In mourning for Senator Paul David Wellstone and family members and friends
I mourn a fellow Jew, a fellow liberal, a fellow advocate for the mentally ill, a fellow decent human being ... and on and on.
After reading a message from Barry about the tragedy of Senator Wellstone's death today in an airplane crash, along with his wife, and one of his three children - and also with his close supporters, my first response is my mourning and then placing an order with Amazon for Senator Wellstone's book. I am compelled to read about his "compassionate agenda."
The Conscience of a Liberal: Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda
by Paul David Wellstone
The editorial reviews say it all about Senator Wellstone's great accomplishments, and what might have been :-(
-- Jack
--------------------
Amazon.com
"When senators think about running for president, they write books like The Conscience of a Liberal. Indeed, Senator Paul Wellstone of Minnesota thought about pursuing the Democratic presidential nomination in 2000, but ultimately backed off. There's some speculation he'll run in 2004. Whatever the case, he's known in Washington as one of the Senate's most liberal members--giving his better-known colleagues Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton a run for their money in this category. The first part of the book explains Wellstone's unlikely ascension to the Senate (he was once a college professor), and some of his campaign war stories are fun reading for political junkies. One of the most amusing passages describes how he once nearly clocked New York Republican Alfonse D'Amato over a disagreement: "When the train reached the Senate chamber, I jumped out and lunged forward, intending to catch D'Amato and deck him. My body was shaking with uncontrollable anger." Another senator held him back, and Wellstone calmed down.
The bulk of The Conscience of a Liberal, however, is given over to laying out a political agenda that includes universal health care, reversing welfare reforms, prekindergarten education, raising the minimum wage, and campaign-finance reform. He closes with a call for a new politics: "This is not a conservative America.... There is a huge leadership void in this country that the Democratic Party, emboldened by political courage and a commitment to the issues that made our party great, can fill." Democrats looking for a candidate to support in the next presidential election may want to start here." --John J. Miller
October 22, 2002
Twenty-first Century "Caveat Emptor"
Of the many Latin expressions used in English, I best remember "caveat emptor" - Let the buyer beware.
I think of "caveat emptor" nearly every day in making purchasing decisions.
But I am impressed with a "new age" (my wording) expression used in the current Village Voice Mr. Roboto computer column in a long and useful discussion of various ink-jet cartridge cost-saving alternatives.
The article closes with a word of caution if shopping for ink-jet cartridge bargains on the Internet.
"Just promise you'll never do business with an e-merchant who doesn't offer a money-back guarantee in writing, or who lacks a fixed address and phone number. It'd be a shame if your humble quest for cheaper ink wound up enriching a Vladivostok fraudster, now, wouldn't it?"
So now I am going to think of not "enriching a Vladivostok fraudster" every time I think of "caveat emptor." But my sense of political correctness will probably keep me from speaking this phrase out loud. :-)
Of the many Latin expressions used in English, I best remember "caveat emptor" - Let the buyer beware.
I think of "caveat emptor" nearly every day in making purchasing decisions.
But I am impressed with a "new age" (my wording) expression used in the current Village Voice Mr. Roboto computer column in a long and useful discussion of various ink-jet cartridge cost-saving alternatives.
The article closes with a word of caution if shopping for ink-jet cartridge bargains on the Internet.
"Just promise you'll never do business with an e-merchant who doesn't offer a money-back guarantee in writing, or who lacks a fixed address and phone number. It'd be a shame if your humble quest for cheaper ink wound up enriching a Vladivostok fraudster, now, wouldn't it?"
So now I am going to think of not "enriching a Vladivostok fraudster" every time I think of "caveat emptor." But my sense of political correctness will probably keep me from speaking this phrase out loud. :-)
October 21, 2002
Tear-inducing onions get the chop
NewScientist.com news service October 16, 2002
James Randerson
(Note from Jack: A previous blog post talked about why cutting onions causes tears and we had some fun discussion among blog readers. Gee, think of the excitement lost if cutting onions causes no tears! ;-) Previous Post: [8/26/2002 3:46:49 PM | Jack Schwartz] The Tear Factor By Robert L. Wolke, Washington Post , Food Section, Wednesday, August 21, 2002; Page F01)
Excerpt from New Scientist article:
"Onions that taste as good as the original but do not have you weeping over the chopping board are now a possibility, say Japanese researchers.
The team have identified the gene responsible for making the tear-inducing substance. They say it would not be difficult to make genetically modified onion varieties that lack the substance altogether."
[Click here for full article.]
Journal reference: Nature (vol 419, p 685)
NewScientist.com news service October 16, 2002
James Randerson
(Note from Jack: A previous blog post talked about why cutting onions causes tears and we had some fun discussion among blog readers. Gee, think of the excitement lost if cutting onions causes no tears! ;-) Previous Post: [8/26/2002 3:46:49 PM | Jack Schwartz] The Tear Factor By Robert L. Wolke, Washington Post , Food Section, Wednesday, August 21, 2002; Page F01)
Excerpt from New Scientist article:
"Onions that taste as good as the original but do not have you weeping over the chopping board are now a possibility, say Japanese researchers.
The team have identified the gene responsible for making the tear-inducing substance. They say it would not be difficult to make genetically modified onion varieties that lack the substance altogether."
[Click here for full article.]
Journal reference: Nature (vol 419, p 685)
October 20, 2002
Mooses Come Walking
by Arlo Guthrie
Published as an illustrated children's book.
Jack connects "Mooses" with Arlo Guthrie from a vivid personal experience. Not long after the moose hunt in 1980 when I first shot my own moose, I skied with a good friend, Mike, at Brighton Ski Area near Salt Lake City. We had tickets to go to an Arlo Guthrie concert in the evening. Near the end of the ski day, Mike "crashed and burned" and was slow getting up. I nearly called first aid, but Mike got up and skied again.
Then at the Arlo Guthrie concert Mike nearly passed out after the first three songs, and I assisted him, with difficulty(!), to the car and the hospital. He nearly died from internal bleeding. :-( His parents came and I drove the car home to Green River in nearby southwest Wyoming.
So "mooses" (my hunter friends and I say "meece" :)) and Arlo Guthrie are forever connected in my personal memory - and now in Arlo's poem.
