| Abstract: | CONCLUSION. I do not expect that such an approach can be implemented anytime soon. Yet I hope that this consideration of the prospects for reliable research conclusions, and not just the focus upon materials or techniques of interest, will also be used in determining the most efficient allocation of our precious research resources. We live in a technologically well-endowed society, and our capacity to improve the prospects for a long life for our treasures is awesome. Equally great, though, is our potential for unwittingly wreaking massive harm. As has every generation of custodians before us, we seek to do our best to safeguard our treasures. We do our best, but our myopia allows us only blurred vision into the distant future. Continued vigilance over the objects in our care is an important precaution: we cannot consider that our responsibilities ended once the conservation decisions were made. Only by continuing to view those distant objects as they draw near will we be prepared to deal with the consequences of our well-meaning but fallible judgements. |
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