ABSTRACT
Science is not always as neat, clean, and “pretty” as a casual observer might imagine. Geological fieldwork can be hazardous – occasionally life-threatening – and science itself is replete with cultural and personal biases, largely derived from hubris and an overactive “me-first gene,” which can cloud the interpretations of even well-versed, experienced workers. This chapter summarizes a cardinal example of one such episode, a decade-long dispute over the oldest diverse assemblage of microscopic fossils known on Earth. At the same time, however – as Bill is cast in roles ranging from that of a “ruthless” villain to the “God of the Precambrian” – this episode also illustrates the great saving grace of the scientific enterprise, namely that firm facts will always win. And, of course, they must. There is only one reality. The task of science is to describe that reality and to understand it as best it can. Here, despite the unwelcome long-term time-lag, the facts have in fact ultimately won the day.