-----------------------------------------------------
Mooses Come Walking
by Arlo Guthrie
Mooses come walking over the hill
Mooses come walking, they rarely stand still
When mooses come walking they go where they will
When mooses come walking over the hill
Mooses look into your window at night
They look to the left and they look to the right
The mooses are smiling, they think it's a zoo
And that's why the mooses like looking at you
So, if you see mooses while lying in bed
It's best to just stay there pretending you're dead
The mooses will leave and you'll get the thrill
Of seeing the mooses go over the hill
1993 Arloco Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
by Arlo Guthrie
Published as an illustrated children's book.
Jack connects "Mooses" with Arlo Guthrie from a vivid personal experience. Not long after the moose hunt in 1980 when I first shot my own moose, I skied with a good friend, Mike, at Brighton Ski Area near Salt Lake City. We had tickets to go to an Arlo Guthrie concert in the evening. Near the end of the ski day, Mike "crashed and burned" and was slow getting up. I nearly called first aid, but Mike got up and skied again.
Then at the Arlo Guthrie concert Mike nearly passed out after the first three songs, and I assisted him, with difficulty(!), to the car and the hospital. He nearly died from internal bleeding. :-( His parents came and I drove the car home to Green River in nearby southwest Wyoming.
So "mooses" (my hunter friends and I say "meece" :)) and Arlo Guthrie are forever connected in my personal memory - and now in Arlo's poem.
-----------------------------------------------------
Mooses Come Walking
by Arlo Guthrie
Mooses come walking over the hill
Mooses come walking, they rarely stand still
When mooses come walking they go where they will
When mooses come walking over the hill
Mooses look into your window at night
They look to the left and they look to the right
The mooses are smiling, they think it's a zoo
And that's why the mooses like looking at you
So, if you see mooses while lying in bed
It's best to just stay there pretending you're dead
The mooses will leave and you'll get the thrill
Of seeing the mooses go over the hill
1993 Arloco Music, Inc. (ASCAP)
October 19, 2002
Jewish Proverb About Work
Thanks to Allan who gave Jack for his birthday last year the book: "Where There's Smoke, There's Salmon: The Book of Jewish Proverbs" - "Jewish Wisdom-From Moses to Woody Allen", by Michael Levin, Citadel Press, c. 2001.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
"To succeed in business, always follow two principles: honesty and wisdom. Honesty means that if you promise to deliver a shipment of goods on the twenty-fourth of March, you deliver the shipment. Wisdom means being smart enough not to promise anything."
-- Sam Levinson
Thanks to Allan who gave Jack for his birthday last year the book: "Where There's Smoke, There's Salmon: The Book of Jewish Proverbs" - "Jewish Wisdom-From Moses to Woody Allen", by Michael Levin, Citadel Press, c. 2001.
~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~
"To succeed in business, always follow two principles: honesty and wisdom. Honesty means that if you promise to deliver a shipment of goods on the twenty-fourth of March, you deliver the shipment. Wisdom means being smart enough not to promise anything."
-- Sam Levinson
October 17, 2002
Happy 75th Birthday to Günter Grass
Jack believes in giving praise where praise is due. On reading about Günter Grass, I think of Leonardo!
DW-WORLD.de (Deutsche Welle German Radio News Service)
"Günter Grass: author, poet, painter, sculptor, public moralist and Nobel prize winner. Germany’s best-known living writer celebrates his 75th birthday on October 16 and shows no sign of slowing down."
http://kleist.dwelle.de/english/culture/culture2.html
----------------
Nobel e-Museum
Günter Grass
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1999
"whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history"
http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1999/
Günter Grass – Prose
http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1999/grass-prose.html
This website contains excerpts from The Tin Drum, by Günter Grass
selected by Åke Erlandsson, The Swedish Academy
Jack believes in giving praise where praise is due. On reading about Günter Grass, I think of Leonardo!
DW-WORLD.de (Deutsche Welle German Radio News Service)
"Günter Grass: author, poet, painter, sculptor, public moralist and Nobel prize winner. Germany’s best-known living writer celebrates his 75th birthday on October 16 and shows no sign of slowing down."
http://kleist.dwelle.de/english/culture/culture2.html
----------------
Nobel e-Museum
Günter Grass
The Nobel Prize in Literature 1999
"whose frolicsome black fables portray the forgotten face of history"
http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1999/
Günter Grass – Prose
http://www.nobel.se/literature/laureates/1999/grass-prose.html
This website contains excerpts from The Tin Drum, by Günter Grass
selected by Åke Erlandsson, The Swedish Academy
On Risk Perception As It Relates To The 9/11 Casualties
This is a bit heavier subject than the topics I usually pick for a blog post. But I have an intrigue with rationales for modern human behavior and the "human condition" that relate back to our distant "hunter-gatherer" life as nomads and cave dwellers.
For just one example that directly affects me, there is a rationale for the "diabetes epidemic" that our body metabolism is adapted to high protein and fat - thus being used to low carbohydrates including sugars. The primitive diet was mostly game meat, nuts and berries, seeds, etc. The modern diet includes high carbohydrate potatoes, wheat, corn, rice, etc., that are adapted to efficient high-yield agriculture - and with palatability enhanced by techniques such as milling to flour and baking bread, tortillas, rice patties, and so on. As the scenario is painted, our metabolism has not adapted yet in the relatively short time (from an evolution standpoint) to a high-carbohydrate diet. Hence, metabolic regulation of blood glucose (think blood sugar) is inadequate for a large segment of the population. Hence for my own personal regimen as a person with diabetes, I achieve tighter blood glucose control by going on a low-carbohydrate diet.
Without further ado, I include an excerpt from a Skeptical Inquirer article relating to distorted risk perception following 9/11. The excerpt brings out factors related to our primitive past, and even fairly recent past, that are intriguing to me.
----------------------------------------
Skeptical Inquirer magazine : September/October 2002
http://www.csicop.org/si/2002-09/9-11.html
A Skeptical Look at September 11th
How We Can Defeat Terrorism by Reacting to It More Rationally
by Clark R. Chapman and Alan W. Harris
"At the one-year anniversary, we examine reactions to the September 11, 2001, attacks in the context of other causes of premature deaths. An objective of terrorism is to multiply damage by inducing irrational fears in the broad population. One defense is to learn to evaluate such situations more objectively."
[Excerpt - in middle of article]
Death and Statistics
"It is a maxim that one needless or untimely death is one too many. So 20,000 victims should be 20,000 times worse. But our minds don't work that way." .................
