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Re: Plutonium and other nasties
I'd like to further emphasized Ron Katherine's response. We need to
clearly understand the question being asked and to know the audience
for the response.
Many of us in the field could argue til we're blue and even purple
plaid in the face about which stance is correct; which scenario
is plausible and which is not; which statistics are conclusive and
relevant and which are not. The question an individual may be asking
may not necessarily be the first one asked. It should then be our
"duty" to ask additional questions to figure out as precisely as we
can what is being questioned or asked. It's like the old response
from our guiding parents and grandparents - "Think before you
answer". And with the added benefit of asking more questions, it
will help us to better figure out what and how we're going to
respond. Wait, those are the guiding principles of forming a
hypothesis and proving/testing it, right? Ask a question, then ask a
few more til soon an answer is proven or shown?
We've advanced so greatly in recent years, we need to be aware that
others are not as inept to understanding our field. Sometimes
we even forget things and just need a simple reminder (age has a
tendency to do that). The main issue, though, is to know exactly
what is being asked and to whom the response is going to. If that
means asking ten more questions, so be it. That just means the
answer will be more precise and better understood by the individual
asking the question. And more than likely without passing out from
turning blue or even purple plaid.
With so many "misunderstandings" in our field and the general public
being "mislead" (and that goes well beyond just our field), don't you
think it's time for us to slow down and figure out where these
misunderstandings are and how to better keep from misleading
individuals? What a better way to start than asking more from the
individual posing his/her question? Find out just what "they" know
and what world they come from. It'll make explaining so much easier
and hopefully begin reducing the misunderstandings. It will,
hopefully, also help to keep them from being mislead by
actually answering the "root" question they've asked.
To me it all sounds so simple. Just think before answering and maybe
asking a few more questions in order to best respond to that
individual? Technology and knowledge can be a great thing if
explained well, but terrifying to others when it is not.
Well, I think that has helped relieve the bur under my saddle.
Bernadette Baca
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TDH - Bureau of Radiation Control
Uranium Licensing Project
1100 West 49th
Austin, TX 78756 - 3189
(512) 834 - 6688 ext: 2206
http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/ech/rad/pages/brc.htm
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-My supervisor has not read or approved this message, much less agrees
with my point of view. Therefore, use at your own risk and humor.
mailto:Bernadette.Baca@tdh.state.tx.us
mailto:bbaca@netscape.net
"Beneath this chaos is a really big mess." - Jim Davis
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