Feathered, but it Doesn't Fly

A telltale jaw fragment unearthed
from a 75 million-year old rock
formation in Big Bend, Texas,
has led to the identification
of a new dinosaur, Leptorhynchos
gaddisi.
—Boston Globe May 6, 2013

Paleontologists, astronomers, scientists, mathematicians, oceanographers and to a lesser degree historians, discover previously unknown phenomena or animals or solutions.

Within the past few years a new species of tarantulas ,with a leg span of eight inches, showed up in Sri Lanka.

In 2011 scientists discovered one hundred twenty-six new species in the Mekong Basin.

A new spider, Myrmeklaphila tigris, hung out in a backyard in Auburn, Alabama. Unfortunately a mere resident didn't discover the spider. Auburn University's Museum of Natural History's team of investigators made the discovery.

Finding something new isn't a rare phenomenon. Yesterday a new species of toad showed up in Qatar.

That find interests me because Henry Kava,a science teacher,sent a group of students out to find and identify toads. Within a short period of time his son found an amphibian and brought it home for a photo shoot. His find—an unrecorded species.

This means that we all stand a chance to come upon something new, albeit that depends upon where we live. If I'm not out rooting around for new worms, or slogging through a swamp or marsh, or letting my body be bitten by numerous insects, I can't anticipate any discoveries.

Yet each year the community of scientists uncover over 15,000 new species—animals, grasses, things you can't see.

Perhaps, I need to turn away from science and look instead to other areas—or perhaps this is a futile search.

I shall never discover a new dinosaur, or a new fish, or a new strand of grass, or star or planet. I shall never release a new solution or a proof to a classical math question. It's humbling to realize that some doors remain totally closed—no entrance.

Should I feel cheated or mourn the loss? No, I expect I'll just read about the new dinosaur and search for a postcard or maybe I'll buy a teeshirt.

Or I can be the first person to create a paper mache Leptorhynchos gaddisi.