Advice

Reliability is a necessary but not sufficient condition for validity.

To fully understand all the implications of this phrase is to have mastered most of what one needs to know about research methods and statistics. First instilled in me by Don Hartmann at the University of Utah, I assert it in every class I teach: I ask students to recite it, and threaten to ask them about it in any context, including in front of their parents on Parents Weekend or graduation eve, on Patterson Court (Davidson's fraternity and sorority row), and even on one memorable occasion, a wedding reception line.

“If one lives beyond his or her intellectual means, he or she is an intellectual. Living within one’s intellectual means makes him or her a scholar.”

-Paraphrased from Harry Gideonese, Chancellor of the New School

The Lure and Lore of Livermush

One of the joys in my time at Davidson has been my invitation to join the Bourbon Eggs and Livermush Society. When I first joined the group, I could not believe that anyone actually ate livermush, having seen it wrapped in wax paper with a woodcut picture of a pig on it. I suspected that making new guys eat livermush was some sort of joke initiation ritual, kind of like a snipe hunt. My solution - given my Texas heritage - was to take some salsa, jalapeños, and tortillas to wrap the mush and eggs. People in the Southwest know that you can eat about anything if it's wrapped in a tortilla and has salsa and peppers on it.

This club is a remarkable idea created by Jamie May and David McClintock to celebrate the fellowship and mentoring that they received from the legendary C. Shaw Smith of Davidson College. Although it has been an informal and serendipitous membership it is distinctive for counting three (or four, if you count acting) college presidents in the group. For a newcomer to Davidson College and this community the friendship, good humor, and stories have been an ideal orientation to some of the best parts of the Davidson College heritage. The following anecdote about livermush captures some of the group's ethos.

"I have seen the David, the Mona Lisa too,

And I have heard Doc Watson play the 'Columbus Stockade Blues' "

- Guy Clark, Texas Troubadour, from the song Dublin Blues.

I like this song lyric for several reasons. Equating Doc Watson with Michelangelo and Da Vinci seems about right to anybody who has lived in North Carolina and heard Doc Watson play. Hearing this sentiment in a country/blues song makes the point further that it's possible to discover great art about anyplace. Finally, what a terrific understated compliment from one artist to another. The juxtaposed brilliance graces not only the named artists but also the guy who crafted the line.

Tibi Tensa Lina

Translated from Latin, this expression means tight lines, a blessing that fly fishers bestow on each other. You can surmise that a tight line would result from a sporting fish taking a fly.

- The effervescent Jeanne Neumann, Latin Professor at Davidson, translated this for us. We made it the official motto of the Davidson Fly Fishing Society (DFFS), another informal group that enjoys fellowship and fly fishing. To say it to someone is to wish them well.

These pictures are here instead of on the Fly Fishing page because as good as the fishing memories are, the friendships are better.

East meets West: DFFS Western guide gets DFFS East into good fish.

DFFS Member # 3, Davidson Chapter.

DFFS Member # 5, Idaho Chapter: one of the best buckaroos that ever lived.