A shot in the dark

The following two articles are contributions to a new and probably sporadically appearing section of IEEE NETWORK: the “Shot in the Dark.” Articles and columns which are intended to be thought-provoking or controversial, and which may not fit within the theme of a particular IEEE NETWORK issue, but are deemed timely for publication, may appear here. “Transportation for Scientists” is offered as an allegorical look at communications services, viewed in the context of the 19th century explosion in new forms of transportation. The accompanying commentary by Dr. Danny Cohen on “Communication for Scientists” provides a controversial interpretation of the allegory. Comments and discussion on both the Finnegan and Cohen contributions are invited and, if any are received which may be of interest to our readers, will be presented in succeeding issues.