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July 2009

Your letters

“BCE” thank you

I appreciate Thomas Kirner and Nicholas Sheble’s use of and definition for the acronym “BCE” (Before Common Era) instead of BC in the “It floats boats” article on buoyancy technology in the February 2009 InTech (www.isa.org/intech/20090205).

I see it as a small step away from a culture mired in religion and a step towards a culture based on science, reason, and a sense of awe for nature, which is not based on mysticism.

Paul Crivell, P.E.
Mill Creek, Wash.

Response:

You are welcome. The original manuscript for the article was presented at a symposium, and I felt it was appropriate in a technical publication to respect the sensibilities of as many readers as possible.  I believe Nicholas Sheble was kind enough to supply the definition for further clarity.

As for myself, I have no difficulty in reconciling my awe for nature and love of science with gratitude to a Creator with a personal interest in each of us.

My first bachelor’s degree was in Philosophy, and the early brief surveys of the Greek progenitors of science, in the History of Philosophy courses, often left me feeling that they were rather primitive to think that the universe was constructed of fire, water, earth, and air.  It took quite a while to recognize that they were not speaking on such a physical basis at all, and that the language of philosophy was extremely technical, requiring more research into specialized meanings of seemingly common terms, than it now takes me to figure out the meanings of management acronyms at quarterly business reviews.  The lesson to me was that what appears to be obscure or irrational speculation might actually contain logic and merit if I made the effort to examine it closely and in context.  Obviously, we are not all going to reach accurate conclusions about issues “beyond physics,” but it is very important to accord respect to each person’s honest quest for those conclusions. After all, my conclusions could certainly end up among those falling on the heap of discarded hypotheses.

Thomas W. Kirner

Baby boomers sticking around

Baby boomers will not be leaving the workplace as mentioned in the March InTech article “Boomers and safety strategies” (www.isa.org/intech/20090302).

Loss of their nest eggs through depreciation of their IRA’s and real estate, in addition to the fact a good percentage of the baby boomers did not save to begin with … means they will have to continue in the market.

You might want to poll your ISA baby boomer population and verify this.

Dan Dalton
Hayward, Calif.