PLAY - THE HANDMAIDEN OF WORK

The natural habitat of geomorphologists is at play in the fields of th e Lord. Picnics, not the work ethic, often motivate the most productiv e. As in the field, so too in the mind, creative insights derive from the play of ideas. As in much of science today, Earth scientists are c alled upon to 'solve' immediate problems, but problems whose solutions lie at the cutting edge of the research frontier. The impact of anthr opogenic activities in the context of natural processes, the playgroun d where many geomorphologists work, requires continuous reciprocal exc hange between research and application. Apologies are not needed for c hoices of orientation, but only for destructive separation.