{"id":66,"date":"2006-10-11T19:55:31","date_gmt":"2006-10-11T23:55:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flascience.org\/wp\/?p=66"},"modified":"2008-08-05T10:44:04","modified_gmt":"2008-08-05T14:44:04","slug":"now-this-is-what-science-is-about","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=66","title":{"rendered":"Now this is what science is about"},"content":{"rendered":"

Science is about getting out there and getting your hands dirty. It can be about being away from home for long stretches, being uncomfortable and working together. It’s not about useless debates and showboating for the general public. You want a little taste of science? Try this out<\/a>:<\/p>\n

ON THE BERING SEA – If the research vessel Thomas G. Thompson were the set of a reality show, the seal guys might have been voted off first.<\/p>\n

Not that they weren’t delightful company.<\/p>\n

But they wanted the ship to stay near the Russian border, where the ice was thick and the seals abundant.<\/p>\n

The oceanographers and plankton biologists were grumpy because bad weather had driven them out of the areas they were most interested in. Now that conditions had improved, they argued the ship should head south and try again.<\/p>\n

It was a power struggle of the most genteel sort.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Every research cruise is a balancing act. The five-week trip this spring required extra juggling because so many different specialties were represented. Scientists studying water chemistry and microscopic plants and animals were vying for ship time with those looking for fish, counting birds and tagging seals.<\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

Scientists who boarded the Thomas during a stop at St. Paul Island midway through the cruise got a chance to let their stomachs settle and stow their gear before mustering in the main lab for the mandatory safety briefing.<\/p>\n

The highlight was the Gumby suit drill.<\/p>\n

Made from Neoprene, these fluorescent-orange survival garments cover every inch of skin, except a small window over the eyes. To put one on, you lie flat on the deck and tug the bulky one-piece up over your clothes, shoes and all. The arms end in oversized mittens. The feet flop like flippers.<\/p>\n

If an alarm sounded, said chief mate Robert Symonds, everyone was supposed dash to their cabins, grab their Gumby suits and meet in the lab.<\/p>\n

Someone asked how long the outfit would keep a person alive in the 35-degree water.<\/p>\n

Symonds thought for a moment.<\/p>\n

“We’ll, you’re going to swallow a lot of sea water,” he said. “I think that’ll get you first.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Science is about getting out there and getting your hands dirty. It can be about being away from home for long stretches, being uncomfortable and working together. It’s not about useless debates and showboating for the general public. You want … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcZNLl-14","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":385,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=385","url_meta":{"origin":66,"position":0},"title":"New chancellor’s response to evolution question","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"January 13, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"New Florida K-12 chancellor Frances Haithcock was interviewed by the St. Petersburg Times education blog The Gradebook. In the course of that interview, Haithcock was hit with the dreaded evolution question. I do have to ask you about the exciting debate over evolution and where you stand on that one,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Our Science Standards"","block_context":{"text":"Our Science Standards","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2436,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2436","url_meta":{"origin":66,"position":1},"title":"You can’t have it both ways","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I have genuine difficulty understanding a person who looks down on science and yet has no problem benefiting from it. A letter-to-the-editor writer in today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Daytona Beach News-Journal did exactly that \u00e2\u20ac\u201c denigrate science while praising its products \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in response to my column published Sunday. He writes: THE VAGUE\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 3 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 3 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=2436#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":346,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=346","url_meta":{"origin":66,"position":2},"title":"Activist parents on the move; BoE member voices opinion","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"December 11, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"We now know what another state Board of Education member thinks about evolution in the science standards. But first, let's see what led up to that revelation. The St. Petersburg Times education blog The Gradebook is hot on the trail of a group of activist moms who are working overtime\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "In the News"","block_context":{"text":"In the News","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":716,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=716","url_meta":{"origin":66,"position":3},"title":"Influence, Spore, blip, Amy, denies","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"September 15, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"==> Newsweek laments America's fading influence as a leader in science. ==> Florida Citizens for Science's own Joe Meert is quoted in Education Week concerning the computer game Spore. ==> Kim Kendall and Beverly Slough are names familiar to those of us who fought in defense of good science education\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 7 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 7 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=716#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":149,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=149","url_meta":{"origin":66,"position":4},"title":"Report on activities","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"February 6, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Report on Florida Citizens for Science (This report is from Florida Citizens for Science president, Joe Wolf) The recent State of the Union Message reminds us that I need to make a report to you on the state of Florida Citizens for Science. What we have done in 2006 Establishment\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "FlCfS Business"","block_context":{"text":"FlCfS Business","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?cat=10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1058,"url":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1058","url_meta":{"origin":66,"position":5},"title":"Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Greatest Menace VI 1\/2: Getting the adults annoyed","author":"Brandon Haught","date":"June 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"(This is a \"bonus\" part of the Florida\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Greatest Menace series. For an introduction to the series, go here.) When antievolution fever strikes a community, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m curious about how the controversy affects the students. While the adults are debating, yelling, preaching and seizing the media spotlight, what are the kids\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/?p=1058#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=66"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=66"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=66"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.flascience.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=66"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}