Hi Jane,
It's a fair request, but I'm not sure I can do justice to it; reviews might
help. Anyway, I'll take a stab at it. Johnson is more of an "ecology" kinda
guy about ideas rather than an "agronomy" kinda guy. "When you think of a
commons, you think of a cleared field dominated by a single resource for
grazing. You don't think of an ecosystem. The commons is a monocrop
grassland, not a tangled bank." (p.244) Hope this helps.
WT
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jane Shevtsov" <[email protected]>
To: "Wayne Tyson" <[email protected]>
Cc: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 9:24 PM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Advancing Theory Irony? Re: [ECOLOG-L] Advancing
theory in biology (NSF)
Hi Wayne,
For those of us who haven't read Johnson (or at least not the book
you're referring to), can you please summarize his ideas or link to an
article?
Thanks,
Jane
On Wed, Jan 19, 2011 at 5:26 PM, Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote:
----- Original Message -----
From: "Wayne Tyson" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 5:17 PM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Advancing Theory Irony? Re: [ECOLOG-L] Advancing
theory in biology (NSF)
What is NSF's track record with respect to advancing theory in biology,
how
will the suggested requirements get there, and do Johnson's pronouncements
with respect to how good ideas (such as advancing theory in biology) come
about hold
up compared to those which drive the NSF structure?
WT
PS: No straw men, please. I am not suggesting that NSF funding be cut; I
am
suggesting that (for example) an application procedure that opens up the
possibilities Johnson suggests might have potential for bearing more
QUALITATIVE fruit.
----- Original Message -----
From: "malcolm McCallum" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Wednesday, January 19, 2011 7:25 AM
Subject: Re: [ECOLOG-L] Advancing Theory Irony? Re: [ECOLOG-L] Advancing
theory in biology (NSF)
what exactly are you asking?
Are you are suggesting in a hidden way that NSF is a waste of money?
Being someone who has reviewed a few NSF grants, but having got most of
my
research $$ elsewhere I'ld say it is still one of, if not the most
important
scientific organizations in the US. Considering the pittance that is
allocated to this agency, there is no room for complaint. It may be one
of
the few truly objective government agencies because the politicians have
little to say about what they do....compared to other agencies where
politicians can re-write reports for example. Further, they actually
evaluate whether funding something is worthwhile....see the long
humorous
history of the Bradley fighting vehicle. Talk about a waste. They
flooded
money into a vehicle which the govt's own audit revealed was a useless
vehicle. They then redesigned it again to have the thing out there today
which has no resemblance to the transport originally funded. If an NSF
funded researcher completely turned its project upside down and didn't
follow the proposal that was originally funded, I suspect the
investigator's
funding would be revoked. However, the responsible parties involved with
the Bradley continued to throw money at it. At one time the Bradley was
a
transport that was slow, tall, heavy, barely armored, and which could
only
transport a couple of soldiers! Now it is basically a tank. So, I ask,
if
NSF funded one of us to produce a transport and we used the money to
make
a
tank.....what would happen? There is plenty of waste in the government,
and
usually most of it is found in those with the most funding. Those with
levels like NSF have little to waste.
:)
Malcolm McCallum
On Tue, Jan 18, 2011 at 10:28 PM, Wayne Tyson <[email protected]> wrote:
If Steven Johnson is right about Where Good Ideas Come From, "Houston,
we
have a problem."
If SJ is wrong, we should expect a clamor for the stimulus dough, and a
flock of applications . . . er, proposals. The real nutcases won't
bother,
and those who harbor ill-fitting concepts will be rejected . . . or
will
reject the premise.
In any case (or guess) the proof will be in the demonstration of the
validity of the prediction. How many revolutions hath NSF wrought?
WT
----- Original Message ----- From: "David Inouye" <[email protected]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 18, 2011 3:21 PM
Subject: [ECOLOG-L] Advancing theory in biology (NSF)
This is the final year of the Advancing Theory in Biology
competition. The Directorate for Biological Sciences will continue to
encourage proposals that develop new theory to account for
independent phenomena at two or more levels of biological
organization. These should be submitted to the appropriate core
program(s) in the Directorate for Biological Sciences for review.
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2011/nsf11523/nsf11523.htm?WT.mc_id=USNSF_25&WT.mc_ev=click
Dr. David W. Inouye
Program Director
Population and Community Ecology Cluster
Division of Environmental Biology
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22230
[email protected]
703-292-8570
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Malcolm L. McCallum
Managing Editor,
Herpetological Conservation and Biology
"Peer pressure is designed to contain anyone with a sense of drive" -
Allan
Nation
1880's: "There's lots of good fish in the sea" W.S. Gilbert
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and pollution.
2000: Marine reserves, ecosystem restoration, and pollution reduction
MAY help restore populations.
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-------------
Jane Shevtsov
Ecology Ph.D. candidate, University of Georgia
co-founder, <www.worldbeyondborders.org>
Check out my blog, <http://perceivingwholes.blogspot.com>Perceiving Wholes
"The whole person must have both the humility to nurture the
Earth and the pride to go to Mars." --Wyn Wachhorst, The Dream
of Spaceflight
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