"[O]ne should be a scientist in this world. In the simplest terms, this means one should count something. It doesn't really matter what you count. You don't need a research grant. The only requirement is that what you count should be interesting to you. If you count something you find interesting, you will learn something interesting." —Atul Gawande
Those who work in the academy, and make their reputation—if not their living—publishing scientific literature, have many sophisticated tools: They have good sampling design, good laboratory equipment, good statistics, and good software. For the rest of us, there is counting. I, for one, am a hell of a counter, especially one through ten! But, Gawande may be correct: Sometimes counting leads to literature (above). And, because Dr. Gawande is a surgeon, Harvard professor, and a National Book Award finalist, I will take his recommendation (below). Note: Despite my bragging, on this plot I miscounted the two seedlings as Douglas fir; when I looked at the picture, I realized that the smaller one was a white fir.
