If you read the comments section of Olav's blog, for example, you will see that
passions also run high among non-participants. Indeed, they seem more exorcized
than Olav.
Eric
Sent from my iPhone
> On May 19, 2016, at 9:37 PM, Peter Shute <> wrote:
>
> The way I see it, it's mainly other big year participants who want proof.
> It's true that no one wins a million dollars, but they'll want to protect the
> time and money they've invested in their year.
>
> Peter Shute
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Eric Jeffrey
>> Sent: Friday, 20 May 2016 10:43 AM
>> To: Peter Shute <>
>> Cc: Kim Sterelny <>; Birding Aus <birding-
>> >
>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] John Weigel
>>
>> The real question is why we place these increasing demands on participants.
>> It is not as if the winner gets crowned king or wins a million dollars. If
>> they are
>> lucky, perhaps they will be featured in a book that gets made into a movie.
>>
>>
>> Eric Jeffrey
>>
>> Sent from my iPhone
>>
>>> On May 19, 2016, at 8:33 PM, Peter Shute <> wrote:
>>>
>>> Kim, my point wasn't about the morality of big years, but about the
>> decreasing practicality of them. Apart from the increasing cost due to the
>> higher counts required, the burden of proof required for such a high stakes
>> game may be getting too difficult to meet. Do you have to photograph every
>> bird now, where once only one's word, or the occasional photo was
>> sufficient? And do you also have to prove that you took the photos yourself,
>> at the place and time your claim to have taken them?
>>>
>>> Peter Shute
>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Birding-Aus On
>>>> Behalf Of Kim Sterelny
>>>> Sent: Friday, 20 May 2016 10:04 AM
>>>> To: Kim Sterelny <>
>>>> Cc: 'Birding Aus' <>
>>>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] John Weigel
>>>>
>>>> People
>>>>
>>>> I have never done a big year, nor have any intention (or the skills) to do
>> so.
>>>> But can folks please stop moralising about the choices of how other
>>>> people spend their time and money. If people want to go on a holiday
>>>> chasing birds, or have a gap year doing so, that is their choice. If
>>>> you think it is interesting and fun; read their books; follow their
>>>> blog (I'll certainly be looking out for Kingbird Highway); if not,
>>>> don't. But unless you never go on a holiday; never spend money
>>>> renovating your house; never fly; cycle or walk everywhere; remember
>>>> that you have a carbon footprint too; you could donate to charities
>>>> more; and so forth. As choices about how to spend your life go, bird
>> chasing is pretty harmless. So respect others' choices.
>>>>
>>>> OK: that probably counts as moralising too! But I'll risk it Kim
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Kim Sterelny, School of Philosophy, Research School of the Social
>>>> Sciences, Australian National University, Acton, 0200, ACT, Australia
>>>> or
>>>>
>>>> 61-(0)2-6125-2886
>>>>
>>>> ________________________________________
>>>> From: Birding-Aus <> on behalf of
>>>> Tony Russell <>
>>>> Sent: Friday, 20 May 2016 8:45 AM
>>>> To: 'Peter Shute'; 'Anne Brophy'
>>>> Cc: 'Birding Aus'; 'Tim'
>>>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] John Weigel
>>>>
>>>> Were they ever practical ? Or of any use whatsoever ? Surely only
>>>> the attention seeking misdirected aspirations of the person with too
>>>> much time and money to expend are involved. It's just a silly " I'm better
>> than you"
>>>> game and the money would be better given to a deserving charity ( and
>>>> for the person to get a job).
>>>>
>>>> Tony.
>>>>
>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>> From: Birding-Aus On
>>>> Behalf Of Peter Shute
>>>> Sent: 19 May 2016 21:11
>>>> To: Anne Brophy
>>>> Cc: Birding Aus; Tim
>>>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] John Weigel
>>>>
>>>> I haven't read Kingbird Highway, but I see that it's set in 1973. I
>>>> believe Roy Wheeler and Kevin Bartram, who did their Australian big
>>>> years not that long after, also didn't drive.
>>>>
>>>> I think it would be impossible to break the record these days without
>>>> a driving licence, and a lot of time and a lot of cash, let alone the
>>>> organisational and birding skills and luck that have always been required.
>>>>
>>>> Given the increasing difficulty of breaking the record, can these
>>>> attempts continue indefinitely? Surely a time will come when the
>>>> personal cost won't be worth the tiny chances of beating the record.
>>>> And surely, as the record gets harder to beat, the temptation to take
>>>> "shortcuts" will increase, and with it the need to provide the proof
>>>> that is being asked of John Wiegel. It's a big ask to expect someone
>>>> to get a photo of every bird, and as we saw in a recent Victorian big year,
>> even a photo can be insufficient proof.
>>>>
>>>> Are big years becoming impractical?
>>>>
>>>> Peter Shute
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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