NY_Caveman
likes words, fish and arbitrary statistics
Bear with me for a moment…
When I was a kid I learned music theory and took lessons on many instruments (piano, guitar, trombone). In my elementary school band we always had sheet music for practice and concerts. One summer day, at a local fair, I watched my uncle’s rock band performing the hits of the time (the 1970s). The band was excellent. After the show, I asked the guitar player how they played without sheet music. He laughed heartily saying, “I can't even read music.” Huh? What? I was dumbfounded. How could he possibly play guitar? Years later I understood, it was patterns, practice, patience and a pretty good ear. The wow factor of the point made a big impact on me.
Reef keepers are like rock guitarists, we create and maintain amazing displays, but we often do so without knowing all the fundamentals.
It fascinates me how reefers can be very knowledgeable in some areas of the hobby and know almost nothing about other areas. Sometimes they maintain beautiful reefs without the slightest idea about some basic principles. Additionally, what some deem crucial, others ignore.
As I start up a new reef aquarium after years away from the hobby, I think of this often. I had freshwater tanks at a young, single digit age. I started my first saltwater aquarium in college. I worked at a fish store for a year. I know how to calculate dosing solutions and precisely what the ppm change will be. I can change out an LED bulb. I can ID many of the critters in live rock. Etcetera, etcetera. I have experience in many areas of this hobby.
However, there is a huge amount of information, some pretty important, that I know little about. For example, fish diseases and treatment, breeding, the importance of all of the trace elements. Additionally, there are new technologies and devices I have never used.
There are some reef keepers who know the fundamentals at an expert level. They can read the music. Still, few folks ask @Randy Holmes-Farley about LED fixtures, or @Dana Riddle about fish diseases (no offense, gentlemen).
@mdbannister posted a few days ago “…it’s info like this that makes me think maybe I'm still a "noob" on some of this stuff! (here)” You and us all Daniel! No one, even the smartest, knows everything about this hobby.
@Paul B recently had a post that was one of those honest, perfect summations that hits one’s brain heavy. It was right at the time I was thinking about writing this thread:
“Another thing about science and things you read is that for many years I have been submitting articles to paper magazines and the internet and in every case, with no checking what so ever my stuff has been published as fact. I am an electrician. That is the extent of my formal marine biology training. I could have read this stuff off an orange juice container. Just Google my name and put fish after it, there is all sorts of stuff I wrote that no one checked or questioned (here).”
Because Paul has had long, long term success with his tank, we cannot help but listen to what the electrician says. Even if it is from a box of OJ. It leads to a good question: Is our anecdotal experience as important as the scientific data available?
I think so. This is a hobby, a young hobby. It is growing and maturing right now because of reefers. Scientific research into reef keeping will likely come from the few reefers who research it academically and the companies who are spending money on R&D. A lot of people from both categories are active on this site. It makes me very optimistic. Our anecdotal experience is what is driving innovation right now.
So are reefers smart?
The answer is yes. Reefers are very smart. They must be. They are innovative having created the hobby itself along the way. Reefing incorporates all of the sciences. We are amateur (and often professional) biologists, chemists and physicists. That is what makes this forum great. Its intelligence (Facebook may have a more massive user base, but I would put our brain power up against them in their entirety any day). In my time here there have been moments where it feels like the entire hobby is adapting to new ideas and data in real time. That is the power of the reefer.
The notes on the sheet music have limits. Rock and roll has no limits.
When I was a kid I learned music theory and took lessons on many instruments (piano, guitar, trombone). In my elementary school band we always had sheet music for practice and concerts. One summer day, at a local fair, I watched my uncle’s rock band performing the hits of the time (the 1970s). The band was excellent. After the show, I asked the guitar player how they played without sheet music. He laughed heartily saying, “I can't even read music.” Huh? What? I was dumbfounded. How could he possibly play guitar? Years later I understood, it was patterns, practice, patience and a pretty good ear. The wow factor of the point made a big impact on me.
Reef keepers are like rock guitarists, we create and maintain amazing displays, but we often do so without knowing all the fundamentals.
It fascinates me how reefers can be very knowledgeable in some areas of the hobby and know almost nothing about other areas. Sometimes they maintain beautiful reefs without the slightest idea about some basic principles. Additionally, what some deem crucial, others ignore.
As I start up a new reef aquarium after years away from the hobby, I think of this often. I had freshwater tanks at a young, single digit age. I started my first saltwater aquarium in college. I worked at a fish store for a year. I know how to calculate dosing solutions and precisely what the ppm change will be. I can change out an LED bulb. I can ID many of the critters in live rock. Etcetera, etcetera. I have experience in many areas of this hobby.
However, there is a huge amount of information, some pretty important, that I know little about. For example, fish diseases and treatment, breeding, the importance of all of the trace elements. Additionally, there are new technologies and devices I have never used.
There are some reef keepers who know the fundamentals at an expert level. They can read the music. Still, few folks ask @Randy Holmes-Farley about LED fixtures, or @Dana Riddle about fish diseases (no offense, gentlemen).
@mdbannister posted a few days ago “…it’s info like this that makes me think maybe I'm still a "noob" on some of this stuff! (here)” You and us all Daniel! No one, even the smartest, knows everything about this hobby.
@Paul B recently had a post that was one of those honest, perfect summations that hits one’s brain heavy. It was right at the time I was thinking about writing this thread:
“Another thing about science and things you read is that for many years I have been submitting articles to paper magazines and the internet and in every case, with no checking what so ever my stuff has been published as fact. I am an electrician. That is the extent of my formal marine biology training. I could have read this stuff off an orange juice container. Just Google my name and put fish after it, there is all sorts of stuff I wrote that no one checked or questioned (here).”
Because Paul has had long, long term success with his tank, we cannot help but listen to what the electrician says. Even if it is from a box of OJ. It leads to a good question: Is our anecdotal experience as important as the scientific data available?
I think so. This is a hobby, a young hobby. It is growing and maturing right now because of reefers. Scientific research into reef keeping will likely come from the few reefers who research it academically and the companies who are spending money on R&D. A lot of people from both categories are active on this site. It makes me very optimistic. Our anecdotal experience is what is driving innovation right now.
So are reefers smart?
The answer is yes. Reefers are very smart. They must be. They are innovative having created the hobby itself along the way. Reefing incorporates all of the sciences. We are amateur (and often professional) biologists, chemists and physicists. That is what makes this forum great. Its intelligence (Facebook may have a more massive user base, but I would put our brain power up against them in their entirety any day). In my time here there have been moments where it feels like the entire hobby is adapting to new ideas and data in real time. That is the power of the reefer.
The notes on the sheet music have limits. Rock and roll has no limits.
