From: samodena@csemail.cropsci.ncsu.edu (S. A. Modena)
Subject: Re: plant phys use in breeding
Organization: Crop Science Dept., NCSU, Raleigh, NC 27695-7620
Distribution: bionet
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 05:50:50 GMT

In article <1992Sep10.215047.28619@news.iastate.edu> rjsalvad@iastate.edu (Ricardo J Salvador) writes:
>
>Tony, I know what you mean, but it must be noted that the infrastructure
>necessary to make it possible for you and I to happ'ly sit in our offices
                                          ^^^
>and push buttons to accomplish heretofore labor-intensive tasks is 
>significant, as I am sure you realize.  In certain respects, I wonder if
>benefiting from such luxury without recognizing the tremendous human and
                 ^^^^^^^^^^^                         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>ecological costs involved is not some form of latter-day "colonial"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^                                         ^^^^^^^^^
>haughteur.  I am as intoxicated with the power conferred upon us by
^^^^^^^^^^           ^^^^^^^^^^^         ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>computerized tools, all the more impressive when one realizes that many
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>tasks accomplished by such tools were utterly beyond the imagination or
>intent of the individuals who engineered the tools in the first place,
>but I think it is wise to pause and consider costs and consequences of
                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>technology before appraising such subjective attributes as "advancement,
^^^^^^^^^^^
>ease, progress, increased efficiency," etc., particularly when the
>putative benefits are demonstrably enjoyed by  only a small sector of the
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^                                   ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>human population, yet depend upon (or detrimentally affect) resources that
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^                      ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>can reasonably be considered common property resources of vast sectors of
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 
>humanity.
>
>I pause now because this sounds more tendentious in writing than I
>intend.
>
>-Ricardo
>

Some people do consider the consequences and avoid what you imply is evil
technology.  Others thinkingly embrace it.  And yes, others are fascinated
but ethically shallow.  Which are You?

So I'd ask you: why do you do it?  You are sitting in an (air conditioned)
office with the power of technology at your command (or at least a terminal
with access to InterNet  ;^)  ) and you become tendentious.  "Publish or
perish?"  Give us your agenda to reform the tight community that you've
joined to earn your meals and a place in the sun!  Are you ashamed of
Tony's use of technology or your own?  :^)  Why be involved in "technology"
if there is the seed of evil hidden within?

Colonial Haughteur?  Like women's issues, this one is squarely
name-calling typical of someone who might understand what the
social function of _pistoleros_ is and has done nothing to stop it.  Where
is your conscience?!  What have you risked your life for?  (Have I risked
my well-being and life for something of social of value? Yes.)

Chastize/flagulate yourself, but please--not Tony and not me-- for forming
up my own values and choosing our own path to benefit humanity.  Yes, I
want to benefit humanity...and I would not hesitate to think that that
is upper most in Tony's mind.  I'll hedge and admit that I've chosen to
benefit a certain part of humanity, rather than all of it, because it is
not within my ability or desire to help absolutely every soul on the
Earth.

Of course, if you look though your ".newsrc" file, you'll find a number of
groups that enjoy raking over these socio-analytical topics.  ALT.* is
full of them.

See what I did?  I expressed your view very flagrantly.

In your next post on the somewhat similar topic, you took a more erudite
course to laying out what concerns you.  In a follow up posting, I'll
also lay out my (counter) point-of-view.  

Cheers!
Steve
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|     In person:  Steve Modena     AB4EL                           |
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         Lighten UP!  It's just a computer doing that to you.
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