The wonderful Angela Gunn, who writes Tech_Space, a great blog for USA Today, is a BABloggee. She read the entries and comments on the Shannon Malloy affair (and the sequel) with some interest. I figured some other bloggers would have lived through similar situations, and it turns out Angela did. She made some interesting (and, for my money, right on target) observations about it on her blog Tuesday. For those of you who are still accusing me of being 1) too tough 2) too lenient 3) too wimpy 4) too overbearing 5) too whatever, read what Angela wrote. She gets it.
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Phil Plait, the creator of Bad Astronomy, is an astronomer, lecturer, and author. After ten years working on Hubble Space Telescope and six more working on astronomy education, he struck out on his own as a writer. He has written two books, dozens of magazine articles, and 12 bazillion blog articles. He is a skeptic, and fights misuses of science as well as praising the wonder of real science.
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May 22nd, 2007 at 10:51 pm
I’d like to point out that many of the rabble who comment on this page gave generously to the Shannon Malloy fund and deserve just as much respect as the BA for doing so.
Yes, there are a lot of idiots on the internet, but there are also a lot of smart and giving people, of which this blog has more than its fair share. In fact, this blog would be lost without them.
(I have yet to donate. Still waiting for my debit card.)
May 23rd, 2007 at 12:28 am
This is what I commented in an earlier post regarding the Shannon Malloy affair. Having re-read what Phil said I realise that I misinterpreted it as an about face. For that I apologise.
However, I still won’t be donating to the fund and it’s nothing to do with a lack of compassion. As mentioned previously, I donate to several organisations that are trying to save endangered species and it’s to those organisations that my money will continue to go.
May 23rd, 2007 at 5:11 am
I’ve refrained from saying anything earlier, but BA had a valid point and I got it in the first post.
For the record, I was ran over by a drunk driver in 2003, and left with brain damage and without the ability to walk (took a lot of work to be able to walk again). The phrase miracle to be alive was tossed around a lot, mostly by the hospital staff. Yes it was disgusting, especially when the doctors said it.
The phrase is used too much, especially by people who should know better.
And I did give money.
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:35 am
I liked her statement”,,,ACTING like idiots,,,” as opposed to a didactic statement about the intellectual incompetance of the posters. I do occasionally enjoy her site.
She’s really bright(didactic statement).
GAry 7
May 23rd, 2007 at 8:15 am
The phrase miracle to be alive was tossed around a lot, mostly by the hospital staff. Yes it was disgusting, especially when the doctors said it.
So…they didn’t take credit… did they take money? If it was a ‘miracle’, they shouldn’t have.
J/P=?
May 23rd, 2007 at 8:55 am
I’m sorry that happened to you Chris, and I think the point for all to see here is that the issue has nothing at all to do with the truth or falseness of the word “miracle” or associated concept, it has to do with the fact that in a situation where one person is suffering, and others are trying to help, it is the impressions and feelings of that one person that count most, not the opinions of those trying to help, and not any clunky concept of what is “the truth”. Truth is a very useful concept in some situations, like choosing a medical procedure, but is of no help at all when framing someone’s experience in a manner that may give them comfort and inspiration. That piece, my friends, is up to the individual concerned, as any experienced caregiver should know.
May 23rd, 2007 at 8:58 am
To clarify that a little more, I was not referring to the BAs discussion of the term miracle, which had an entirely different purpose than trying to be helpful to Shannon. What he later realized and apologized for was not recognizing the potentially negative interrelationship between the two seemingly separate goals.
May 24th, 2007 at 12:02 am
Anyone see Shannon’s story referenced the other night on Colbert…?
It’s getting around! (Well, a bit at least…)
May 24th, 2007 at 12:07 am
A funny (relevant?
note:
After posting above, when the page reloaded, there was an advert for a singles site (”Chemistry”… yeah, “.com”… why use it for “science” when you can peddle [the hope of] sex?
that had the tag:
“What does the *length of your fingers* say about your personality?” (Emphasis in original.)
Is that irony…?
Oh, then it continued: “Learn how your answer can help you find a *chemistry-inspired relationship.*” (Again, original emphasis.)
I don’t care to check it out, but… maybe it’s a singles site for the pocket-protector types…?
(Has my dream finally come true??
-L
May 24th, 2007 at 4:45 am
You know, I think I preferred it when the BA just wrote about astronomy.
May 24th, 2007 at 6:15 am
Foggy:
Astronomy may be about things that exist in a vacuum, but the science does not.
It exists in a social context which is constantly challenging that sciences right to exist. Ergo, it is right and proper to include discussions about societal context, which brings us right back to politics, faith based philosophical systems and general woo-wooisms. Just because something is true, doesn’t mean it’s generally acceptable.
GAry 7
May 25th, 2007 at 6:49 am
I have to agree with Foggy. When the BA talks about astronomy, he is great. He presents information in an informed and interesting manner, and is delight to read (an watch when he does his videos). His enthusiasm for atronomy is infectious. But when he goes off into his discussions of “politics, faith based philosophical systems and general woo-wooisms”, he comes across as just another ill-tempered ranter. This is, of course, his blog, and he can do whatever he wants on it, but it is sad to see him get off of what he does so well and onto what he does, quite frankly, poorly.
May 25th, 2007 at 7:19 pm
You are of course entitled to your opinion, but I think what you may be missing is the extent to which those two are coupled. I strongly suspect that his enthusiasm for astronomy comes from the same place as his umbrage at false science– a profound understanding of the beauty of science. So asking him to post about astronomical beauty and the marvellous ways that science makes sense of it all, but then ignore the bad science that attempts to essentially dis-educate all that he is trying to describe, would be asking him to be a different person.
June 25th, 2007 at 10:33 am
[…] took some time to think through the situation, and decided to apologize, post a followup (which got a modicum of attention), and then, in an effort to turn a negative into a positive, set up a donation button on the blog […]