Issue4"Nofieldofstudycanadvancesignificantlyunlessoutsidersbringtheirknowledgeandexperiencetothatfieldofstudy."Istronglyagreewiththeassertionthatsignificantadvancesinknowledgerequireexpertisefromvariousfields.Theworldarounduspresentsaseamlesswebofphysicalandanthropogenicforces,whichinteractinwaysthatcanbeunderstoodonlyinthecontextofavarietyofdisciplines.Twoexamplesthataptlyillustratethispointinvolvethefieldsofculturalanthropologyandastronomy.Considerhowaculturalanthropologist'sknowledgeaboutanancientcivilizationisenhancednotonlybytheexpertiseofthearcheologist--whounearthstheevidence--butultimatelybytheexpertiseofbiochemists,geologists,linguists,andevenastronomers.Byanalyzingthehair,nails,bloodandbonesofmummifiedbodies,biochemistsandforensicscientistscandeterminethelifeexpectancy,generalwell-being,andcommoncausesofdeathofthepopulation.Theseexpertscanalsoensuretheproperpreservationofevidencefoundatthearcheologicalsite.Ageologistcanhelpidentifythesourceandageofthematerialsusedfortools,weapons,andstructures--therebyenablingtheanthropologisttoextrapolateaboutthecivilization'seconomy,tradesandworkhabits,lifestyles,extentoftravelandmobility,andsoforth.Linguistsareneededtointerprethieroglyphicsandextrapolatefromfoundfragmentsofwritings.Andanastronomercanhelpexplainthelayoutofanancientcityaswellasthedesign,structureandpositionofmonuments,tombs,andtemples--sinceancientsoftenlookedtothestarsforguidanceinbuildingcitiesandstructures.Anevenmorestrikingexampleofhowexpertiseindiversefieldsisneededtoadvanceknowledgeinvolvestheareaofastronomyandspaceexploration.Significantadvancementsinourknowledgeofthesolarsystemandtheuniverserequireincreasinglykeentoolsforobservationandmeasurement.Telescopetechnologyandthemeasurementofcelestialdistances,masses,volumes,andsoforth,arethedomainofastrophysicists.Theseadvancesalsorequireincreasinglysophisticatedmeansofexploration.Mannedandunmannedexploratoryprobesaredesignedbymechanical,electrical,andcomputerengineers.Andtobuildandenablethesetechnolo...
