Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!bonnie.concordia.ca!thunder.mcrcim.mcgill.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!bionet!CERBERUS.CHPC.UTEXAS.EDU!m.witten From: m.witten@CERBERUS.CHPC.UTEXAS.EDU Newsgroups: bionet.molbio.bio-matrix Subject: Re: Oh foolish supporters of genome sequencing Message-ID: <9102111918.AA00663@morpheus.chpc.utexas.edu> Date: 11 Feb 91 19:18:03 GMT References: <9102111908.AA07006@genbank.bio.net> Sender: daemon@genbank.bio.net Lines: 52 I'm all for open discussion. But Im getting tired of the FLAME war. Can we cease this infantile behavior on all sides. If we want to get into philosophical flame wars, lets do it in usenet.sci.phil or somewhere like that. > > At the risk of once again incurring the fiery wrath and ridicule of > Dr. Ellington, due to anyone who speaks favorably about the genome > initiative, let me just train my antennae on his "tiny mind". He makes > the following cogent arguments against the genome project: > > he doesn't like it > he doesn't think it's real science > he thinks it's really worthless > > Perhaps a more tightly reasoned argument would be more convincing? There > are certainly quite a few people who see some value in the genome > project, even if they don't agree entirely with its goals/or > implementation. Not all of those people are fools. I would certainly > like to know the names of the ofFfFensive person or persons who "would > suggest I should just bag my ideals and go off to happily catalogue > genes at random. And I am outraged that *alternative service* in > science may come to mean just that." Furthermore, there is a big > difference between systematically sequencing an entire genome, and > sequencing genes at random. I would say they are opposite ends of a > spectrum, in fact. > > Michael Gribskov > gribskov@ncifcrf.gov > > -- _____________________________________________________________________ Matthew Witten, Ph.D. Director, Applications Research & Development Associate Director, UT System Center For High Performance Computing Balcones Research Center, 1.154 CMS 10100 Burnet Road, Austin, TX 78758-4497 USA Phone: (512) 471-2472 FAX: (512) 471-2445/2449 E-MAIL M.WITTEN@HERMES.CHPC.UTEXAS.EDU M.WITTEN@UTCHPC.BITNET "some intellectuals make their living by creating obscurities for the rest of us to puzzle over" _____________________________________________________________________