[meteorite-list] Meteorites, science, and treasure hunting (a rant)

[tracy latimer]

After reading some of the earlier posts to the lists, I got on my high horse 
and fired off a message that apparently got lost on the way.  That's good, 
because it was fairly mean-spirited; a private message from Mr. T in 
response to an earlier post was much more civil in tone.  I didn't need to 
jump into the pigpen with both feet.

After consideration (and a break to tone things down), I stand by much of 
what I said in my earlier, regretted post: was anything of significant 
cultural or scientific value actually harmed by this admittedly somewhat 
commercial venture?  Was the boost to science outweighed by any damage done? 
  There seems to be a trend toward modern Luddites, who try to slow or stop 
anything resembling scientific progress in the name of ill-considered 
'sensitivities': ecological, cultural, or other.  Science must be respectful 
of these things, but it shouldn't come to a screeching halt without good 
reason, and too many of the reasons being promoted today are someone else's 
personal bee in the bonnet, without equally good science to back it up.  One 
of the examples I gave was the woman who attempted to sue NASA over the Deep 
Impact project; she claimed it interfered with her astrological projections!

Until an artifact is located, examined, and curated, it's nothing but an 
interesting feature rotting in the dirt.

Respectfully,
Tracy Latimer