ARGH! Electronic archives yet again (Re: ICZN Code questions)

[Ron at]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Yanega" <dyanega at POP.UCR.EDU>
Subject: ARGH! Electronic archives yet again (Re: ICZN Code questions)

snip

> I don't know about you, but I don't see ANY molecular biologists
> wringing their hands in fear or dismay, worrying about whether
> GenBank's archives will somehow be lost when CDs become obsolete like
> the dreaded 8-track, or insisting that GenBank issue paper copies of
> their archives every month to make sure nothing is lost to posterity.
>
> Too many people are WAY too paranoid and technophobic about this. The
> people who are creating today's electronic archives KNOW they can't
> expect the technology to remain static, and they can plan
> accordingly.
snip


This says it all.  I'm almost 57 and didn't get email or hooked up to the
web till late 1998.  If my son and son-in-law weren't so pushy about it I
would still not be.  I think I am typical of "older" people to whom
technology is moving just too fast.  What I am saying is perhaps a lot of
us just need to face the fact that we are just having trouble with change.
Intellectuals tend to be a lot better of denying varioius elements of their
own base humanity via some theory of _why_ mayonaze should not go on bread
based on their _logic_ of incompatable textures.   Hey, they just don't
like mayo.

The first point is that we are just BS-ing ourselves.  Human subjectivity
disguised as logic.

The second is paranoia.  The good thing about 8 tracts is that the
"industry" learned something - have a plan B.  As Doug said, " The people
who are creating today's electronic archives KNOW..."   Yes they do don't
they Doug.  They are way ahead of us.  Having a son-in-law who works for
the industry I am amazed at the things he tells me are already off the
drawing board and into experimentation.  Like quarter (25 cents) sized hard
drives with many many gigabyte capacity.  Yah, I think they will have what
we need - and long before we need it.

Gosh, I may talk myself right into another perspective!

Ron