I Love Science!
I love Ecology. I adore my professor, I (for the most part) adore my classmates, and it's so much fun!
I love InBio! (Well, except those stupid tests-from-heck that I can't seem to get higher than a 76% on). Today, I got to play with a really sweet, docile-ish python, and got to handle and examine a velociraptor skull, and handle and study part of gigantic jaw from a dinosaur species related closely to T. Rex. I love dinosaurs! They are so cool! I love snakes! They can be so cute!
That was the cutest snake I've seen in ages! Probably only 4-5 feet long; ~1-2 inches in diameter. pretty patterns on the scales. It feeds on rodents (yech) but I didn't have to watch that. My professor admitted that he got it (one of his grad students hatched it for him) so that his grandkids would grow up without being afraid of snakes, but it seems to have backfired somewhat--he came home only to find his granddaughter (who's about 7, I think) chasing all the other neighborhood kids with the snake in her hands, giggling maniacally.
*tries to keep straight face* ...*fails miserably and falls over laughing* bwahahahaha...! That's just hysterical.
(And really, that kind of python eats mice and that's pretty much it. As long as you are not holding a mouse in your hand, you won't ever be bitten. (Your hand could be bit accidentally as it lunges at the mouse, though, so you'd have to be careful feeding it.)
Science is so much fun! And we got to giggle at the horrified kids in the class (keep in mind once again that this is a class full of Juniors-Seniors in the Biology or Integrative Biology majors) who heard about the Big Bang Theory for the first time, I kid you not. (I think I learned about that in elementary school!) These kids are the same ones who can't handle the concepts of evolution (wonder what they're going to do when they hit the next two classes they need to take--Evolutionary Biology+Lab!) They had serious issues with the idea that the earth isn't at the center of the universe.
And then the teacher asked the dreaded question, "so... does the big bang theory mean we're all made out of dead stars?" [insert dramatic music: Dun Dun Duuuunnn!!!]
*snickered* these kids started to serious wig out! Mary-Meagan and I made cracks in the front row about how we're all made up of recycled carbon, and so therefore most likely made up of dead people, leading to jokes about "I see dead people!" *snicker* That lead to jokes about how, though we may not have traveled out of the US, we are made up of interstellar-travelling atoms! Go us! We're all well-traveled and cultured and whatnot! (After that, about all of us on the front row couldn't stop laughing for the last 15 minutes of class or so.) It was a "discuss amongst yourselves topic" so the kids in the back who were freaking out or whatnot have no idea we were laughing at, well, them, and of course ourselves.
For cryin' out loud! They're in 300-400 level biology classes! They are science majors! They have taken some rather advanced biology classes, advanced chemistry classes, and have (or will be) doing physics classes soon.) WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN THE SCIENCES IF THEY CAN'T HANDLE THE THOUGHT THAT THE WORLD WASN'T MADE IN SEVEN 24-HOUR DAYS?!
Then we found out they were pre-Meds or Pre-Dents. Say no more. Idiots.
I mean, come on. All of their professors are LDS, and as such, are devout Christians, and yet, somehow, said professors still believe in the scientific principles of evolution and the formation of abiotic factors in the universe. I just don't get why these kids feel like such concepts could "destroy their faith". I mean, come on. If your belief is troubled by thoughts outside of your box, how strong can it really be? The Bible was never intended to be a scientific guide on how to build your own planet, and the leaders of our church, at least (I don't know about the Catholics' or various Protestant denominations' positions) have said that we don't know how the planet was made... and that that was something to ask the scientists! As such, where's the conflict? Church is church. Science is science. You can't prove or disprove religion, so science clearly isn't something that interferes with religion!
*rolls eyes* There's only a few of these kids, but we just don't get why they're in our classes if they can't handle this.
I'm just sorta disgustedly amused. I mean, part of our doctrine set in the 1830s was that there were many, many planets out there--and that some had life on them--and back then that was considered blatant heresy by most people and whatnot. Now, that's considered to be a rather obvious fact--and that's something those kids are gleeful about, as it is just a little bit of evidence that the LDS leaders have actually known what they were talking about (In regards to canonized doctrine, at least. We've never claimed that our leaders' personal opinions were canon! And I can assure you that a lot of them have disagreed about a lot of different scientific, social, and religious matters!) So, how does the Big Bang theory hurt their faith in God if they already believe that there were "planets without number"? How else did they think it happened? I mean, surely they don't think God went, "Oh, I'd like a planet there *Zap*! And one there *Zap*! And a gas giant there *Zap*! ...? Unless a better theory can't be disproved, it looks like the Big Bang theory is it! Science is how we try to explain how the world and universe were created; religion is how we try to explain why. That's a pretty obvious distinction in my book!