[--------]
..........."To researchers in risk perception, this is natural human behavior. We are evolved from primitive nomads and cave dwellers who never knew, personally, more than the few hundred people in their locales. Until just a few generations ago, news from other lands arrived sporadically via sailors; most people lived and died within a few miles of where they were born. Tragedies invariably concerned a known, nearby person. With the globalization of communication, the world-not just our local valley-has entered our consciousness. But our brains haven't evolved to relate, personally, to each of 6 billion people. Only when the media singles out someone-perhaps an "average layperson" or maybe a tragic exception like JonBenet Ramsey-do our hearts and minds connect."
This is a bit heavier subject than the topics I usually pick for a blog post. But I have an intrigue with rationales for modern human behavior and the "human condition" that relate back to our distant "hunter-gatherer" life as nomads and cave dwellers.
For just one example that directly affects me, there is a rationale for the "diabetes epidemic" that our body metabolism is adapted to high protein and fat - thus being used to low carbohydrates including sugars. The primitive diet was mostly game meat, nuts and berries, seeds, etc. The modern diet includes high carbohydrate potatoes, wheat, corn, rice, etc., that are adapted to efficient high-yield agriculture - and with palatability enhanced by techniques such as milling to flour and baking bread, tortillas, rice patties, and so on. As the scenario is painted, our metabolism has not adapted yet in the relatively short time (from an evolution standpoint) to a high-carbohydrate diet. Hence, metabolic regulation of blood glucose (think blood sugar) is inadequate for a large segment of the population. Hence for my own personal regimen as a person with diabetes, I achieve tighter blood glucose control by going on a low-carbohydrate diet.
Without further ado, I include an excerpt from a Skeptical Inquirer article relating to distorted risk perception following 9/11. The excerpt brings out factors related to our primitive past, and even fairly recent past, that are intriguing to me.
----------------------------------------
Skeptical Inquirer magazine : September/October 2002
http://www.csicop.org/si/2002-09/9-11.html
A Skeptical Look at September 11th
How We Can Defeat Terrorism by Reacting to It More Rationally
by Clark R. Chapman and Alan W. Harris
"At the one-year anniversary, we examine reactions to the September 11, 2001, attacks in the context of other causes of premature deaths. An objective of terrorism is to multiply damage by inducing irrational fears in the broad population. One defense is to learn to evaluate such situations more objectively."
[Excerpt - in middle of article]
Death and Statistics
"It is a maxim that one needless or untimely death is one too many. So 20,000 victims should be 20,000 times worse. But our minds don't work that way." .................
[--------]
..........."To researchers in risk perception, this is natural human behavior. We are evolved from primitive nomads and cave dwellers who never knew, personally, more than the few hundred people in their locales. Until just a few generations ago, news from other lands arrived sporadically via sailors; most people lived and died within a few miles of where they were born. Tragedies invariably concerned a known, nearby person. With the globalization of communication, the world-not just our local valley-has entered our consciousness. But our brains haven't evolved to relate, personally, to each of 6 billion people. Only when the media singles out someone-perhaps an "average layperson" or maybe a tragic exception like JonBenet Ramsey-do our hearts and minds connect."
Post Mortem - Will I Ever Get My Files Organized? :-)
One of my blog readers sent me a joshing comment:
"And about the mess of papers building up... tsk, tsk. ;-) "
After a good chuckle, I thought about the "real" basis for my organization dilemma. When I file things they are sometimes harder to find than if I leave them in piles. :-(
Actually, I did have a two-year period my papers were timely filed using a system that made retrieval easy. Those were my two years as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. As such, I was in charge of a large supply room and machine shop for a chemical, biological and radiological materials transportation unit. And the Army DOES run on paper, as legend has it. :-) And most important for me, I delegated the filing duties to my Supply Sergeant. And he did a very good job! Also, the Army filing system is very methodical - similar to library cataloging. Hey! Even I figured out the system. :-)
One of my blog readers sent me a joshing comment:
"And about the mess of papers building up... tsk, tsk. ;-) "
After a good chuckle, I thought about the "real" basis for my organization dilemma. When I file things they are sometimes harder to find than if I leave them in piles. :-(
Actually, I did have a two-year period my papers were timely filed using a system that made retrieval easy. Those were my two years as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. As such, I was in charge of a large supply room and machine shop for a chemical, biological and radiological materials transportation unit. And the Army DOES run on paper, as legend has it. :-) And most important for me, I delegated the filing duties to my Supply Sergeant. And he did a very good job! Also, the Army filing system is very methodical - similar to library cataloging. Hey! Even I figured out the system. :-)
October 16, 2002
Will I Ever Get My Files Organized? :-)
I notice since starting the Jack in Oklahoma blog that I add "favorites" (a.k.a. "bookmarks") more frequently to my MS Internet Explorer browser - and also I use them more frequently. Fine and good. But, now I have a massively disorganized favorites list file. My Internet files, my work files, my home files - you have it - they are disorganized.
Here is a little background. In my thirty-two year career with FMC Corporation, my improvement objectives almost every year included getting my files more organized. You got it. :-) I never achieved the goal.
My files are always a mess and my desk is 'always' stacked with papers. For awhile the engineering supervisor made every Friday afternoon a "cleanup day" and we had to have clean desk tops. OK - so I just found places to hide the piles. ;-)
At home - the same thing. On my left, I am looking at a pile of paid utility, phone, etc., bills that go back several months. Behind me is a multi-month pile of medical statements, medical records, etc.. There are just plain piles of paper everywhere! 8-]
I've misplaced many things, including at least two books on how to get organized. Ho ho ho!
Back to my web browser favorites list. I looked at my list and I have a tendency to make a new folder for each new link I decide to file. Great! But I end up looking, looking, .... often through most of the files with much frustration to find where I filed that link I need RIGHT NOW> <-8) So today I tried merging folders, creating sub-folders, and so on ... in some sort of logical way.
I repeat. Will I Ever Get My Files Organized? :-)
I notice since starting the Jack in Oklahoma blog that I add "favorites" (a.k.a. "bookmarks") more frequently to my MS Internet Explorer browser - and also I use them more frequently. Fine and good. But, now I have a massively disorganized favorites list file. My Internet files, my work files, my home files - you have it - they are disorganized.
Here is a little background. In my thirty-two year career with FMC Corporation, my improvement objectives almost every year included getting my files more organized. You got it. :-) I never achieved the goal.
