GeoVerbiage

If you read "Reading #2--reading the literature ("The Literature"), you probably were wailing something along the lines of "But I just did a Google Scholar search in my own field and there are thousands of papers!  I don't have time to read all those!".  You're right.  You don't. First, the good news:  Most of those papers will not be relevant.   Now, the bad news:  You need to at least scan then to determine their relevancy. Now, the  really  bad news:  Such searches can overlook papers that are more important and relevant, and not just because your search terms weren't adequate. It's enough to make one throw in the towel.  Don't. Before I start on the topic of this blog entry, let me clarify what I mean by "accessing".  I'm not talking about the technical side.  I'm assuming you know that part.  If you don't, go to your library and make them teach you.  However, I can't avoid the old trope ...

As graduate students, we are required to read something called "The Literature".  Until I started this post, I never really cottoned to the fact that how we speak, often reverently, of The Literature actually does require the use of upper case.  It is one of the quirks of science. So, what is The Literature and why is it so important to read it?  Of course, the literature (I will revert now to a more sensible style) consists of all the books and journal papers--sometimes even commentaries--written on the general topic of our chosen subdiscipline within geology.  This is one area where I'm reluctant to use my own career as an example because my work has incorporated elements of just about every topic in geology except, I think, metamorphic rocks and structure, and not a few elements of biology, atmospheric science, and oceanography.  So for the time being, let's assume I've spent my career working on eolian sedimentary rocks and associated deposits (my curren...