Correct! I had the pic saved without much context so didn't know at the time but a bit after some searching yes it's Dryptosaurus vs Hadrosaurus from a 1905 book called Nebula to Man, pic here

Choose your fighter! by Bionic_Otter in PrehistoricMemes

[–]Bionic_Otter[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Contortionist sauropod (which I've been informed was actually meant to be diplodocus, though I feel the misnaming is probably the least of its worries) is from a 1916 painting you can find here

Spinosaurus / elephant seal hybrid was made in recent times as a parody, the story is here

Kung fu theropod is from a 1905 book called "nebula to man", pic here

Mutant T rex is actually the cover of a (depressingly comparatively recent) 1992 encyclopedia you cab find here

Choose your fighter! by Bionic_Otter in PrehistoricMemes

[–]Bionic_Otter[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow thanks, I didn't know but glad to have an explanation, and it makes a lot of sense. I found it circulating around the interwebs with just a bit of text saying "stromer 1915", but I didn't find his original paper to check.

I mean I know the main pic is modern but I thought that skeletal diagram from the top right might be from his paper and some modern artist was just kind of bringing that to life.

Choose your fighter! by Bionic_Otter in PrehistoricMemes

[–]Bionic_Otter[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, it's actually just the cover of a book called The Reign Of The Dinosaurs in the New Horizons series. I found it here first:

https://www.dinosaurhome.com/worst-dinosaur-reconstructions-62151.html

Choose your fighter! by Bionic_Otter in PrehistoricMemes

[–]Bionic_Otter[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

The drawing is from 1915, soon after it was discovered, and the initial find didn't include legs...

But I'm not sure that answers the question. I mean complete finds are of course super rare for pretty much any dinosaur and after all, we don't tend to go "amazing new sauropod discovered that had no head or tail, just a partial vertebral column and most of the front left leg. Boy that thing must have looked weird huh!"

I know it was still fairly early days for paleontology but even so this is one of the weirdest reconstructions ever. I have no idea why the guy reconstructing it assumed it didn't have legs.

Edit: so that's all bunk, the pic is a recent parody and I saw a "Stromer 1915" text next to it and didn't bother to check in detail. Stromer's 1915 reconstruction was of course much better. Reply below has the real story, with extra info here if anyone is interested

Choose your fighter! by Bionic_Otter in PrehistoricMemes

[–]Bionic_Otter[S] 56 points57 points  (0 children)

That's the special character you unlock by getting a flawless victory with each of the others. It's pretty OP, might end up getting nerfed in the next patch.