My files are always a mess and my desk is 'always' stacked with papers. For awhile the engineering supervisor made every Friday afternoon a "cleanup day" and we had to have clean desk tops. OK - so I just found places to hide the piles. ;-)
At home - the same thing. On my left, I am looking at a pile of paid utility, phone, etc., bills that go back several months. Behind me is a multi-month pile of medical statements, medical records, etc.. There are just plain piles of paper everywhere! 8-]
I've misplaced many things, including at least two books on how to get organized. Ho ho ho!
Back to my web browser favorites list. I looked at my list and I have a tendency to make a new folder for each new link I decide to file. Great! But I end up looking, looking, .... often through most of the files with much frustration to find where I filed that link I need RIGHT NOW> <-8) So today I tried merging folders, creating sub-folders, and so on ... in some sort of logical way.
I repeat. Will I Ever Get My Files Organized? :-)
I Like "One Liners". :-)
Found in The Village Voice (New York) sports column "Jockbeat" concerning a season opening loss by the New York Rangers hockey team:
"Why are the Rangers like the Titanic? They look great until they hit the ice."
Found in The Village Voice (New York) sports column "Jockbeat" concerning a season opening loss by the New York Rangers hockey team:
"Why are the Rangers like the Titanic? They look great until they hit the ice."
October 15, 2002
Clarification - Jack's Vote For a Beautiful Experiment
- Neil Bartlett's Synthesis of XePtF6 in 1962
In a post I made [9/27/2002 1:37:10 PM | Jack Schwartz] I stated information that needs clarification.
Jack wrote:
Professor Neil Bartlett's synthesis of xenon platinum hexafluoride XePtF6 is beautiful to me for many reasons.
------ [ big snip ] ------
And Jack continues:
"Dr. Erickson described the biggest problem faced by Professor Bartlett for synthesis of XePtF6 was finding a material to make a container for the experiment.
Glass cannot be used. I've seen first hand that fluorine rapidly attacks glass, a sodium silicate, forming gaseous silicon hexafluoride SiF6. I don't recall what material was finally used by Dr. Bartlett for a container - maybe platinum Pt? - but once a suitable container was constructed the experiment to make XePtF6 was done in a straightforward fashion and reported in the literature. And a whole new field of chemistry opened up in "noble gas" compound synthesis that continues to this day."
----------------
OK people - I am human! Either my memory failed me or I heard an apocryphal version of events. Anyhow, a thorough summary of noble-gas chemistry in the 40 years since Dr. Bartlett's synthesis of XePtF6 appears in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/80/i40/print/8040sci1.html?emFrom=emLogin . In the article I find clarification of two misunderstandings on my part.
[From Jack: American Chemical Society Member ID may be needed - in the event access is denied, I am posting a copy of the article to the Jack in Oklahoma list Files section http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JackinOklahoma/files/. An automatic message was sent to the list announcing the article addition to Jack in Oklahoma Files.
Clarification Items:
1) Rather than reacting fluorine gas with xenon, Dr. Bartlett reacted gaseous platinum hexafluoride PtF6 with xenon Xe gas to form XePtF6 - Note: research on composition of multi-product mixture continues.
2) The container was glass (sodium silicate glass) and quartz (pure silica glass) ... "he [Professor Bartlett, at University of British Columbia] had assembled a glass and quartz apparatus in which the two gases were separated by a fragile glass seal. At about 6:45 PM [on March 23, 1962], he broke the seal and observed an immediate reaction as the deep red PtF6 gas mixed with the colorless xenon gas and a yellow-orange solid precipitated."
After reading about this ingenious experimental apparatus and experimental technique, the beauty of the experiment stands out even more for me!
- Neil Bartlett's Synthesis of XePtF6 in 1962
In a post I made [9/27/2002 1:37:10 PM | Jack Schwartz] I stated information that needs clarification.
Jack wrote:
Professor Neil Bartlett's synthesis of xenon platinum hexafluoride XePtF6 is beautiful to me for many reasons.
------ [ big snip ] ------
And Jack continues:
"Dr. Erickson described the biggest problem faced by Professor Bartlett for synthesis of XePtF6 was finding a material to make a container for the experiment.
Glass cannot be used. I've seen first hand that fluorine rapidly attacks glass, a sodium silicate, forming gaseous silicon hexafluoride SiF6. I don't recall what material was finally used by Dr. Bartlett for a container - maybe platinum Pt? - but once a suitable container was constructed the experiment to make XePtF6 was done in a straightforward fashion and reported in the literature. And a whole new field of chemistry opened up in "noble gas" compound synthesis that continues to this day."
----------------
OK people - I am human! Either my memory failed me or I heard an apocryphal version of events. Anyhow, a thorough summary of noble-gas chemistry in the 40 years since Dr. Bartlett's synthesis of XePtF6 appears in the current issue of Chemical & Engineering News http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/80/i40/print/8040sci1.html?emFrom=emLogin . In the article I find clarification of two misunderstandings on my part.
[From Jack: American Chemical Society Member ID may be needed - in the event access is denied, I am posting a copy of the article to the Jack in Oklahoma list Files section http://groups.yahoo.com/group/JackinOklahoma/files/. An automatic message was sent to the list announcing the article addition to Jack in Oklahoma Files.
Clarification Items:
1) Rather than reacting fluorine gas with xenon, Dr. Bartlett reacted gaseous platinum hexafluoride PtF6 with xenon Xe gas to form XePtF6 - Note: research on composition of multi-product mixture continues.
2) The container was glass (sodium silicate glass) and quartz (pure silica glass) ... "he [Professor Bartlett, at University of British Columbia] had assembled a glass and quartz apparatus in which the two gases were separated by a fragile glass seal. At about 6:45 PM [on March 23, 1962], he broke the seal and observed an immediate reaction as the deep red PtF6 gas mixed with the colorless xenon gas and a yellow-orange solid precipitated."
After reading about this ingenious experimental apparatus and experimental technique, the beauty of the experiment stands out even more for me!
October 14, 2002
Women don't want to be bombarded with online porn ... do they?
