May 26th, 2009
Yesterday I told you that the JOIDES Resolution was a factory of mud.  Well, it is also a factory of ideas.  Aboard the ship, there are scientists from all over the world.  They work together, they eat together, they spend all of their time together.  They are all excited about the mud from the seafloor, and they think about it all the time.  When they are eating, they are talking about mud, when they are relaxing, they are talking about mud.  All mud, all of the time.

Another thing about being on the ship, the scientists are very free from distractions.  They don’t have to do the chores that they have to do at home.  They don’t have to mow the lawn, or take out the trash, or even do the dishes!  This allows them to pay all of their attention to the mud.  As the scientists talk, they start getting ideas about the mud.  As they share these ideas, other scientists help make the ideas better.  Everything is better when you work together, and the scientists work together a lot on the ship.