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GeoPoll # 2 – What geologic attraction would you like to see most?

The first geopoll was a huge success!! I was completely floored by the overwhelming number of responses and the time and care people took to give their opinion. The results of the last poll showed, overwhelmingly, that field work is of paramount importance to a good geology education. In fact, the top two choices with 160 and 157 votes apiece both involved taking students to the field. The third place choice was: an exposure to a wide variety of geologic disciplines. Clearly, the geoscience community is very aware of the integrated nature of our science and the importance of universities producing well rounded geoscientists that take a holistic view of problems. Finally, beer got 76 votes as an indispensable part of geology.

Sad, but true. (Glacial Till Blog)

For poll number two we enter the field. When I travel I always love to go places that offer attractions of the geologic kind as well. I have been lucky to have visited several places on this list and I think going to places and understanding how they formed and their unique geologic history is a very enriching experience and makes the trip even better. Most geoscientists that I speak to have a list of places that they want to go. So that is the question for this poll. Which geologic attraction is highest on your list to visit.

The Grand Canyon from the South Rim (Photo: Wikimedia Commons by Roger Bolsius)

Obviously, I can’t include them all so feel free to add yours in the comment box and I’ll do my best to add it as an option in the poll. Or, if you’d like to debate the merits of your choice back it up in the comments. To see the way the winds of choice are blowing click the view results link at the bottom of the poll. By the way, you only get to vote once on this one so make it count!

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GeoPoll # 1 – What does a geology education need?

I’d like to inaugurate a new series of posts, that will pop up on a semi-regular basis, namely, whenever I feel like it. Since day 1 of this blog, even way back in my pre-EGU days, I have tried to encourage participation from readers. To date, the only way for you to engage with me is to comment. However, in reality, not that many people are  so moved that they feel like responding directly. Certainly, the proportion of readers to commenters is easily around 100:1, if not more when you take comments from family members out (haha, kidding).

Picard Engage - IT's TIME TO ENGAGE!

Therefore, to try and encourage involvement and hopefully even spur some discussion from time to time I’ll be posting a poll every so often. The plan is that I’ll write the question. It could be serious or humorous or even a bit of both. Question and answer suggestions are very welcome. I’ll also post a variety of answers that ideally will cover a range of opinions. Hopefully, with these informal opinion polls we can generate some interesting discussions and see how people feel about issues that geologists care about. The first test of the poll system a few weeks ago in my post about vadose zone modelling generated over 30 responses, so I am going to call that a success and continue polling.

This weeks poll to kick things off concerns a topic that every geoscientist should have an opinion on. Namely, what key items are necessary for a good geology education? My personal undergrad geology experience included almost all of these things and certainly lots of number 3. However, that does not mean they are truly integral to producing a geologist. Indeed, what could be dropped from a geoscience education without compromising the quality of education and what could not?

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Just a minor note, click the “view results” button on the poll to see how everyone is voting, and if you would like to add a response you can do so in the “other” box or in the comment section to start some more in depth discussion on the topic.

Happy opining!

Matt