To add a bit to Chris Mulford's post on our mixing and blending and  
polishing of ideas - Chris mentioned that great scientific discoveries  
were often made in isolation - I wish to respectfully disagree. Coming  
from a background in basic science, I remember balking when my advisor  
wanted me to go to the Society for Neuroscience meeting. I mean,  
25,000 neuroscientists in a crowded conference hall? Each  
egotistically touting their own research? What was the point?
Well - I went, and now I know why we have meetings. You wander around  
in a daze, looking at posters, overhearing conversations, and  
occasionally something piques your interest and you start a  
conversation. And - the greatest new ideas and innovations come from  
these seemingly random encounters. Ideas you never would have thought  
to try seem to come at you from thin air! The simple act of getting  
people with common interests together in a physical space (or virtual  
space, like Lactnet) takes all of us into new realms, introduces new  
ways of thinking about things, in a way that literature searches and  
courses of study could never do.
That said - this is a veiled plug for all of us to do whatever we can  
to get to meetings and symposia whenever possible. This is where the  
real learning takes place - not in the lectures or presentations, but  
in the discussions after, the meeting of minds!
Hooray for the process!

That's it for today's Sunday morning ramble...

Kirsten Berggren, PhD, CLC
www.workandpump.com

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