ego ego ego

The Great Disosaur "Gold Rush" from Dinosaurs in the Attic re-ignited my interest in dinosaurs. It's been a while since I've actually actively thought about them because their existence is so far removed from my day to day life. It's nice to sit back and ponder their enigmatic existence because it all just seems so alien. It's quite intriguing. 

The only thing that really bothered me with this chapter was the unnecessary rivalry between March and Cope. Why do people, specifically scientists, feel the need to compete with one another? Ultimately, this kind of rivalry only brings about slower production on both sides - making it not only counter productive but it also creates an environment that is not suitable for progressive research. I'm going to be honest - this rivalry really annoyed me, it started to make me think of human nature and how we are so innately drawn to think of each other as separate organisms. Only when we drop social distinctions and our egos and begin to work together as one will true scientific progression commence. There is so much ego satisfaction that goes along with personal accomplishment and career that it makes me sick. Upon reflection, immediately a quote from J.D Salinger came to the forefront of my consciousness: "I'm just sick of ego, ego, ego. My own and everybody else's. I'm sick of everybody that wants to get somewhere, do something distinguished and all, be somebody interesting. It's disgusting." This quote sums up what I think about competition in order to satisfy ones own ego, specifically the realm of scientific research because competition just brings everything to a halt when people (researchers) could just be working together to benefit society at large.