Tom Keske - a total idiot?

Yjgent yjgent at
Sun Feb 13 22:37:23 EST 2000

My friend, I got honors in college, taking subjects
like relativity, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics,
and computer engineering.  Ignorance of microbiology
does not equate to being uneducated.

Your education has given you a very logical base of understanding for physical
science and electronics. "This action will always produce this reaction".

Unfortunately the whole science of microbiology tends to be not quite so
logical. The finding of a bacteria does not always mean the presence of the
disease that organism produces. Some people can be exposed to the same pathogen
and some will get sick and some will not. As a microbiologist I understand it
and deal with it. When I have to train a chemist in the microbiology lab I have
to "untrain" the logic for them to accept the facts that the same bacteria will
look and react differently and still be called the same name.

Your interpretation of the study may seem logical to you but to most
microbiologists it is just another "variance" in a biological field. In this
field a 2% difference is statistically insignificant meaning essentially equal.

This science is illogical in it's own special way and it needs to stay that way
with more dedicated microbiologists who can unravel these biological mysteries.

I just wanted to add my $0.02 since I am leaving the micro lab to be a
laboratory information manager. Can my illogical thinking help me in the
computer world? Time will tell.
John Gentile M(ASCP)                   President - Rhode Island Apple Group
yjgent at
Microbiologists do it with culture.

More information about the Microbio mailing list