Of course, photoshopping has added a whole new dimension to the art of fake taxidermy ….

But it does raise a serious issue. People are increasingly getting their “information” from sources not un-akin to this. It strikes me that there is a parallel with history, where museums=primary sources and media/Internet etc represent secondary sources. A historian would never accept a secondary source if a primary one was accessible; nor should the rest of us. We are, quite simply, too easily gulled, usually through laziness.

I loved museums when I was a child. They taught me more than all of my teachers combined, allowing dipping-in, inspiration, making links – all of the elements that go towards scientific thinking. They are one of our most important assets, and are now under increasing threat (http://www.nature.com/news/museums-the-endangered-dead-1.16942). This really matters. Join the movement to save them.

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