In a message dated 9/4/01 1:07:06 PM Pacific Daylight Time, benw@mail.uca.edu
writes:
Pristis@aol.com wrote:
>
>> This is such silly-business. It constantly amazes me how
>> self-important
>> paleontologists can be! This is just a rock that is missing from a
>> mountain-top. How many of these worm impressions does it take to make
>> this a
>> "tragedy"? Get real, guys, get some perspective!
Benw replied:
>By your reasoning, I should be able to come over and take your
>hubcaps. I mean, they're just pieces of metal that are missing
>from your car -- not even particularly rare, and unlike fossils,
>you can easily get perfectly identical ones at your local dealership.
>How much of a "tragedy" can losing your hubcaps be compared with
>the War On Drugs? I mean, you make a bunch of shiny pretty
>hubcaps, publicize them by driving around, and then expect people
>not to steal them? Sheesh! Pass me the socket wrench and get
>some perspective!
>(snip puerile sarcasm)
You still don't get it. This is about scale, proportion, perspective. The
loss of one worm impression is not a "tragedy". The comparison to the war on
drugs was intended to give you and other self-important paleontologists a
scale by which to measure the impact of the loss of a worm impression.
I would not argue that loss of hubcaps is a tragedy . . . unless I caught you
at it. Then there would be a human tragedy. I am disappointed by your
simple-minded response.
It is uncomfortable, I'm sure, to have someone point out to you that what you
do for a living, the things you study, are not as important in the overall
scheme of things as you seem to think. You have devoted your energies and
time to the backwater science of paleontology. It has shaped your paradigm
of the world.
I believe that this "tragic loss of our fossil heritage" is a public
relations strategy to get the public at large to accept your paradigm. This
strategy is effectively employed by vertebrate paleontologists. The reality
is that these are just bones and stones by which paleontologists make a
living, and this fossil heritage nonsense is self-serving baloney.
Hope this helps.
-----------Harry Pristis