Charles Gregg-Geist

Kalamazoo Area Math & Science Center

Kalamazoo Central High School

Kalamazoo, Michigan

2 June 2005

Marc Brodsky (via e-mail)

CEO and Executive Director

American Institute of Physics

One Physics Ellipse

College Park, Maryland 20740

Dr. Brodsky,

This evening I was listening to my local college radio channel (89.1 WIDR from Western Michigan University) and heard an interview with Dr. Jeff Schmidt, author of Disciplined Minds and former employee of Physics Today. I must inform you that I am outraged at his dismissal.

I am not, like so many other protesters, a scientific professional. I am not even a graduate student. In fact, I am not even a college student. I am merely a high school student. I am a soon-to-be junior at a public high school here in Kalamazoo, MI, as well as the Area Math and Science Center.

Perhaps, being less prestigious than other protesters, you might think that my words carry less weight than those of, say, physics professors. In this case, you would most certainly be right. I am not even 16 yet. However, I have been taught in my high school science classes to consider scientific problems as a part of society. That almost any decision made regarding scientific practices can have huge social or environmental repercussions. And that we always, always need to take these into account when we think about scientific practices.

Dr. Schmidt's book, it seems to me, merely instructs the world to do the very same thing. If that advice is good enough to be given to a group of science nerds who are supposedly prodigies, then I think it also needs to be remembered by those who lead the sciences in our country and around the world. Instead of losing his job and considerable prestige for sending this message to the world, Dr. Schmidt ought to be credited with a great service to the scientific and professional community.

That is all that I have to say on the matter. While my words may not weigh as heavily as a fellow professional's would, take them for whatever they are worth and I will thank you for it.

Charles Gregg-Geist