Chapter 78.6: My Kind of Fish Story

What's not to like in this fish story (except possibly fish)? Apparently a couple of enterprising young students were intrigued by a conversation around the dinner table. Their father, a scientist, was talking shop about bird DNA (and who doesn't?), when one of the teenage girls asked if genetic barcoding could be done on sushi. "Yeah, I think you could," he replied, "and if you did that, I think you’d be the first ones."

Sciencephobes take note: that's how ideas happen.

What the girls found out is that, in a small and admittedly limited sample, many of the seafood meals one may purchase in New York City are fishy to say the least. That is, they're mislabeled. Of course, being sensible and sufficiently conscious of the litigious society we live in, they refused to label the ne'er-do-wells where they bought the faux red snappers and white tuna (nothing said about blue fish; where's their American spirit?). But they did say kind things about one fish seller.

While I might have blogged about this story anyway, the thing that made me most proud of these kids is that they're not pursuing science in college. Don't get me wrong, there's a dearth of good young American scientists coming up through the ranks — especially female scientists — so I'd have been happy to see them pursue the subject. But this means there'll be more curious, scientifically adept kids studying art, studying literature, studying history, studying economics.

As the article concludes, the wheel maybe coming around full circle.

In a way, Dr. Ausubel said, their experiment is a return to an earlier era of scientific inquiry. "Three hundred years ago, science was less professionalized," he said, and contributions were made by interested amateurs. "Perhaps the wheel is turning again where more people can participate."

Let's hope so.

Chapter 61.3: Sorry to Say Goodbye

The Washington Post ran a front page story about an attractive young woman, Allison Stokke, who is a high school pole vaulter from California. That's not meant to have any connotations of anything, but it immediately sounds like a joke waiting to happen. Unfortunately, the girl didn't consider it a joke at all, and in this age of instant information and gratification, she has become the subject of male fantasies and a dream for photographers with an expert touch on the shutter.

I'll admit I looked at the "unofficial Web site" of her pictures, which has since been taken down with an apology for causing any unintended harm. And the girl is definitely attractive and has that wholesome, girl-next-door look that would be perfect for some advertisements. What amazes me is that none of the photos is in any way erotic or unseemly.

I feel bad for her, and I've chosen not to post the picture on my site, though it might have quadrupled the traffic. I suspect she'll have a difficult time next year at Cal Berkeley. Even though she'll be one of many beautiful girls on campus, there won't be many who can say she had to hire a publicist so a newspaper with the reputation of the Washington Post would run an article and help get her out of the public eye. I don't know any publicist who'd take on a client that wants LESS attention.

I hope she turns down the inevitable invitation from Jay Leno. And when she competes for the Olympics I hope she is able to accomplish things based on her abilities. But I also hope she's good enough to make the team, because I look forward to watching her compete. I could get to like female pole vaulting.