Rage vs the Machine

ReadPeople get lost in believing what we 'know', rather than validating the assumptions and finding that we don't know. We believe propoganda and fancy glitz, rather than thinking because it is easier. We ignore history and take Big Science (BS) on faith as we do a religion.
ThisTwice in one two-hour session last week, BS literate people from the Umpqua Basin asked an Oregon State University (OSU) team (looking to glom onto other people's grant money) for services that are already provided locally. In addition, this OSU team, which has fancier bells and whistles available (like a tie-in to OSU library), would replace a perfectly good local contractor that already provides capable on-demand service. And the OSU folks couldn't give us the price tag either.
ReadHistorically - OSU just ended a similar data management grant that got a $6M award from congress to create a land exchange model ULEP that has never been publicly released and has not resulted in a single land exchange. And OSU has a highly visible BS project going on in conjunction with Roseburg Forest Products at Hinkle Creek.
ThisOSU is a land grant school that teaches agriculture and land use. It is heavily vested in BS chemical solutions to problems - Dr. Lenny has a chemistry degree from Beaverland, the proper BS pedigree and some inside insight. Perhaps they could work with us to keep this money local in Douglas County, rather than repositioning the revenue via partnership to Benton County. Then perhaps these economic development schemes might invest in the communities they are set up to serve and it wouldn't appear that we have mono-vision OSU Big Science being imposed upon us.
ReadThe term mono-vision is not meant as a dig at OSU specific, but at the education culture - mono-vision is the style of teaching today - but rural communities need total-vision (a wholistic approach), that involves the diversity of many stakeholder voices from the local community representing themselves as people and making decisions. We are familiar with the trial and tribulation of the indiginous local people - We who live here now ! And We represent the groups We belong to, not the other way around !
ReadLook at the statistics for per capita income by county in the USA - look at the natural resource base here locally and ask - What is really going on? Who are the real decision makers locally? Why must we have BS forced upon us instead of growing our own local science and math programs like Redile?