MINERALOGY AND OPTICAL MINERALOGY

摘要

I believe that mineralogy is the core discipline of the geosciences; that it is the subject which underpins our understanding of the Earth in the way that molecular biology underpins our understanding of the life sciences. This has yet to be appreciated by many of our colleagues in other disciplines and by many of the young people starting their studies in colleges and universities around the world. Convincing our colleagues of the importance of mineralogy and the cognate subjects of petrology and geochemistry is one of the challenges being addressed by Elements, but attracting the interest of new generations of students is the job of teachers and those who produce textbooks and course materials. This was the challenge facing the authors of Mineralogy and Optical Mineralogy and one to which they have responded admirably. Of course, Darby Dyar and Mickey Gunter are experienced teachers and were themselves taught by the finest mineralogists of the previous generation. They fully appreciate that many beginning students find mineralogy either difficult or just dull, and that it is the job of teachers and textbooks to bring alive its fascination and its relevance in the modern world.