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During the helicopter flight in the Jurassic Park film, Ian Malcolm says, "John doesn't subscribe to chaos, particularly what it has to say about his little science project."

Does he already know what John has waiting for them at Jurassic Park, i.e. dinosaurs, or is that just a general statement about the vague "biological preserve" description that Hammond has given Grant and Sattler?

It has been quite a while since I have read the book. I am asking about the scene in the movie, but if the book provides more context, that is great too.

Tashus
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    he certainly had an idea - remember his line in the Jeep in the film: "He did it. The crazy son-of-a-bitch, he did it." Which seems to imply Malcom had some idea of what it was – NKCampbell Jun 02 '21 at 23:41
  • @NKCampbell I haven't checked the subtitles, but I thought the line was, "You're dead. You crazy son of a bitch. You're dead." In reference to the dinosaur, not Hammond. – Tashus Jun 03 '21 at 00:11
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    haha - no, though, the transcript I found has it as: "You did it. You crazy son-of-a-bitch, you did it" – NKCampbell Jun 03 '21 at 00:15
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    @NKCampbell that's an answer, I think. – SQB Jun 03 '21 at 10:59
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    @NKCampbell Also the line itself has become a famous meme now. – Sandun Jun 03 '21 at 19:20

1 Answers1

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In the novel Ian Malcolm was one of the park's earliest consultants. He insisted that it wasn't going to work even before the initial design stage.

“I think so. None of them had much to do with the island, and one of them-the mathematician, Ian Malcolm-was openly hostile to the project from the start. Insisted it would never work, could never work.”

and

“I always maintained this island would be unworkable,” Malcolm said. “I predicted it from the beginning.” He reached into a soft leather briefcase. “And I trust by now we all know what the eventual outcome is going to be. You're going to have to shut the thing down.”

“Shut it down!” Hammond stood angrily. “This is ridiculous.”

Malcolm shrugged, indifferent to Hammond's outburst. “I've brought copies of my original paper for you to took at,” he said. “The original consultancy paper I did for InGen. The mathematics are a bit sticky, but I can walk you through it. Are you leaving now?”

Valorum
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    Realistically, a scientific breakthrough as revolutionary as "we brought back dinosaurs" would be almost impossible to do in secrecy. One would expect dozens to hundreds or even thousands of people to be involved, multiple papers published in reputable journals, public and/or government financing (they bought an island from Costa Rica somehow, that would be noticed), press-releases and media-hype, buzz throughout academia (both pro- and anti-), religious backlash (for playing God or whatnot), etc. – Darrel Hoffman Jun 03 '21 at 16:19
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    @DarrelHoffman - I think you're underestimating what can get done with a few motivated scientists working in secret with massive funding. – Valorum Jun 03 '21 at 16:20
  • @Valorum Yeah, Heroshima and Nagasaki come to mind. – candied_orange Jun 03 '21 at 20:02
  • @candied_orange that's a suspect example. Tens of thousands of people worked on it during wartime when everyone -- even the media -- accepted strict government censorship. And it was not a secret. (Thanks, Commie spies Julius and Ethel Rosenburg.) – RonJohn Jun 03 '21 at 22:33