> How can that be? Studies have shown that bees prefer sugar to honey.
> Was it Mark Twain who said something to the effect that there are
> lies, there are damned lies, and then there are statistics? ....And
> of course there are studies, too.

Even though you have your name backwards, you do have a very good point,
and that will be the basis of today's sermon.

--- begin sermon ---

I think we all marvel at times that whenever a new study of some popular
topic comes out, and everyone (particularly the press) immediately drops
longstanding notions and adjusts to conform with the new data,
oftentimes without even reading the study critically.  This is
particularly obvious when the topic is human nutrition.  Fads come and
fads go, all justified by studies, or even by just one new study.

Many phenomena -- particularly those to do with diverse and widely
distributed populations -- are complex, so complex that just one study,
in just one place, at just one time, can do little more than add one
small piece to a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle.  How often can we deduce the
entirety of such a puzzle by glancing at just one piece in isolation?
Seldom, if ever, I'll wager.

Thus we can see that studies are just that, valid attempts to isolate
and understand a behaviour or other phenomenon at some one place and
time, using some specific sample from a large and varied population.

Studies are great; being able to remember and cite studies and texts is
an important part of anyone's education, but, true understanding goes
far beyond any one study or book knowledge.  These aids are important
aids to reaching understanding, but understanding, if it is even
possible, ultimately comes from experience and observation.

This is particularly true in beekeeping.  Books and studies are great,
but bees are the best teachers.

--- end sermon ---

allen
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/

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