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Haninate5 karma

Hi Mr. Carrano, thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions. I have always been fascinated with prehistoric life and fossils since I was a kid, and I never really gotten over that phase myself despite taking a major in computer science. Please do indulge my curiosity in the following questions:

1) I am often told that it is hard to make a living with a career in Paleontology and that manpower is often lacking out in the field(hence institutions often rely on volunteers). What can be done to lessen the push-factors that cause people to lose interest once they get over the "dino phase"?

2) How do you feel about the commercialization of fossils in general(not only dinosaur material)? I refer to this commentary which discourages private collecting, no matter how amateur it is: link to article

Personally I believe that more should be done to encourage cooperation between private collectors and professional Paleontologists. How would you go about addressing this matter?

3) Do you own a personal fossil collection of your own? Please share if you do! What is your favorite group of non-dinosaur fossils(e.g trilobites)?