Scientific Illiteracy
- Archived: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 08:29:00 -0400 (EDT)
- Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 08:14:03 -0400 (EDT)
- From: Karsten A. Rist <ristck@aol.com>
- Subject: Scientific Illiteracy
- X-topic: Permits and Rules
James Marple's account of his experience matches my own experience in many ways.
Many of the important decisions to be made are very complex and may, indeed, have more than one viable solution. No doubt James Marple is correct when he says: "All public servants have an obligation to fully and fairly inform us about how our affairs are being managed,....". I believe that most public servants try to do that, confined only by their own knowledge and experience.
Ultimately the general public, including me, has to chose its prophets and we have to decide whom to trust. My experience with agency employees has in general been very good and I believe that they are in general more competent and more reliable than they are given credit for. My favorite villain is the loudmouth in a public meeting who has a few snippets of facts and many prejudices and weaves them into a denunciation of "lazy beaurocrats and dumb engineers who draw big salaries".
Karsten A. Rist
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