Re: Resource Faculty for Junior-Senior Physics Courses -Reply

[Leigh Palmer <palmer@sfu.ca>]

> I do not see this replacing Phys-l.  I think there might be some advantages
> to having the  resources more readily available,  rather than having to
> write to the list and ask for help, which you usually do get.
>
> Also, new faculty may not want to publicly admit that they need help,
> when they might go to a resource which is more one-on-one.  The
> suggestions for this type of resource came out of several retreats that
> AAPT has participated in over the past few years.

The statement above is redolent of retrospective rationalization.
In my view the proposal recommends a redundant resource. (I've
always been better at alliteration than poetry).

One would think that AAPT members, coming as they do from the
culture of academia, would know better than to act immediately on
the recommendation of a committee. Let the idea percolate in the
community for a while. If enthusiasm builds, do it. I have a
thing about the simultaneous existence of phys-l and physhare,
the readerships of which must overlap strongly. It is a waste of
my time to look at cross-posted items in these groups. Adding yet
another near clone will not improve communication; it will hinder
it. Consider the example provided by the proliferation of print
journals in physics. With all the increased bandwidth in that
medium I've seen over my four plus decades as a physicist I have
seen *no* increase in the effectiveness of scientific
communication. If you would like a reality check on what dilution
does, leaf through a Phys Rev of fifty years ago.

Leigh Hunt Palmer