"Facts" from the Net

Here you are, cruising the Net, reading what people like me have put here for you to read. How do you know it's factual? Frankly, you don't; there's no regulation on the Net (although plenty of people would love to get their grubby hands into it!) Therefore, you should take what you find on the Net with a grain of salt-- especially medical advice. As they say, you get what you pay for, and the Net is pretty cheap.

However, having given that warning, I now state my net.pledge. I am a scientist, and I really hate it when scientists give inaccurate or incomplete explanations to nonscientists just because it is too much effort to simplify the technical or mathematical details. When I write about science on my Web Pages, I will not distort the facts. When I feel that I don't have enough space to give the proper background about a topic, I will say so, and try to provide a reference where the reader can go to get the detailed information if he or she wishes.

There is so much scientific misinformation among nonscientists-- no wonder we are stereotyped as arrogant and antisocial. No wonder Congress is cutting funding for basic research. It's time we scientists made the effort to explain our work to others correctly. We become scientists for the same reasons that people become artists-- it is in our blood, a dream, a desire, a way of approaching the world. If we can communicate that feeling to nonscientists, we will all be enriched.

Email: kimall (at symbol) mindspring.com