{"id":923,"date":"2008-10-31T00:02:37","date_gmt":"2008-10-31T07:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mlmlblog.wordpress.com\/?p=923"},"modified":"2008-10-31T00:02:37","modified_gmt":"2008-10-31T07:02:37","slug":"and-now-for-something-truly-scary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/student-life\/2008\/10\/31\/and-now-for-something-truly-scary\/","title":{"rendered":"And now for something truly scary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Erin<\/a>
Erin Loury<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

by Erin Loury<\/a>, Ichthyology Lab<\/p>\n

Since it’s Halloween, I just wanted to share something that will really scare the squarepants off your sponge\u00a0 – or at least it should if you’re a marine scientist, educator, or communicator because it shows how frighteningly far we are from helping the “general public” understand how the ocean works.<\/p>\n

The actual inspiration for this blog came in part from Dr. Kenneth Coale, chemical oceanography professor and valiant director of MLML, sharing the following article with our chem oce class earlier this year.\u00a0 The December 2007 issue of Oceanography<\/em> contains an article by Dr. Robert Feller, who shares a list of misconceptions about the ocean that he has gathered over the years.\u00a0 Many are the top response in multiple choice polls he gives to his non-science undergraduate classes using “clicker” devices (which let students answer anonymously and see everyone’s answers displayed on a screen).<\/p>\n

You can view the full article by clicking here<\/a>.\u00a0 While some of the 110 misconceptions are humorous (e.g. #67. \u201cSea monkeys\u201d are really some sort of marine monkeys,” and #104. “Sailors can outdrink and outcurse anyone” – wait, that’s a misconception?), most indicate that we as marine scientists clearly have a long way to go to help people understand the system that we study, and the work that we do.\u00a0 (And lo, “The Drop-In” was born!)<\/p>\n

I’ll admit, some definitely give me cause for pause (like #39. “A water spout is not the same thing as a tornado” – uh, what’s a water spout?\u00a0 Thank goodness for Wikipedia<\/a>), but most are enough to make your blood run cold. \u00a0 Here are some of my personal favorites that we’ll try to dispel on “The Drop-In” (Mythbusters<\/em> style!) in the future.<\/p>\n