To my mind it just points to the fact that many scientists are generally unable to focus on one task or 'thing' at a time. i.e. very short attention spans...
[before the flamer's start ‹ this is meant as a joke] Tony. --- Dr Antony W Oliver Senior Research Fellow CR-UK DNA Repair Enzymes Group Genome Damage and Stability Centre Science Park Road University of Sussex Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9RQ email: antony.oli...@sussex.ac.uk tel (office): +44 (0)1273 678349 tel (lab): +44 (0)1273 677512 On 4/2/12 9:47 AM, "Manfred S. Weiss" <manfred.we...@helmholtz-berlin.de> wrote: >Dear all, > >I find this discussion most amazing. Here, we are dealing with the most >serious issue >that happened to Macromolecular Crystallography since the Alabama case, >and the >whole discussion is centered around singular and plural and Greek and >Latin words >and what not. > >In psychology such phenomenon is referred to as displacement activity. > >If you are interested, here is the MacMillon definition of it: > >http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/displacement-activit >y > >Cheers, > >Manfred > > >On 01.04.2012 19:35, Gerard Bricogne wrote: >> On Sun, Apr 01, 2012 at 01:18:15PM -0400, David Schuller wrote: >>> On 04/01/12 10:18, Gerard Bricogne wrote: >>>> Dear Paul, >>>> >>>> May I join the mostly silent chorus of Greek/Latin-aware >>>>grumps who >>>> wince when seeing "data" treated as singular when it is plural. >>> When it are plural? >> Good nit-picking :-) . In my mind the quotes around "data" would >>have >> had the same effect as writing 'the word "data"', and referring to that >>word >> by the 'it'. So there is only one word, while its grammatical number is >> plural. >> >> >>> At any rate, I heard a Nobel laureate use it incorrectly just two days >>>ago. >> We shouldn't learn to write by imitating Nobel laureates, then. >> >> >> With best wishes, >> >> Gerard. >> >>> -- >>> ======================================================================= >>> All Things Serve the Beam >>> ======================================================================= >>> David J. Schuller >>> modern man in a post-modern world >>> MacCHESS, Cornell University >>> schul...@cornell.edu > >-- >Dr. Manfred. S. Weiss >Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie >Macromolecular Crystallography (HZB-MX) >Albert-Einstein-Str. 15 >D-12489 Berlin >GERMANY >Fon: +49-30-806213149 >Fax: +49-30-806214975 >Web: http://www.helmholtz-berlin.de/bessy-mx >Email: mswe...@helmholtz-berlin.de > > >________________________________ > >Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie GmbH > >Mitglied der Hermann von Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher >Forschungszentren e.V. > >Aufsichtsrat: Vorsitzender Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Joachim Treusch, stv. >Vorsitzende Dr. Beatrix Vierkorn-Rudolph >Geschäftsführerin: Prof. Dr. Anke Rita Kaysser-Pyzalla > >Sitz Berlin, AG Charlottenburg, 89 HRB 5583 > >Postadresse: >Hahn-Meitner-Platz 1 >D-14109 Berlin > >http://www.helmholtz-berlin.de
