I attended this conference in Amsterdam this summer! And while the organizers did say the conference was for everybody, not just scholarly, I’m convinced that their “everybody” and my “everybody” is totally different. However, I am very glad I went.

I did learn a few things at this conference, nothing new about Maria Merian, however.

I learned more about the dangers in the rain forests of the world through an entertaining, though very serious, presentation by Redmond O’Hanlon who has actually trekked through rain forests throughout the world.

I learned that university professors apparently view things through a very narrow focus, so that if that focus was from a different field, they do not have that knowledge. Some of the questions asked clearly showed this.

I discovered that while their research was quite narrow, mine was very broad, encompassing everything I could find.

And finally, I reached the conclusion that based on the many years I have researched this amazing woman…I am an EXPERT on Maria Sybilla Merian!