SSA 2003 Annual Meeting Presidential Address: Reflections on the Role of Technology in Seismology

Let me begin by saying how much I have appreciated the opportunity to be President of SSA these last two years. It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with our dedicated SSA staff and Board of Directors, and our talented membership of seismologists. It is customary at this time, as I pass the baton to the next SSA president, to make some remarks on a favorite topic that affects the practice or the future of seismology. I take this opportunity to offer some reflections on how technology influences the way we do our work in seismology. As we all know, the way in which we work has changed dramatically over the last decade or two, driven by advances in both computational and communications technologies. The benefits of these advancements are obvious and self-evident. Less evident is an understanding of what we have lost, or what we may have failed to gain. Superficial technological progress allows us to cloak our ignorance with impressive bells and whistles but may distract us from the pursuit of more fundamental goals. As we grasp at technology, are we really extending our scientific reach? For example, we now invest much of our time in a continuous cycle of improvements to our computational tools. Who can question that computational improvements are, overall, a good thing? When I was a first-year science student, hand-held calculators had just been invented and were far too expensive for most students to own. My chemistry professor insisted that such baubles were completely unnecessary. To prove his point, he used to challenge calculator-bearing students to computational races, in which the experienced professor, with his well worn slide rule, would ultimately emerge victorious. Today, no one would advocate trading in the personal computer for a slide rule. We know that increased …