I got a telephone call from Barbara last night and she is home safely. But I am disturbed to hear she is upset by finding on the order of 150 porn e-mail messages in her e-mail inbox - and about 50 additional spam messages of all kinds - after her eight day trip to Oklahoma. :-(
Barbara's spam increased dramatically after her @qwest.com server went out of business and she changed her e-mail address to the @msn.com server. Holy Cow! All of a sudden she is bombarded by spam! As a possible remedy, she looked at SpamKiller software I use - but it is not available for Mac. So she is home pondering her options. Before she went home, we didn't come up with certain possibilities in a quick Web search for Mac spam killing software. Maybe some of the Jack in Oklahoma blog readers have ideas or knowledge that can help?
Meanwhile, Barbara's dilemma makes this article in today's DWWorld.de (Deutsche Welle German radio news website) have interest for me.
No Cyber-Porn Please, We’re Women.
Women don't want to be bombarded with online porn ... do they?
http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1446_A_651693_1_A,00.html
"With its new .frau domain, a German firm is striving to save women from porn and sexual harassment on the Internet.
You know how it is. You log on to your Web-based email account. You must be popular -- 20 new messages!
But there's not a single witty one-liner from your best friend, no reply from your current love interest. No, every email is inviting you to visit a new porn site, offering you cut-price Viagra or claiming to be able to erase your credit card debt.
A two-woman team in southwestern Germany is now attempting to change all that. Susann Ricke und Dagmar Pálsson of Exist@, a private company in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, have joined forces on a project called Fraude, which offers women the chance to get online without feeling sexually harassed or plagued by pornography."
....... [ article continues] .......
I got a telephone call from Barbara last night and she is home safely. But I am disturbed to hear she is upset by finding on the order of 150 porn e-mail messages in her e-mail inbox - and about 50 additional spam messages of all kinds - after her eight day trip to Oklahoma. :-(
Barbara's spam increased dramatically after her @qwest.com server went out of business and she changed her e-mail address to the @msn.com server. Holy Cow! All of a sudden she is bombarded by spam! As a possible remedy, she looked at SpamKiller software I use - but it is not available for Mac. So she is home pondering her options. Before she went home, we didn't come up with certain possibilities in a quick Web search for Mac spam killing software. Maybe some of the Jack in Oklahoma blog readers have ideas or knowledge that can help?
Meanwhile, Barbara's dilemma makes this article in today's DWWorld.de (Deutsche Welle German radio news website) have interest for me.
No Cyber-Porn Please, We’re Women.
Women don't want to be bombarded with online porn ... do they?
http://dw-world.de/english/0,3367,1446_A_651693_1_A,00.html
"With its new .frau domain, a German firm is striving to save women from porn and sexual harassment on the Internet.
You know how it is. You log on to your Web-based email account. You must be popular -- 20 new messages!
But there's not a single witty one-liner from your best friend, no reply from your current love interest. No, every email is inviting you to visit a new porn site, offering you cut-price Viagra or claiming to be able to erase your credit card debt.
A two-woman team in southwestern Germany is now attempting to change all that. Susann Ricke und Dagmar Pálsson of Exist@, a private company in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, have joined forces on a project called Fraude, which offers women the chance to get online without feeling sexually harassed or plagued by pornography."
....... [ article continues] .......
Salon Article - The Homeless Blogger
The homeless blogger
"Kevin Barbieux sleeps in abandoned buildings or shelters -- and writes a daily journal that has made him an Internet celebrity."
As a "new kid on the blogger block" :-), I find this article very interesting. I read though several posts by Kevin Barbieux at his blog named "The Homeless Guy" http://thehomelessguy.blogspot.com/ The reading is captivating and I can see why Kevin is an Internet celebrity. So much so that I am now one of Kevin's fans and plan to regularly read posts at his blog. Kevin's writings gives me some ideas for future posts on my blog. Hmmm. We'll see if some of my ideas from Kevin go anywhere. <8-)
Just as an example post of interest from The Homeless Guy (purely a random choice):
Bleeding Hearts
"I've always had a little problem with the cliche, "Bleeding Hearts." I first heard the phrase when I was a kid, and like most kids, I took the phrase literally - and I agreed. Yes, hearts do bleed. They bleed constantly - that's what they're made for. As a matter of fact, hearts bleed so much that blood has to be constantly pumped back into them. And even more importantly, when hearts stop bleeding, they die."
posted by kevin @ Thursday, October 10, 2002 Comment (26)
The homeless blogger
"Kevin Barbieux sleeps in abandoned buildings or shelters -- and writes a daily journal that has made him an Internet celebrity."
As a "new kid on the blogger block" :-), I find this article very interesting. I read though several posts by Kevin Barbieux at his blog named "The Homeless Guy" http://thehomelessguy.blogspot.com/ The reading is captivating and I can see why Kevin is an Internet celebrity. So much so that I am now one of Kevin's fans and plan to regularly read posts at his blog. Kevin's writings gives me some ideas for future posts on my blog. Hmmm. We'll see if some of my ideas from Kevin go anywhere. <8-)
Just as an example post of interest from The Homeless Guy (purely a random choice):
Bleeding Hearts
"I've always had a little problem with the cliche, "Bleeding Hearts." I first heard the phrase when I was a kid, and like most kids, I took the phrase literally - and I agreed. Yes, hearts do bleed. They bleed constantly - that's what they're made for. As a matter of fact, hearts bleed so much that blood has to be constantly pumped back into them. And even more importantly, when hearts stop bleeding, they die."
posted by kevin @ Thursday, October 10, 2002 Comment (26)
Digital Media Poem - Vniverse
On reading reviews for the poet Stephanie Strickland, I've discovered a poetry medium called "Digital Media Poetry." It is all new to me, but I am intrigued by sampling Strickland's digital media poem "Vniverse" http://vniverse.com [click on Enter]
Note: An up-to-date version of Shockwave is needed; the download link is given.
[After clicking on Enter, a starry night sky shows. Move cursor around to see constellations]
Now move cursor to a specific star and click; Example: click on a star at far upper left for which Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations are on view with verse:
---------------------------
hollow
88
And in its hollow live the bears - a world
tree closes. Major
and Minor they circle
the hole,
[click second time on star, more verse appears]
observed
at the Gr( )ch
meridian
a bee lives 28 days, that vaginal cadence,
nose swollen in honey.
The tree rings itself with another ring each year
and in its hollow
a world tree closes, Major
and Minor, they circle the hole,
dipping honey from the hollow
at the tilted top
of the northern world Polaris, star at the very end
of the Little Bear's tale.
