Re: An open letter from Alan Hale

From
Date
At 02:21 AM 4/20/97 -0700, you wrote:
>This open letter has been making the rounds on science listservers of late.
>I can sympathize with the sentiments it expresses personally, as I'm sure
>many other PaleoNet subscribers do. Although we've discussed the current
>job situation several times on PaleoNet, it is an issue of perennial
>concern to a large percentage of our community. Does anyone have any
>current figures for employment in paleontology in particular and/or science
>in general available? On a recent trip to the US I was told that some of
>the major oil companies are beginning to hire again (at least they are
>interviewing on campuses where they have been notably absent for several
>years). What are the reasons for this? Has anything been learned by the
>last boom-bust cycle by the managers in this industry or are we headed for
>another roller-coaster ride? And what's the long-term forecast. Is (our)
>science going to progressively eaten away through lack of new jobs for the
>young and unreplaced attrition of the old? Are there any
>initiatives/experiments going on involving new sources of funding for
>paleontology/paleontologists of which the community at large should be more
>aware? Finally, what are the best strategies for publicizing the plight of
>science? Hale is taking his story to the media (or at least using the media
>to get the word out). My own recent excursion through the media here in the
>UK suggests that, while Hale's is a noble gesture, something more is
>needed. What is it about so many people that makes them fascinated by, but
>at the same time scared of science? Why is science something that is OK to
>be interested in while you're a very young child (approximately 5-10), but
>not when you "grow up?"
>
>Norm MacLeod
>
>
>
>----------
>
>An open letter to the scientists of my generation:
>
>I am Alan Hale, the co-discoverer of Comet Hale-Bopp which, as I'm
>sure you're aware, is getting a tremendous amount of media attention
>at this time. Like I'm sure is true for many of you, I was inspired
>by the scientific discoveries and events taking place during my
>childhood to pursue a career in science only to find, after completing
>the rigors of undergraduate and graduate school, that the
>opportunities for us to have a career in science are limited at best
>and are which I usually describe as "abysmal." Based upon my own
>experiences, and those of you with whom I have discussed this
>issue, my personal feeling is that, unless there are some pretty drastic
>changes in the way that our society approaches science and treats
>those of us who have devoted our lives to making some of our own
>contributions, there is no way that I can, with a clear conscience,
>encourage present-day students to pursue a career in science. It
>really pains me a great deal to say something like that, but I feel so
>strongly about this that I have publicly made this statement at almost
>every opportunity I have been given.
>
>I am trying to use the media attention that is currently being focused
>upon me to raise awareness of this state of affairs, and perhaps start
>to effect those changes that will allow me to convey a more positive
>message to the next generation. So far, I'm sensing a certain
>reluctance among the media to discuss this issue, as they seem far
>more interested in items which I consider to be irrelevant and
>unimportant. But I intend to keep hammering away at this, and I'd like
>to believe that eventually some are going to sit up and take notice. I
>am also attempting to schedule meetings with some of our
>government leaders, to see if I can at least get some
>acknowledgement from Washington that this is a problem that needs
>to be dealt with.
>
>My reason for writing to you is to ask your help. I know that I'm not
>alone in being frustrated about the current prospects for pursuing any
>kind of decent career within science, and I'm quite sure that many of
>you have "horror stories" about your searches for decent
>employment that are quite similar to my own. I'd like to hear them. I'd
>especially like to hear from those of you who are on your second or
>third or fourth post-doc, or who have left the field as a result of the
>employment situation, or who have experienced severe personal
>difficulties (e.g., break-up of a marriage, etc.). I realize that some
>of these might be painful to discuss, but I'd like to show that we are
>not a bunch of impersonal statistics, but that we're human beings
>trying to make an honest living and perhaps make a contribution or
>two to society while we're at it. Speaking of statistics, though, if you
>received any information about the numbers of applicants to some of
>the positions you applied to -- which was often a 3-digit number in my
>case -- I'd like to hear that, too.
>
>Please e-mail your stories to me at ahale@nmsu.edu, with a subject
>line of "horror stories" or something like that. Please let me know if
>you would prefer to remain anonymous when I share these stories
>with the press and the government. Also, please pass this message
>on to any of your friends and colleagues who might be interested in
>sharing their stories with me, and keep in mind that I would like to
>receive stories from as many scientific disciplines as possible.
>(Because of the amount of e-mail traffic I'm receiving these days,
>along with everything else that's going on, I probably won't be able to
>acknowledge each message individually.)
>
>Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear from you. Perhaps, with
>the opportunity we have before us right now, we have the chance to
>make a difference.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Alan Hale (ahale@nmsu.edu)
>
>
>No reply needed. I am a veterinary pathologist with interests in
paleopathology. I have worked with horse pathology all my life with minimal
to zero funding other than a salary in return for teaching and service work
in the postmortem room. One thing we all in science have to learn to do is
to work as best we can with precious little support. I know many will think
- horse - rich people, lots of money. Forget it, friends. They have it and
are keeping it except for their own superficial pleasure. If you really want
to see a field with no monetary backing, try paleopathology!
>
>
>
>
>___________________________________________________________________
>
>Dr. Norman MacLeod
>Micropalaeontological Research
>N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk (E-mail)
>
>Department of Palaeontology, The Natural History Museum,
>Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD
>
>Office Phone: 0171-938-9006
>Dept. FAX: 0171-938-9277
>E-mail: N.MacLeod@nhm.ac.uk
>___________________________________________________________________
>
>
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