Thanks for sharing the story about Edison and earlier stories about resistance to the germ theory. I’ve learned much from reading your post. Thank you, again for your insight and giving of your knowledge to this board.
I spent my life in the art world of photography. In, 1981, I happened to be boondock camping in my Airstream, on a stretch of sand above the Pacific Ocean, in Carmel Heights, California. After, parking at night, sleeping and then opening the door to a beautiful view; I saw a phone booth at the end of 50 yards of sand. I knew who could be nearby. I asked my wife, if she thought Ansel Adams name might be in the phone book, in that lone booth. She said “ I don’t know, why don’t you go see. I did. Yep, first name in the Carmel Heights directory. Dropped in a dime, or was it quarter? Ring, ring, “Hello”, answered a voice. “Hello, I identified myself, Hello, I’d like to speak to Mr. Ansel Adams.” The reply came back, “Speaking”, Voice shaking I replied, “Mr. Adams, you don’t know me, but I’m a pro photographer and I just wanted to call you and thank you for your generosity, in freely teaching photographers, how you do photography.” (I had read and studied his Basic Photo Series, thereby learning the”Zone System”, which taught me how to photograph any situation and place tonal zones on the gray scale, to match what I was seeing in “my minds eye”. In short, to create what I thought, looked good, even if not what was literally, there.) Then he said, “Well, that makes my day.” My response was, “Well, if that makes your day, then; that makes my year.” We went on talking about how overcast the weather was and what a crappy day it was for photography. He wished me good luck and then we hung up.”
The point being, Falconer, thank you for your generosity of knowledge. I have just about all, that I can muster, plopped down on the AVXL horses and I wouldn’t have felt very safe doing it without understanding, about things that are certainly out of my expertise. So, reading your post; you have made it all clear to me.
By the way, after reading what you wrote to me about, Thomas Edison’s lack of credentials. I googled Ansel Adams name. Did Ansel Adams go to college?
Answer: Dismissed from several schools for bad behavior, he was educated by private tutors and members of his family from the age of 12. Adams taught himself the piano, which would become his early passion.
