E L S E V I E R Marine Micropaleontology 24 (1994) 89

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Editorial

MicroForum

Although micropaleontology has not always been a contentious field, it has from time to time generated differences of interpretation or opinion of interest to its community. Such issues have usually been in particularly competitive subjects populated by a number of workers. When deep-sea drilling began in the late 1960s, a rush for samples began and new interpretations came with each new drilling. Naturally people saw things differently, and debates were common. The development of paleoceanography occasionally saw intense disagreement as new technologies were brought to bear on the subject. Now many of these topics have passed to a mature stage where opinions have been sorted out and certain viewpoints have come to be generally accepted.

But micropaleontology still has new or renewed frontiers that will continue to generate debate. For example, the introduction of molecular biological techniques into the systematics and phylogeny of microfossil groups will surely result in differences of opinion. Even some old topics, with new material, can still generate debate. Such is the occasion for the introduction of Marine Micropaleontology's newest feature--MicroForum.

MicroForum will be a vehicle for the expression of differing viewpoints or interpretations of the science of micropaleontology. Micropaleontologists with data or interpretations that vary from those published in Marine Micropaleontology are invited to submit comments. These comments will be reviewed externally, and if acceptable, they will be passed on to the author or authors of the paper or papers with which they differ. These authors will be invited to reply to the comments. The reply, like the comment, will be reviewed to ensure that it too meets accepted scientific standards of method, interpretation, and presentation.

As Darwin wrote in The Descent of Man (Chapter 21 ), "False facts are highly injurious to the progress of science, for they endure long; but false views, if supported by some evidence, do little harm, for every one takes a salutary pleasure in proving their falseness; and when this is done, one path towards error is closed and the road to truth is often at the same time opened." Hopefully, MicroForum can help open new roads in micropaleontology by allowing not only the debate of views but of facts, as well.

JereH. Lipps Editor for theAmeficasandthe Pacific

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