To know
there is a pole, a polar axis to the earth,
---------------------------
Comment by Jack: To fully explore all the possibilities of the digital media poem Vniverse, click on the "How to" page link at the Vniverse home page. I have a "thrilled" feeling to see this means of utilizing computer interactive capabilities for expression of poetry.
On reading reviews for the poet Stephanie Strickland, I've discovered a poetry medium called "Digital Media Poetry." It is all new to me, but I am intrigued by sampling Strickland's digital media poem "Vniverse" http://vniverse.com [click on Enter]
Note: An up-to-date version of Shockwave is needed; the download link is given.
[After clicking on Enter, a starry night sky shows. Move cursor around to see constellations]
Now move cursor to a specific star and click; Example: click on a star at far upper left for which Ursa Major and Ursa Minor constellations are on view with verse:
---------------------------
hollow
88
And in its hollow live the bears - a world
tree closes. Major
and Minor they circle
the hole,
[click second time on star, more verse appears]
observed
at the Gr( )ch
meridian
a bee lives 28 days, that vaginal cadence,
nose swollen in honey.
The tree rings itself with another ring each year
and in its hollow
a world tree closes, Major
and Minor, they circle the hole,
dipping honey from the hollow
at the tilted top
of the northern world Polaris, star at the very end
of the Little Bear's tale.
To know
there is a pole, a polar axis to the earth,
---------------------------
Comment by Jack: To fully explore all the possibilities of the digital media poem Vniverse, click on the "How to" page link at the Vniverse home page. I have a "thrilled" feeling to see this means of utilizing computer interactive capabilities for expression of poetry.
October 12, 2002
Evolving Discussion - Does the Internet Enhance School Cheating?
In a New York Times Magazine article today by William Speed Weed entitled "Phony Science" http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/13/magazine/13QUESTIONS.html, I find an opinion expressed about the Internet and potential fraud in scientific research that, although beyond the arena of school cheating, I think adds a useful viewpoint to the topic.
This comes in an interview of theoretical physicist Paul Ginsparg, recent winner of a MacArthur grant. He is interviewed primarily about the finding of a panel of experts that another physicist, J. Hendrik Schön, had committed fraud at Bell Labs.
In the interview, Ginsparg is asked:
Question: "You won your award for creating arXiv, which distributes scientific papers before publication. If that sort of system had been more pervasive, could it have prevented Schön from publishing his fraud? "
Answer: "Other scientists might have found him out.
The first reaction people have to a system like arXiv is the insinuation that my kind of open system makes scientific misconduct more likely by disintermediating the editorial process. But to the contrary, it makes it less likely because you have so many more people looking over it. If there were a better user interface and you could have brought up all the articles simultaneously, the discovery of the problems might have been expedited, and this poor guy might have been saved from himself. "
My own experience supports Ginsparg's opinion. In the later years of my career as a chemist and chemical engineer, starting roughly in the mid-eighties, the paradigm for publishing technical reports in my engineering group shifted towards quick publication by e-mail (a company Intranet) versus a long process of drafting, typing and supervisor review before publication.
The new e-mail publishing method did bring quick review and questions from a large reading audience that quickly rooted out weaknesses in the experimental work, weaknesses in the discussion and conclusions, etc. And in turn, I felt the need to be extra careful in "having my ducks in a row" in my experimental procedures, my data analysis, my data accuracy, etc., for the experimental work being reported - even more so than the case when my research supervisor was the main person to review my work.
In summary, publishing on the company e-mail Intranet for my case was roughly equivalent to publication using Ginsparg's arXiv on the Internet. And I concur with Ginsparg that fraud, cheating, carelessness, etc., is less likely compared to traditional formal publication with limited supervisor and/or insular peer review.
In a New York Times Magazine article today by William Speed Weed entitled "Phony Science" http://www.nytimes.com/2002/10/13/magazine/13QUESTIONS.html, I find an opinion expressed about the Internet and potential fraud in scientific research that, although beyond the arena of school cheating, I think adds a useful viewpoint to the topic.
This comes in an interview of theoretical physicist Paul Ginsparg, recent winner of a MacArthur grant. He is interviewed primarily about the finding of a panel of experts that another physicist, J. Hendrik Schön, had committed fraud at Bell Labs.
In the interview, Ginsparg is asked:
Question: "You won your award for creating arXiv, which distributes scientific papers before publication. If that sort of system had been more pervasive, could it have prevented Schön from publishing his fraud? "
Answer: "Other scientists might have found him out.
The first reaction people have to a system like arXiv is the insinuation that my kind of open system makes scientific misconduct more likely by disintermediating the editorial process. But to the contrary, it makes it less likely because you have so many more people looking over it. If there were a better user interface and you could have brought up all the articles simultaneously, the discovery of the problems might have been expedited, and this poor guy might have been saved from himself. "
My own experience supports Ginsparg's opinion. In the later years of my career as a chemist and chemical engineer, starting roughly in the mid-eighties, the paradigm for publishing technical reports in my engineering group shifted towards quick publication by e-mail (a company Intranet) versus a long process of drafting, typing and supervisor review before publication.
The new e-mail publishing method did bring quick review and questions from a large reading audience that quickly rooted out weaknesses in the experimental work, weaknesses in the discussion and conclusions, etc. And in turn, I felt the need to be extra careful in "having my ducks in a row" in my experimental procedures, my data analysis, my data accuracy, etc., for the experimental work being reported - even more so than the case when my research supervisor was the main person to review my work.
In summary, publishing on the company e-mail Intranet for my case was roughly equivalent to publication using Ginsparg's arXiv on the Internet. And I concur with Ginsparg that fraud, cheating, carelessness, etc., is less likely compared to traditional formal publication with limited supervisor and/or insular peer review.
October 11, 2002
Brush Up on Your Hebrew, Arabic, or even Ancient Sumerian
I am reading Moment magazine online this morning even though I have the print copy on my shelves. That is a practice I find handy lately. Sometimes I am in the mood to read online - sometimes I am in the mood to read hard copy. Go Figure.
Anyway, this item catches my interest. If you are traveling to Israel or the Arab world, or you are just interested in some language exercise, you can brush up on your Hebrew, Arabic, or even Ancient Sumerian by going to website links found at:
http://www.mideastweb.org/LangLinks.html
For example http://foundationstone.com.au/ is a "Learn Hebrew for Free" website named Foundation Stone. "FoundationStone is a free [downloadable] application and support materials designed to allow the most efficient learning of its Hebrew vocabulary."
