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My association with the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California
goes back to 1992, when I agreed to serve
on Walter Zúñiga's graduate commitee.
During those years, I had many chances to
interact on a one-to-one basis with several UABC faculty members.
On one field visit,
a colleague confided to me that his department
had just purchased a GIS software system.
This sparked my curiosity, and I said:
"That's great... how much did it cost?"
He answered: "$28,000."
Somewhat suprised,
and acknowledging my ignorance,
I said: "What does it do?"
With an air of confidence,
my interlocutor proclaimed: "Everything, it does everything!"
Not knowing how to respond to such a claim, I kept silent.
Several months later, I encountered the same colleague, and remembering our pointed
exchange,
I asked: "How did you do with your GIS model? Did it indeed
do everything?
Obviously unable to hide his embarrassment, he said:
"No, it was a disappointment;
it hardly did anything!"
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