<html>
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<style type="text/css" style="display:none;"> P {margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;} </style>
</head>
<body dir="ltr">
<div style="font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I attribute this situation to a weird association of butterflies and science where science is the intellectual enemy.</span>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:times new roman,serif;font-size:large">
<br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:times new roman,serif;font-size:large">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I suggest our educational system is failing us by not ensuring students learn critical thinking. The conspiracy theorists were always there yet remained below the surface until emboldened by the thinking
of the administration between 2016 and 2020. In my department back in the 1980s one of my colleagues and close friends would return from meetings with the folks who used our research and accumulated knowledge to teach. He would return to his office and always
say "Fictitious but true." There are facts and there is the truth. Each person must decide based upon their education and indoctrination, at home, at school, socially, and church if they attend one. In our small city of 35,000 people, 2/3 are right-wing well-meaning
people, and less than 50% are vaccinated. There is one very low wattage church chat show. I regularly listen because I want to know what the 2/3 right leaning people are hearing. The stuff that is broadcast is scary. One so-called news-on-the-hour broadcast
said people should not get vaccinated for COVID because every vaccinated person dies. No doubt a true statement and reveals no critical thinking.</span></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:times new roman,serif;font-size:large">
<br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:times new roman,serif;font-size:large">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I work hard to teach my students to research and think. I touch so few students compared to the thousands of people who join the masses of conspiracy theorists. My former neighbor, a very nice man,
from across the street insisted planes from China were flying overhead daily to spread the COVID virus. Then in the next sentence he said COVID doesn't exist. Critical thinking? I think not. I recently attended his funeral after COVID caused his death.
</span><br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:times new roman,serif;font-size:large">
<br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:times new roman,serif;font-size:large">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">From sunny southern New Mexico.</span></div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:times new roman,serif;font-size:large">
<br>
</div>
<div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:times new roman,serif;font-size:large">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Eric</span></div>
<span class="gmail_default" style="font-family:times new roman,serif;font-size:large"></span><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Eric H. Metzler</span></div>
<div id="appendonsend"></div>
<hr style="display:inline-block;width:98%" tabindex="-1">
<div id="divRplyFwdMsg" dir="ltr"><font face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="font-size:11pt" color="#000000"><b>From:</b> Leps-l <leps-l-bounces@mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Mike Quinn <entomike@gmail.com><br>
<b>Sent:</b> Sunday, February 6, 2022 4:47 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> Leps-L <leps-l@mailman.yale.edu>; TXBL <TX-BUTTERFLY@listserv.uh.edu>; TXENTO <TX-ENTO@listserv.uh.edu><br>
<b>Subject:</b> [Leps-l] NYTimes article on the NABA butterfly park</font>
<div> </div>
</div>
<div>
<p class="x_MsoNormal" style="line-height:12.0pt; background:#FFEB9C"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt; font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif; color:#9C6500">External Email - Exercise Caution</span></b></p>
<div>How the National Butterfly Center Became the Center of Online Lies - The New York Times
<a href="https://nam02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fnyti.ms%2F3otxXeB&data=04%7C01%7CMetzlerEH%40si.edu%7Cbbfdfaf6384f4502593f08d9e9cb0800%7C989b5e2a14e44efe93b78cdd5fc5d11c%7C0%7C0%7C637797881097390467%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C2000&sdata=oOm%2BWu0WcwZHuIWJy8%2F%2B0lvs3zDzf8uefjRFk9HG%2F6k%3D&reserved=0" originalsrc="https://nyti.ms/3otxXeB" shash="STynELTJUE+Q0s5k9+XtZUgeLZRnLk6E0ll8h/IHKh1uL/lbXxH0+IxM7rbgC4g2VMBzXtH/ZFk+dxJKSiSp2e7lmj6x9IcLQMcRB1rMPiddMtlBNDPCzry+ok4PxrDta/ACDWtlz6wkEygSNaOQV4s5/1r7IJI0ZpDLC9NnSSI=">
https://nyti.ms/3otxXeB</a>
<div dir="auto"><br>
</div>
<div dir="auto">Mike Quinn, Austin</div>
-- <br>
<div dir="ltr" class="x_gmail_signature">Sent from Gmail Mobile</div>
</div>
</div>
</body>
</html>