I heartily agree. Easy for EO to say math isn't important; he doesn't mention his collaboration with the mathematically inclined Robert Macarthur, leading to the theory of island biogeography. And the problems with Wilson's foray into group selection theory are testimony to the kinds of problems people without strong math skills can get into, especially if they're seduced by mathematicians without a solid ecological/evolutionary grounding.
Yes, it might be true that most mathematicians lack strong ecological intuition. But so do many ecologists! There is a substantial list of people we could cite who have made major contributions to ecology and evolutionary biology in no small part because they do have a strong mathematical background. Why aren't they mentioned? Or don't they exist, in Wilson's worldview? In Wilson's case, math was not his strong suit; arguably, writing was. So should we advise students NOT to enter ecology if their writing isn't up to Pulitzer caliber? I hope not. People can bring a variety of skills to bear to make a contribution in almost any field. Writing off mathematical ability, as Wilson does, doesn't help, and trivializes the profound insights that mathematically savvy, ecologically well-grounded scientists have provided. And it reinforces the delusion that many people "aren't good at math", when in fact they didn't have a good set of math teachers, or took the math at the wrong stage of their development. Thomas J. Givnish Henry Allan Gleason Professor of Botany University of Wisconsin [email protected] http://botany.wisc.edu/givnish/Givnish/Welcome.html On 04/09/13, Mitch Cruzan wrote: > I couldn't agree more - it can only help. > > On 4/9/2013 6:22 PM, David Inouye wrote: > >Don't Listen to E.O. Wilson > > > > > > > > > >Math can help you in almost any career. There's no reason to fear it. > > > ><http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/04/e_o_wilson_is_wrong_about_math_and_science.html>http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/04/e_o_wilson_is_wrong_about_math_and_science.html --
