[Jacob-list] Science and art

[Jacobflock at aol.com]

In a message dated 5/11/2005 7:29:42 PM Central Standard Time, 
labradorridgejacobs at yahoo.com writes:

> You use science and logic... that is not always the clearest answer to 
> questions... science often is as much art as science. I appreciate your straight 
> forward responses... given knowledge we can apply it as we may with our 
> animals/lives.
> 

It is my OPINION that breed conservation demands a basic awareness of and 
appreciation for science and its rigor and how it might apply to a breed and its 
conservation.  I am not a scientist, I am an old man with a flock of Jacobs.  

Science and art work on different principles altho the teaching of science 
can draw from art in trying to expalin science.  Likewise, art draws from the 
principles of science to produce that which is pleasing.  The objective of art 
is "what is pleasing to the senses", the objestive of science is simply "what 
is".  To understand "what is" we use our senses and this can present problems.  
In explaining "what is", our understnading often play tricks to translate 
"what is" to "what is easy to understnad or acceptable and pleasing to our 
senses.  Trying to explain "what is" by analogy suffers because it is analogy.  

Art and science are not always congruent and we often slip beteen these 
spheres.  When the weatherman (a scientist) says "Sunrise is at 6AM" he has stepped 
out of the sphere of science because the sun doesn't rise.  We know what a 
sunrise is; and when we look at a sunrise painting we may personally prefer a 
realist to a sur-realist.  

So what does this have to do with breed conservation?  Do art and science 
present a conflict for Jacob breeders?  I think they do. For example: There is no 
factual support that the Jacob is descended from the flock that Jacob got 
from Laban but there is support (the historical acccounts of the 1700-1900s) that 
it is "simply" a northern breed known as Spanish four-horn or piebald 
polycerate of unknown breed origin.  We continue to talk of spotting; but the piebald 
area is the "white spotting" of the piebald gene.  Some Jacobs are described 
as "primitve", some as "unimproved", some as "improved", some are described as 
a "standardized breed" (ala "breed standard" predictability vs. the breed 
descriptions of the early 1900s), others as a "landrace".  Some describe them as 
disease resistant/resilient and use a wormer every six weeks, others might 
worm only on a fecal test (or seeing tape worms).  They have strong maternal 
abilities which to some means having triplets, pulled lambs and bottle babies; to 
others it means half the ewes lambed and were not observed.  Art might 
describe ram and ewe twins as identical becasue of their markings or complementary 
marked twins as obviously fraternal, certainly non-identical.  

There is a collection of sheep with spots and horns and a collection of 
breeders with curiosity and purpose.  This old man (no hero or expert) senses 
diversity in both species and concern for "sunrise".  Art and tales often trump 
science and facts; a story often repeated by enough people becomes fact perhaps 
because it is easier to repeat a story than find facts. If I raise 2 to the 
27th power (earlier post) I get a "big number" and 134,217,728; art and science.

Fred Horak
St. Jude's Farm
Lucas, TX
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