Former Hawaii Restoration Ecologist Now Favors 'Tinkering' Over Rigor. Review of Cabin, Robert J. 2011. Intelligent tinkering: bridging the gap between science and practice.

Abstract

In his new book, Bob Cabin uses his personal involvement in the restoration of Hawai'i dry forests to illustrate the tensions that he feels exists between the science and practice of ecological restoration. It is a journey that starts out among the multidisciplinary, multi-interest perspectives associated with a grass-roots communitybased working group (Part 1, Chapter 1-3), moves into the tedium of academic rigor (Part 1, Chapter 4-5), and culminates in an "aha!" moment, when he realizes that science is of limited value for restoration (Part 1, Chapter 6). His final resting point is described in Part 2 of the book, where he offers a "Meta-Intelligent Tinkering" approach towards effective ecological restoration.

Citation

Cordell, Susan. 2012. Former Hawaii Restoration Ecologist Now Favors 'Tinkering' Over Rigor. Review of Cabin, Robert J. 2011. Intelligent tinkering: bridging the gap between science and practice. The science and practice of ecological restoration. Environment Hawaii. 22(8): 3-4.