Nunya Bizness wrote:


Thanks, Rick. Since I started in the planetarium field (20 years ago
next Sunday), I've seen that while most people are fairly smart but
somewhat misinformed, there are a lot of crackpots and loons out there.

If I took every call or visit we get at the museum at face value, here's
what I'd think:

Every rock is a meteorite.
Every flake of rock is a valuable Indian artifact.
Every hunk of metal is a civil war artifact.
Every fragment of bone is from a human.
Every spider is a brown recluse.
Every snake is a copperhead.
Every light in the night sky is a flying saucer.

So, yes, most of the calls we get are serious inquiries about the
natural world. But when someone calls and says, "I saw a comet last
night and it was moving across the sky very quickly so it must have been
close," I might take it with a grain of salt because it matches no
description of a comet I've ever seen. And, as it turns out, it wasn't
a comet but, rather, a phenomenon that this former west coast boy had
never seen. I learned something and was able to share that with the
gentleman who'd called.

Incidentally, he really appreciated that I'd called him back and was
able to tell him what he'd seen.

If I made a mistake in that, I'd sure like someone to tell me what it was.

JC Craig

After 27 years of dealing with the public as supervisor of a public
observatory and helping a planetarium director for far longer I know
what you are experiencing. Crackpots, while few in number scream their
lunacy far and wide appearing far more numerous than they really are.
Most folks suffer from science illiteracy due to our education system.
They are easy targets for crackpots and their ideas. I'm sure we could
trade horror stories and success stories for hours on end!

Myth is simple, Science is tough. Thus, myth is the far easier to
remember and comprehend by the unfortunately science illiterate
majority. It will always be an uphill battle those few fighting it.

I'm retired now. You are doing a good job in the front lines. Thanks,
we need all the help we can get.

Rick


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Correct domain name is arvig and it is net not com. Prefix is correct.
Third character is a zero rather than a capital "Oh".