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| Am I the ugly friend? Does it matter? | | |
| I was thinking, as I'm prone to do now and then, about what advice I would give to my kid. If I ever had a son (or daughter) and I could only give him one lesson or one piece of advice this would be it:
You don't have to be the smartest, the one who gets the best grades, the fastest, the strongest, the best looking, the happiest, the coolest or the most talented. Most of those titles are bestowed based on things well outside the control of man. But there's one title that you can earn- the one who tries the hardest. Don't let ego get in the way and don't be foolish enough to think your so special that you have one of the other titles- just work harder. There are a million people out there who will say your achievements are based on luck, talent or some inherited genetic ability. It's bullshit- ignore the "get anything quick" and settle in for the long hall. You don't have to be the best. If you've really given it your all, if you've stubbornly and whole heartedly grabbed whatever it is you want to do and held on practicing, learning, figuring out what needs to be done and when and then doing it- you WILL find success. You might not be the best but you sure as hell wont be bad at whatever it is. Effort does not equal success but it sure as hell is proportional. Don't be afraid if it takes your whole life time to get it, or this right- thats just part of the trying hard. | | |
| Proof that the more your drink the more you should dance http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M65zI9LH-as. | | |
| A google search for the words "pimptastic science" a phrase I would like to coin and put on a hat, yielded this http://www.glowfur.com/Catalog_Mlcoats.html... not quite what I intended. It has more to do with the idea that science is both fun and entertaining, something text books and science classes often seem to forget. Some days I feel like my science classes are trying to stomp the scientist out of me. I understand the tradition of rigor, detail orientation and elaborate careful work- in the field thats what science often translates in to, but thats not the reason people do science.
Here's what science is to me (maybe I'm deluded): Something happens, X occurs, I wonder how and why - lets explore. I wonder what the implications of X are. Imagine Joe Shmoe and what he could do with X. Do you think X will change sally's life? Hundreds of years from now X might make a huge difference. The subtle implications of X might lead to the field of Y which causes the Z revolution.
Here's how science is taught: X happens, memorize X, Disect X, Write a dry report with your detailed observations of X. The joy of science is FINDING X not, being told how to write a good lab report that someone has already written hundreds of times. I admit my writing skills aren't great, and that might affect how well I communicate my scientific findings to the world. But dammit, don't kill my curiosity! I don't want to be another tool doing lab bench work for the next 25 years. You don't force liberal art majors to rewrite or repaint copies of classics you sure as hell shouldn't do it to science majors.
Thats my rant, on the plus side I've effectively proven that I do more work when I'm stressed out and have too much to do. Also, I still havn't had eaten any meat. And, I so want to start an online book club. | | |
| Ah genetics one of my favorite and least favorite topics. The field of genetics is filled with a cynicism and practicality that I inevitably enjoy. Although, I think perhaps, strangely, it is the optimism of genetics I like most. I find comfort in the explanation that altruism really does exist, albeit as a device to protect your own genes (family and peer group altruism). I find it comforting that I don't have to be faster then the lion, only faster then the guy next to me. And I find it comforting that I really am competing with other individuals for success in survival and replication.
Maybe this make me a little twisted, but as far as things go, I'm doing rather well. And, this allows me to rationalize the life style I live in, in which minor manipulations and power struggles are normal. I don't know if it's true but aristotle was once credited as saying something along the lines of "if your smarter then another man your obligated/allowed to use that as an advantage over him". I have no doubt the stronger man in entitled to the same thing. Hence the smarter man inventing better weapons that reduce the strong mans advantage.
Either way, I was thinking about the math behind this and how one could compose functions of competing altruism and selfishness and have them meet at some differing equilibrium point much like a supply and demand curve, where the external environment puts more pressure on that equilibrium point one way or the other. This of course led to thoughts on processes, the economy and whether all processes have mathematical indicators. Following such thoughts was a little mental day dream about trying to teach a math class about closed loop integrals and how I could explain them via changes in elevation vs changes in lateral distance which caused me to finally understand logically why integrals of a single variable can be reduced to final-initial. I don't know why I think about math so much, but I wonder how it's going to affect my survival and replication ability, or why my genes gave me the preternatural ability to imagine the world in terms of functions, geometric patterns and numbers.
Also, not eating meat has some how reduced my interest in coke a cola, I guess pop and salad just don't mix as well. Two exams this weekend so I need to make sure I eat some hard boiled eggs or something for that protein. | | |
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