Re: OT:Getting scientific
I'll second that. I did like Gloria's comment that many of us take this to a
scientific level. I could feel a lot of smiles coming out of the ether.
When I first learned about the Internet its main function was the exchange of
scientific information, rather than marketing and commerce. I dragged our state
ornithological society kicking and screaming into this brave new world and had
the temerity to say that our journal would soon prove to outlive its usefulness
as a scientific organ.
What is science but a method to explore, test hypotheses, report the results
and duplicate the results of others? As flower growers we are just fortunate
enough to be working with something of great beauty that forces the scientist
in the best of us to step back now and again and say, "Lookit that!" It beats
studying ecto-parasites on beef cattle.
So all these chats combine a pretty fair amount of sometimes excellent science,
spiced up by a lot of trial and error and reinventing of the wheel (Cries from
the real scientists of "Use the archives, this has been discussed before."),
and good old kaffe klatsch conversation.
So, Gloria, the scientific approach and its open public discussion on this
wonderful medium makes advances possible that would have taken years in the
traditional publication world, but serving it up on an Internet chat group
where we all become friends, is just such a wonderful environment that I'm
shaking my head every day and giving thanks that I live in this age. Imagine
all those dusty ranks of scientific journals sitting on library shelves that
never got read in the past, except by a very limited audience, whereas today
each of us go on the Internet every day and solve problems, or get new ideas on
how to solve problems that would have taken months or years in the past. The
nice thing is, if it's over your head you can just hit the delete button for
now. I wish I had a better understanding of some of the genetic discussions,
but it seems that the learning process is little changed by just bombarding us
with more information.
To a former freshman English instructor who cares deeply about the language,
it's a thrill to see new people come online using sloppy punctuation, bad
spelling and sometimes rough grammar, which no one ever corrects thereby
causing public embarrassment. Wonder of wonders, after a few months of message
exchanging, you see the same people start to clean up their spelling and
grammar and their communications skills improve, just because of the desire to
communicate. Teaching without teachers, it's wonderful to watch.
So the idea of regional club chat groups is one I feel should be encouraged. We
see regional affinities occurring here on iris-talk, and it would be great if
these expanded.
Insofar as stupid questions are concerned, the following stupid questions were
recently asked to a group of four-year-olds and a group of psychologists:
Q.: How do you get a giraffe into a refrigerator?
A.: You open the door and push.
Q.: How do you get an elephant into a refrigerator?
Usual A: Open the door and push.
A.: Well first you have to take out the giraffe.
Q.: The Lion King called a conference of all the animals on the continent and
all came but one. Who wasn't there?
A: The elephant. He's in the refrigerator.
Q.: You have to swim across a river that is infested with crocodiles, what do
you do?
A: Go ahead and swim. The crocodiles are all at the conference.
Is it any surprise to learn that the four-year-olds did better than the
psychologists?
Stupid questions? Try choosing between Coke and Pepsi as though it mattered.
That's stupid.
James Brooks
comeback@usit.net
Jonesborough, TN
John Reeds wrote:
> Never be afraid to ask "dumb" questions. Those of us who think we know
> what we're doing love to share our enthusiasm for our favorite flowers with
> someone who actually wants to listen!
>
> John Reeds
> jreeds@microsensors.com
> ----------
> From: Josiecairn@aol.com[SMTP:Josiecairn@aol.com]
> Reply To: iris-talk@egroups.com
> Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2000 6:29 AM
> To: iris-talk@egroups.com
> Subject: Re: [iris-talk] OT:ALCOHOL AT CLUB FUNCTIONS
>
> <<<"Since most clubs are getting older and we see few young people joining
> why
> not have a club website. On this site we let people know that on a certain
> day of the week we will have a chatroom set up for them to come in and meet
>
> with some of the members and answer questions that they may have about how
> to
> groom or care for iris. I even went as far to say this could be a weekly
> thing and we could also if they were interested let them join the club.
> This
> could be counted as a meeting for them. My feeling is this, if we can get
> them interested on the internet maybe we can get them to meetings sometime
> down the road. We could also take it a step further and have a special
> speaker for the chatroom such as Mr. Clarence Mahan for example. But I feel
>
> we have got to start being more creative or our clubs may become history.
> Comments please.">>>>
>
> Jim,
> I think that you have a wonderful idea. I am sure that there are many iris
>
> lovers out there that just are not able to get to club meetings but do have
>
> access to the Internet and could join in on weekly or monthly chats. This
> way many more iris lovers may take part.
> Speaking for myself, I am very new to Iris growing. I have noticed that
> most
> of the members of Iris-talk are very well versed in growing iris. They at
> times scare the hell out of me because I feel that I will look like a fool
> or
> feel like one just asking some of the questions I may have. This could be
> one reason why newer iris lovers do not join the clubs, as they are not
> well
> versed in iris growing. Many just enjoy iris's because they are a
> beautiful
> flower, but many iris-talk members and club members have made growing IRIS
> a
> science. This is wonderful but it can scare new growers away. I am
> willing
> to bet that many lurk on this site, but are scared to join in as they may
> feel stupid with their questions.
>
> I do think that Jim has a great idea. Also can someone explain to me how
> you
> get to the chat area on Friday evenings.
> Gloria, Zone 6 in Northern RI
>
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