I am reading Moment magazine online this morning even though I have the print copy on my shelves. That is a practice I find handy lately. Sometimes I am in the mood to read online - sometimes I am in the mood to read hard copy. Go Figure.
Anyway, this item catches my interest. If you are traveling to Israel or the Arab world, or you are just interested in some language exercise, you can brush up on your Hebrew, Arabic, or even Ancient Sumerian by going to website links found at:
http://www.mideastweb.org/LangLinks.html
For example http://foundationstone.com.au/ is a "Learn Hebrew for Free" website named Foundation Stone. "FoundationStone is a free [downloadable] application and support materials designed to allow the most efficient learning of its Hebrew vocabulary."
October 10, 2002
Evolving Discussion - Does the Internet Enhance School Cheating?
Doing Web surfing on the topic "Ahab", I came across a site for purchasing term papers, picking term paper topics, etc. http://www.fastpapers.com/
I've always felt I am roaming off my turf interpreting literary classics such as Melville's Moby Dick, so seeing the Fastpapers.com website makes me wonder if temptation would get the best of me if I had a term paper to write about Moby Dick. I don't know. But probably not. For one thing I am cheap. :-) The option I choose just for illustration costs $59.70 for a six-page term paper plus transmittal/shipping costs. And even if I shelled out the money, my sense of propriety makes me feel that putting the paper in my own words is called for. And Gee Whiz! - If I am going to rewrite the paper, isn't it simpler just to research and write my own paper? Also the thought crosses my mind - Who says the paper is any good in the first place? But I guess Fastpapers.com aims for the student that hands in the paper "as is" with no qualms.
As a closing observation, I notice the workings of the website are enticing. One enters the desired topic - [Ahab], sees a list of term paper topics. One is only a few keystrokes and a credit card number away from downloading a term paper. For example:
Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick' vs. William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'
[ Click here to purchase this paper ]
[ Click here to see full description] -->
"A 6 page paper in which the writer argues that through mad antics toward ‘the revenge plot,' both Ahab and Hamlet serve to bring the action in the two tragedies to their inevitable conclusions. In all aspects the characters' motivations are different. Ahab's madness is more focused and not within Ahab's control--he is unable to see beyond it. Hamlet's madness is feigned. The characters' decision-making abilities are also in contrast to each other, and their view of God, the Devil and responsibility to same also come from a divergent slant on the moralistic ideals behind their given situations. Bibliography lists 7 sources."
Filename: Mobyham.wps
Same day delivery available!
[ Click here to purchase this paper ] -->
Paper Information
Paper info:
Title: "Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick' vs. William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'"
Filename: Mobyham.wps
Pages: 6
Cost Per Page: $9.95
Subtotal: $59.70
Following this is a form for entering customer information and credit card number. The paper can be received by FAX ($3.98 per page), by E-mail ($3.98 per page) or by Federal Express ($19.98 flat rate). To those so inclined, it's just money. ;-)
Doing Web surfing on the topic "Ahab", I came across a site for purchasing term papers, picking term paper topics, etc. http://www.fastpapers.com/
I've always felt I am roaming off my turf interpreting literary classics such as Melville's Moby Dick, so seeing the Fastpapers.com website makes me wonder if temptation would get the best of me if I had a term paper to write about Moby Dick. I don't know. But probably not. For one thing I am cheap. :-) The option I choose just for illustration costs $59.70 for a six-page term paper plus transmittal/shipping costs. And even if I shelled out the money, my sense of propriety makes me feel that putting the paper in my own words is called for. And Gee Whiz! - If I am going to rewrite the paper, isn't it simpler just to research and write my own paper? Also the thought crosses my mind - Who says the paper is any good in the first place? But I guess Fastpapers.com aims for the student that hands in the paper "as is" with no qualms.
As a closing observation, I notice the workings of the website are enticing. One enters the desired topic - [Ahab], sees a list of term paper topics. One is only a few keystrokes and a credit card number away from downloading a term paper. For example:
Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick' vs. William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'
[ Click here to purchase this paper ]
[ Click here to see full description] -->
"A 6 page paper in which the writer argues that through mad antics toward ‘the revenge plot,' both Ahab and Hamlet serve to bring the action in the two tragedies to their inevitable conclusions. In all aspects the characters' motivations are different. Ahab's madness is more focused and not within Ahab's control--he is unable to see beyond it. Hamlet's madness is feigned. The characters' decision-making abilities are also in contrast to each other, and their view of God, the Devil and responsibility to same also come from a divergent slant on the moralistic ideals behind their given situations. Bibliography lists 7 sources."
Filename: Mobyham.wps
Same day delivery available!
[ Click here to purchase this paper ] -->
Paper Information
Paper info:
Title: "Herman Melville's 'Moby Dick' vs. William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'"
Filename: Mobyham.wps
Pages: 6
Cost Per Page: $9.95
Subtotal: $59.70
Following this is a form for entering customer information and credit card number. The paper can be received by FAX ($3.98 per page), by E-mail ($3.98 per page) or by Federal Express ($19.98 flat rate). To those so inclined, it's just money. ;-)
October 09, 2002
Chemists from Three Continents Share
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Deutsche Welle (German Radio News Service)
English Service News
09.10.2002, 16:00 UTC
[In daily E-mail Deutsche Welle Newsletter sent to Jack]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to John Fenn of the United States, Koichi Tanaka of Japan and Kurt Wuethrich of Switzerland. They will share the prize for work on proteins which has led to increased understanding of the processes of life, the academy said in its citation.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Deutsche Welle (German Radio News Service)
English Service News
09.10.2002, 16:00 UTC
[In daily E-mail Deutsche Welle Newsletter sent to Jack]
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has awarded the 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry to John Fenn of the United States, Koichi Tanaka of Japan and Kurt Wuethrich of Switzerland. They will share the prize for work on proteins which has led to increased understanding of the processes of life, the academy said in its citation.
Musk Oxen Fossil Finds Near My Hometown, Weatherford, Oklahoma
One of my best friends, Tom Young of Granger, Wyoming, called me two days ago and we discussed many matters. A very satisfying part of the discussion for me concerned a newspaper article I sent "Young Tom" (Tom's nickname - he is 65 years young. :)). Young Tom retired from FMC Corporation in 1994 at about the same time I retired from FMC. He is two years my senior.
