Poor butterflies :(( and a question for some people

John Acorn janature at compusmart.ab.ca
Wed Sep 27 23:01:23 EDT 2000


Lepidophiles,

In my last posting, I made the point that anecdotal evidence is not a
reliable source of natural history knowledge.  (This should come as no
surprise to anyone with even the most basic scientific training.)  I also
made the point that lay people often remember tremendous surges in butterfly
populations, and in hindsight think that these surges were normal, and that
now the butterflies must be gone.

I didn't say a thing about butterfly populations in general, or what
carefully collected data (or the observations of knowledgeable, thoughtful,
science-minded people) might say about them.  I care as much about
butterflies as any of you do.  And yes, I realize that some are declining. 
Again, no surprise.

There is a wonderful article in the most recent issue of the "Skeptical
Inquirer," by a physicist named Robert L. Park.  The article is called
"Voodoo Science and the Belief Gene" and it has a great deal to say about
the sorts of emotionally-charged impasses that often pop up on this list. 
In it, he quotes Richard Feynman as saying that science is "what we have
learned about how not to fool ourselves."  

Surely we all want the truth as much as we want a healthy world and a safe
world for butterflies!  

John Acorn
Edmonton, Canada


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