Is Curiosity Good for Anybody?

This essay is an opinion in progress.My view is that ecological paradigms thatcodify the questions asked and answered inmajor research institutions, and applica-tions of ecological science implemented byprivate or public agencies and exported tothe rest of the world, do not reflect mostissues relevant to either local or globalissues of environmental justice. An impor-tant step is to foster the curiosity that allowsadmission to the “paradigm elite” who cre-ate, practice, teach, and regulate ecology asa science,and who train new generations ofecologists. Here I state the problem; a moregeneral discussion will be published else-where. My main thesis is that the kinds ofcuriosity that develop in under-representedethnic groups in the United States,and inmuch of the developing world, are barred atthe graduate admissions committee gate inour major research universities, or are dis-couraged if admission occurs. The field,and our planet,are the worse for that exclu-sion.