DOES NEAR-SURFACE GEOPHYSICS SERVE THE GEOLOGY THAT SERVES SOCIETY?
BAKER, Gregory S., Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, gbaker@tennessee.edu An engineer, and geologist, and a geophysicist are in a bar and are asked by a patron, “What is two plus two”? The engineer says, “It is 4.0000001, plus or minus 0.0000001” while the geologist says, “I’m not exactly sure, but it feels like it should be around four.” The geophysicist thinks a bit and then says, “What do you want it to be?” For years, nurses have examined sonograms performed on pregnant women, proclaimed “It’s a girl,” and been believed without question, in spite of the fact that even the most perceptive human may have trouble discerning the appropriate appendage (or lack thereof) on a fuzzy sonogram. However, a well-trained geophysicist may show a ground-penetrating radar section having a clear sub-horizontal reflection and proclaim, “It’s bedrock!” and be believed by no one. One of the common problems encountered by practicing geophysicists is the skeptic
