More Intelligent Food for Thought

After the Kiwis, the Bush, and the State of Kansas have declared themselves Intelligently Designed, here is a follow-up:

Intelligent Design: One chance encounter explains it all where apparently Australia's Education Minister Dr. Brendan Nelson joins the chorus.

Fortunately, though, in this same excellent piece on the Japan Times, another remarkable interview brings some clarity to the roots of the debate of Intelligent Design, or in short, ID.

And if you also have been startled by the coincidence of ongoing discussions on ID, ID theft, ID cards, RFID, and so on, you will probably also enjoy this piece on the Wichita Eagle, both because of its name and location, obviously.

But also because it introduces the readers (or those who have not been in touch with FSM, sorry, Its Noodly Appendage, before) to an equally valiant challenge to Evolutionary Theory (let's call it E.T., okay?) which is, of course, the Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, also known as Pastafarianism.

And just to be fair and to round things up, here comes another contestor: The Onion on Intelligent Falling (IF?)

But the main point (unfortunately) remains: discussing science with somebody who rejects science is like trying to evict a homeless person - it just won't work. But you might be in even greater trouble if you invite that somebody into your house...

(for an excellent movie on that, see 'Down and Out in Beverly Hills' (1986), with Nick Nolte ;-)

How Intelligent is the Design of a Kiwi? ID debate reaching NZ

If you thought the 'Intelligent Design' debate was something happening in Kansas or at least the US of A only, this link to an article in the New Zealand Herald proves otherwise. ;-(

NZ Herald article on ID

It is the same play in a different theatre, and again the main point is proven again:


if you treat ignorants with ignorance, they will only gain from it (after all, ignorance is what they are all about).


And with the words of a not-so-Intelligent but certainly well-Designed fellow, one could conclude:

"If the question is whether or not this debate is fruitless, the answer is Yes."

no life aquatic

In case you wondered what a polar ecologist/sea ice biologist is actually doing most of the time, well, you are not alone. I wonder about the same thing every single day ;-)

And since I am in bed with the flu today and the same questions have been haunting me all morning:

"...what have I been doing since the last expedition?" ..."what am I supposed to do next when I get back to work?" ... "is there any future in this?" ... "should I get a REAL job?"... and so on

(okay, maybe it is not all that dramatic, but still, you get the point)

I have finally decided to blog those demons away, and post my 'accumulated wisdom' about polar research, or at least my little part of it, on this site.

There are a number of things most people will agree on about Polar research:


• it is expensive (think icebreakers, helicopters, snow mobiles, lots of cold weather gear, hauling tons of equipment to the ends of the world...)

• it is at the same time about very remote places but also about the the global perspective (think ozone hole, deglaciation, sea level rise, thawing permafrost)

• it is Prestige Science (think National Polar Research Programs, National sector claims in the Antarctic, the Race to the Poles, Amundsen, Nansen, Scott, Nobile, Wegener, Andree, and all the other national icons and polar heroes)

• it is more often than not perceived as interesting but exotic, challenging but not (economically) rewarding, and in toto not all that relevant for most people's lives.


So from these statements you can derive some secondary points that define the life of a polar researcher to a great extend:


• it is a very competitive business

• there is a very narrow job market and a lot of turnover, especially among those "early-stage researchers" (...like me ;-)

• it is personally demanding and sometimes exhausting (think months of expedition time, uncertain future perspectives, a constant struggle for renewal of financing)

• it is often presented as more glamorous and heroic than it actually is, while at the same time people ask "so what is coming out of all this?"


So why bother? There are many reasons, probably as many as there are people actually doing this. It is certainly not about getting as much adventure and fun as you would expect from watching the Cousteau movies.

(after all, I am writing mostly about the German research programs here, where the biggest adventure is getting all the right permits and forms in time for your next trip)

Science, escpecially basic science, is probably not a career choice where a higher income and bonuses, possible advances in the hierarchy, or earning a personal spot in the parking lot, are the standard factors that people will typically discuss over lunch with their co-workers.

On the other hand, the office part of your work time is probably not that different from so many jobs outside of science.
You have your deadlines to meet, you have to wrestle with the printer when it is jammed, you argue whose turn it is to get the coffee and milk on the table for your breaks, there are forms and applications for everything, and sometimes the data network just breaks down and everybody is terrified.

So let's line up the cool part of this business for a change:

• an academic position (usually) comes with a great level of independence

• your position (especially in polar research) covers a great deal of different tasks and environments: there is of course the fieldwork and expedition time, there is lab work, office work/desk time, conferences and travels

• you get to see places and do things that other people pay a fortune for (which you could never afford on an academic salary;-) and you get paid for it (sometimes you even get a 2,39€ bonus, per day!)
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(working in tourism has finally killed the idea that there are still places on this earth that are virtually untouched or unreachable for humans, except maybe scientists. Forget it.
If there ever has been a single human being before, then there will be tourists shortly after. The more exclusive, the better.

"Tea and cake in the Dry Valleys? Just sign here, and fill in your credit card number. A souvenir from the South Pole? Stand right there, sir, next to the Ceremonial Pole marker, and please don't take your sunglasses off. A hike around the North Pole? As soon as the helicopter has touched down, ma'am. Northwest Passage? Would you like to book a starboard or port side suite for the trip? Skiing across Greenland? Certainly, sir, twice a season, would you rather go east-west or west-east?"

You get the idea...)
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I think after having written this, I should finally get in gear and compose that page about my PhD project that had been announced on my webspace for years now. So watch out, next time I get sick it might be there, on this spot!

re-elections? NO - remix, mash, sample, hack it!

Many Germans seem to feel indecisive these days as to what to expect from their government, who to elect, or why to even care.

But look here, somebody has made it a lot easier for those of us who thought that these names and faces were all interchangeable:

make your own (remix) chancellor, right here, right now

finally: flat-out-on-the-net-all-the-time!

Quote from traffic monitor:

02.08.05 09:30:12 Internetverbindung wurde erfolgreich hergestellt.
02.08.05 09:30:07 DSL ist verfügbar (DSL-Synchronisierung besteht).
02.08.05 09:29:57 DSL-Synchronisierung beginnt (Training).
02.08.05 09:29:53 DSL antwortet nicht (Keine DSL-Synchronisierung).
_________________________

so finally, the data stream has found a wider channel into my home. Here are the facts:

Ordererd: 22.07. (1&1)
Installed: 26.07. (splitter, modem&wireless router, VoIP switch, 30€ for all)

27.07. - 01.08.: waiting for the signal...

...and here we are, online at last!

data transfer rate improvement: 137x (over the olden days, when 44K connections over the modem were the norm)
upload rates of 580K are also a nice change...

written on the balcony, on the upgraded pb wallstreet (now G4/500, 512 MB, 20 GB, PROXIM wireless(b) card)

will need to set an alarm to remind me to get offline and sleep...;-) or set the router to interrupt the connection after more than 8 hours straight, so that I can get ready to get back to work...!

Marine biology makes it into Boing Boing: reverse-engineered knowledge transfer

Look, marine biology makes it into the blogosphere. And turns the Baltic Sea green. Cool...

If that is the way people find out about stuff today, so be it. Quote:

"This European satellite image shows a boom-bloom of phytoplankton occuring in the Baltic Sea. There's so many of the critters, they've turned the sea green."

Boing Boing: Phytoplankton "explosion" in the Baltic Sea

Meta-blogging a piece of meta-information on some snapped up meta data: it seems silly, but in a way only fitting.

And it proves one (rather obvious) point:

There is so much data out there. But only so much information.

Or to put it less poetically: to generate data is easy, to generate information is not.