Now the good part. The article I sent Young Tom describes finds of musk oxen fossils in Oklahoma Pleistocene deposits. I sent the article because I know that Young Tom participates in paleontological digs in Wyoming sponsored by the University of Wyoming. On the telephone, Young Tom told me the recent Wyoming digs encounter musk oxen fossils. Remembering the article I sent, Young Tom told his professor about musk oxen fossils found in Oklahoma. Whoops! The professor said "No", there are no finds of musk oxen in Oklahoma.
So on a four-day break from the dig, Tom found the article and took it back to show the professor. Of course, the professor had to do some "back peddling." ;-) It made me feel good that I took time to send the article to Tom. My doing so now means that University of Wyoming paleontology students will receive more accurate information.
When I started writing this post, I decided to do a little Web surfing as I usually do for background information. Wow, I found a paper for a dig finding musk oxen fossils only 12 kilometers south of my hometown of Weatherford, Oklahoma. The digging was done by Southwestern Oklahoma State University students, including one student I know - Dustin Devine - who has since gone to veterinary school. The relatively short student research paper is:
Some Late Pleistocene Fossils from Washita Local Fauna
Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science Volume 77, 1997, pg. 113
by Henry Kirkland, Jr., Micheal Davis, Janet Wood, Dustin Devine, and Kyle Giblet
Department of Biology,
Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, OK 73096
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/OAS/oas_htm_files/v77/p113_115nf.html
Based on radiocarbon dating, samples taken included some that "yielded an average date of 16,350±190 years before present (YBP)."
One of my best friends, Tom Young of Granger, Wyoming, called me two days ago and we discussed many matters. A very satisfying part of the discussion for me concerned a newspaper article I sent "Young Tom" (Tom's nickname - he is 65 years young. :)). Young Tom retired from FMC Corporation in 1994 at about the same time I retired from FMC. He is two years my senior.
Now the good part. The article I sent Young Tom describes finds of musk oxen fossils in Oklahoma Pleistocene deposits. I sent the article because I know that Young Tom participates in paleontological digs in Wyoming sponsored by the University of Wyoming. On the telephone, Young Tom told me the recent Wyoming digs encounter musk oxen fossils. Remembering the article I sent, Young Tom told his professor about musk oxen fossils found in Oklahoma. Whoops! The professor said "No", there are no finds of musk oxen in Oklahoma.
So on a four-day break from the dig, Tom found the article and took it back to show the professor. Of course, the professor had to do some "back peddling." ;-) It made me feel good that I took time to send the article to Tom. My doing so now means that University of Wyoming paleontology students will receive more accurate information.
When I started writing this post, I decided to do a little Web surfing as I usually do for background information. Wow, I found a paper for a dig finding musk oxen fossils only 12 kilometers south of my hometown of Weatherford, Oklahoma. The digging was done by Southwestern Oklahoma State University students, including one student I know - Dustin Devine - who has since gone to veterinary school. The relatively short student research paper is:
Some Late Pleistocene Fossils from Washita Local Fauna
Proceedings of the Oklahoma Academy of Science Volume 77, 1997, pg. 113
by Henry Kirkland, Jr., Micheal Davis, Janet Wood, Dustin Devine, and Kyle Giblet
Department of Biology,
Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford, OK 73096
http://digital.library.okstate.edu/OAS/oas_htm_files/v77/p113_115nf.html
Based on radiocarbon dating, samples taken included some that "yielded an average date of 16,350±190 years before present (YBP)."
Toward a Synthesis of the Newtonian and Darwinian Worldviews
by John Harte, Physics Today.org, October 2002
I find this article by John Harte, recipient of the American Physical Society's 2001 Leo Szilard Award, stimulating and timely.If I were starting out again as the young scientist I was 40 years ago :-), I would love to be entering the fields of study described in the article.
I think the article byline speaks for itself concerning the significance of the subject matter.
"Physicists seek simplicity in universal laws. Ecologists revel in complex interdependencies. A sustainable future for our planet will probably require a look at life from both sides."
At the start of the talk are two quotes that stimulate further reading.
"Two quotes aptly frame the discussion. The first is from the 1948 book Sand County Almanac, by the ecologist and conservationist Aldo Leopold:
In terms of conventional physics, the grouse represents only a millionth of either the mass or the energy of an acre. Yet, subtract the grouse and the whole thing is dead.
The other quote is from the 1940 book Wind, Sand and Stars, by the aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry:
In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.
Leopold speaks for ecologists and their craft, for the intellectual tradition that blossomed with Darwin's remarkable insights into evolution and natural history. Saint-Exupéry, by contrast, eloquently describes the sword that physicists from Galileo and Newton onward have sought to extricate from the stone of Nature."
To read the full article, go to:
http://www.aip.org/pt/vol-55/iss-10/p29.html
-----
John Harte is a professor in the energy and resources group and in the division of ecosystem sciences at the University of California, Berkeley
by John Harte, Physics Today.org, October 2002
I find this article by John Harte, recipient of the American Physical Society's 2001 Leo Szilard Award, stimulating and timely.If I were starting out again as the young scientist I was 40 years ago :-), I would love to be entering the fields of study described in the article.
I think the article byline speaks for itself concerning the significance of the subject matter.
"Physicists seek simplicity in universal laws. Ecologists revel in complex interdependencies. A sustainable future for our planet will probably require a look at life from both sides."
At the start of the talk are two quotes that stimulate further reading.
"Two quotes aptly frame the discussion. The first is from the 1948 book Sand County Almanac, by the ecologist and conservationist Aldo Leopold:
In terms of conventional physics, the grouse represents only a millionth of either the mass or the energy of an acre. Yet, subtract the grouse and the whole thing is dead.
The other quote is from the 1940 book Wind, Sand and Stars, by the aviator and writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry:
In anything at all, perfection is finally attained not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.
Leopold speaks for ecologists and their craft, for the intellectual tradition that blossomed with Darwin's remarkable insights into evolution and natural history. Saint-Exupéry, by contrast, eloquently describes the sword that physicists from Galileo and Newton onward have sought to extricate from the stone of Nature."
To read the full article, go to:
http://www.aip.org/pt/vol-55/iss-10/p29.html
-----
John Harte is a professor in the energy and resources group and in the division of ecosystem sciences at the University of California, Berkeley