[Sca-cooks] *Sigh* That tomato thing - again

[grizly]

-----Original Message-----
<<<  I am bookmarking that page. Like 'pink isn't period' (we don't hear
that
very often anymore) and 'lucet work was done by Vikings' there seems to be
some topics that just roll around and around the SCA community.

Thank you, everyone for the resources and the extra information. It's still
a source of amazement that one can ask a question and find good, scholarly
information in response in less than half a day. I love the Intar-web!


Hrothny > > > > >


What puts the burlap in my small clothes about thiese topics that will never
die, and gain popularity every time they are posited, is that they all seem
ensconsed in very bad scholarship.  The very archetype of "let's see if we
can make this period" rather than looking to see what was and was not done
when and where duriing our time-location of interest.  Should someone do
responsible and thorough research on the development and propagation of
tomatoes in Europe in our late decades, then one would get a good idea what
was and was not done with the foodstuff.

However, it appears that time and again, someone or ones pop up with the
goal of justifying using or doing <<insert trend here>> and go about making
assertions and generalizations that do not make a lot of scholarly sense.
Pushing the envelope of understanding is how we grow our knowledge and
understanding base, but scholarship must stand on evidenciary foundations
and rational, well explained assertions using those.

I think we may be in an intensifying stage of growth in our Society where
the values of responsible research are more and more needed in order to
advance and succeed rather than founder and wallow in drunken party mode
(exaggeration for effect).  The number of people outside our listserve who
value educated exploration is growing.  People want to "know" more and more
to replace "guessing" or "assuming".

This is my long-winded semi-rant to say that the issue does not seem to be
tomatoes, but teaching people how to research and understand what they are
reading.  Many of the SCA membership aren't going to college, so they won't
learn it there.


niccolo difrancesco