[Nhcoll-l] The Growing Power of the Ranks of the Dead

[Brown, Matthew A]

This is spot-on satire, but it is probably worth pointing out for the sake of our younger members (who may be less cynical than you and I) that the reason so many people accept evolution or understand the importance of museums is because many, many individuals dedicate their time to education. Be it groups like the National Center for Science Education testifying before Congress or the Texas School Board, Kevin Padian’s testimony during the Dover trial, a teacher in a classroom, or museum docents talking to families on the exhibit floor- each of these avenues has the power to change one mind. Even if we can’t win over everyone, it remains our job to try. 

Regards,

Matt




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Matthew A. Brown
Director of Museum Operations, Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory
Lecturer, Department of Geological Sciences
Jackson School of Geosciences
The University of Texas at Austin
R7600, Austin, TX 78758
Office:(512)232-5515
matthewbrown at utexas.edu
jsg.utexas.edu/vpl

> On Oct 27, 2015, at 8:54 AM, Ellen Paul <ellen.paul at verizon.net> wrote:
> 
> I respectfully disagree.  
> 
> You won't ever convince the "general public." All you will do is draw more attention to something that will draw even more heat. You don't really think the antis will just sit there and keep quiet, do you? Mark Bekoff and his posse will suddenly go silent? No way. You will just see more blathering in HuffPost, WashPost,  and elsewhere. 
> 
> And it will go to a general public that is uneducated and lacking in critical thinking ability. A public campaign is just as likely to end up with even more enmity. 
> 
> This is not about information. This is about emotion. This is not about rationality. That's why I liken it to the creationist/intelligent design issue. Despite the best efforts of scientists - including organizations devoted to this one issue! -  no minds have been changed. "Belief" in evolution remains at 30-35% over time. Heck, even the mushy middle, i.e., people who are not dogmatic about it - still thinks that hominids descended (love that word - we do seem to be proof that evolution is not directional and that newer is not necessarily better) from apes. 
> 
> Give it up. You won't persuade the general public. You may persuade the few who have open minds. The very few.
> 
> And frankly, the museum community cumulatively doesn't have the resources (money, full-time staff) to deal with this issue on an ongoing basis. And heck - when they do put something out, they are clueless to the potential backlash that is made virtually inevitable by the internet. This isn't 1968, when you could get a nice piece in a newspaper and the antis could do little but sit back and fume and maybe write a letter to the editor. 
> 
> That being said, it is great to post positive pieces like the one the Field put out about monkeypox and how the rodent collection at the Field helped the CDC to determine the source.
> 
> Ellen
> Ellen Paul
> Executive Director
> The Ornithological Council
> Email: 
> ellen.paul at verizon.net
> 
> "Providing Scientific Information about Birds
> "
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.nmnh.si.edu_BIRDNET&d=AwIF-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=6MsfcsatmHQjPqmY-IWa5I07Nm19xHZj9aHZO4EZGJw&s=_kypnbTWg1CiQgjjonm3KB7p9rcIAF9dN7AjtfwZ3Rk&e= "
> 
> On 10/26/15 10:29 PM, Kevin Winker wrote:
>> Paul Sweet of the American Museum of Natural History recently emailed a small number of us remarking that we still have a lot of work to do to convince the general public that scientific collecting is still crucial. He's right in his observation that more could be persuaded if properly informed. To that end, I've put up a public PR piece on our site and recommend that we all look for additional ways to be proactive in this. 
>> 
>> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__bit.ly_1GushYi&d=AwIF-g&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=6MsfcsatmHQjPqmY-IWa5I07Nm19xHZj9aHZO4EZGJw&s=nk-P1Ecldnbm_03R0MhHyGOVQ6qaz6gfaLw--If1nTA&e=  
>> 
>> Best,
>> -- 
>> Kevin Winker
>> University of Alaska Museum
>> 907 Yukon Drive
>> Fairbanks, AK 99775
>> 
>> 
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