[Coral-List] Sea Angels and Mermaids

EAH mechers at gmail.com
Wed Nov 25 08:34:02 EST 2009


Discussing the research isn't what happened, though.  In an email or two it
had devolved to "men kill; women nurture", a trope which I would hope
everyone agrees is patently ridiculous and which was appropriately called
out.  I am glad the intersection of science and politics will continue to be
discussed here, but that particular thread was off the rails.

Carry on,
Em

On Tue, Nov 24, 2009 at 11:32 AM, David M. Lawrence <dave at fuzzo.com> wrote:

> We could just get back to "science" if science operated in vacuum.  It
> doesn't.  It is a social endeavor, a human endeavor, and the reasons why
> we do science is as important as how we do it and what questions we ask.
>  For some, coral research may be merely an academic enterprise.  For
> others, it might be they love an excuse for being at sea.  For still
> others, they may be passionately concerned with the fate (and
> management) of one of the Earth's most fascinating ecosystems.
>
> The "why" bits spill out into ways that people of differing genders view
> the world -- or have been taught to view the world.  For instance, I
> believe there is research to the effect that men tend to be more
> reductionist, whereas women tend to be more holistic in how they view
> environmental systems.  These differences affect how the research is
> done, how the results are interpreted, and how the information obtained
> is used to manage limited resources.
>
> And questions of opportunities granted to aspiring researchers in a
> field are always relevant.
>
> Later,
>
> Dave
>
> Eugene Shinn wrote:
> > When the Coral-List began it was intended as a way for scientists to
> > communicate with other scientists. What happened? Its now Sea Angels,
> > Mermaids, politics, and advertisements for coral management (social
> > engineering) jobs. What ever happened to coral reef research? Can't
> > we get back to science and away from all this moralizing? Gene
>
> --
> ------------------------------------------------------
>  David M. Lawrence        | Home:  (804) 559-9786
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>  USA                      | http:  http://fuzzo.com
> ------------------------------------------------------
>
> "We have met the enemy and he is us."  -- Pogo
>
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