I love astronomy. If I were remotely competent in calculus and physics, I'd either be a geologist or an astronomist. So cool! And paleontology is pretty sweet too, but the job market's pretty full. Gah. I love science. It's so cool! How could anyone not think so? I mean, it's not the only scholastic-y thing I enjoy--editing, history, language drift, print publishing and psychology fall into that realm, to list a few--but it's always interesting, and you'll never learn everything in your field, no matter how much you study and research!
...I'm such a dork. I do realize this. But hey! All power to somewhat socially-competent nerds (otherwise known by the highly technical term of "dork")!
I love InBio! (Well, except those stupid tests-from-heck that I can't seem to get higher than a 76% on). Today, I got to play with a really sweet, docile-ish python, and got to handle and examine a velociraptor skull, and handle and study part of gigantic jaw from a dinosaur species related closely to T. Rex. I love dinosaurs! They are so cool! I love snakes! They can be so cute!
That was the cutest snake I've seen in ages! Probably only 4-5 feet long; ~1-2 inches in diameter. pretty patterns on the scales. It feeds on rodents (yech) but I didn't have to watch that. My professor admitted that he got it (one of his grad students hatched it for him) so that his grandkids would grow up without being afraid of snakes, but it seems to have backfired somewhat--he came home only to find his granddaughter (who's about 7, I think) chasing all the other neighborhood kids with the snake in her hands, giggling maniacally.
*tries to keep straight face* ...*fails miserably and falls over laughing* bwahahahaha...! That's just hysterical.
(And really, that kind of python eats mice and that's pretty much it. As long as you are not holding a mouse in your hand, you won't ever be bitten. (Your hand could be bit accidentally as it lunges at the mouse, though, so you'd have to be careful feeding it.)
Science is so much fun! And we got to giggle at the horrified kids in the class (keep in mind once again that this is a class full of Juniors-Seniors in the Biology or Integrative Biology majors) who heard about the Big Bang Theory for the first time, I kid you not. (I think I learned about that in elementary school!) These kids are the same ones who can't handle the concepts of evolution (wonder what they're going to do when they hit the next two classes they need to take--Evolutionary Biology+Lab!) They had serious issues with the idea that the earth isn't at the center of the universe.
And then the teacher asked the dreaded question, "so... does the big bang theory mean we're all made out of dead stars?" [insert dramatic music: Dun Dun Duuuunnn!!!]
*snickered* these kids started to serious wig out! Mary-Meagan and I made cracks in the front row about how we're all made up of recycled carbon, and so therefore most likely made up of dead people, leading to jokes about "I see dead people!" *snicker* That lead to jokes about how, though we may not have traveled out of the US, we are made up of interstellar-travelling atoms! Go us! We're all well-traveled and cultured and whatnot! (After that, about all of us on the front row couldn't stop laughing for the last 15 minutes of class or so.) It was a "discuss amongst yourselves topic" so the kids in the back who were freaking out or whatnot have no idea we were laughing at, well, them, and of course ourselves.
For cryin' out loud! They're in 300-400 level biology classes! They are science majors! They have taken some rather advanced biology classes, advanced chemistry classes, and have (or will be) doing physics classes soon.) WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN THE SCIENCES IF THEY CAN'T HANDLE THE THOUGHT THAT THE WORLD WASN'T MADE IN SEVEN 24-HOUR DAYS?!
Then we found out they were pre-Meds or Pre-Dents. Say no more. Idiots.
I mean, come on. All of their professors are LDS, and as such, are devout Christians, and yet, somehow, said professors still believe in the scientific principles of evolution and the formation of abiotic factors in the universe. I just don't get why these kids feel like such concepts could "destroy their faith". I mean, come on. If your belief is troubled by thoughts outside of your box, how strong can it really be? The Bible was never intended to be a scientific guide on how to build your own planet, and the leaders of our church, at least (I don't know about the Catholics' or various Protestant denominations' positions) have said that we don't know how the planet was made... and that that was something to ask the scientists! As such, where's the conflict? Church is church. Science is science. You can't prove or disprove religion, so science clearly isn't something that interferes with religion!
*rolls eyes* There's only a few of these kids, but we just don't get why they're in our classes if they can't handle this.
I'm just sorta disgustedly amused. I mean, part of our doctrine set in the 1830s was that there were many, many planets out there--and that some had life on them--and back then that was considered blatant heresy by most people and whatnot. Now, that's considered to be a rather obvious fact--and that's something those kids are gleeful about, as it is just a little bit of evidence that the LDS leaders have actually known what they were talking about (In regards to canonized doctrine, at least. We've never claimed that our leaders' personal opinions were canon! And I can assure you that a lot of them have disagreed about a lot of different scientific, social, and religious matters!) So, how does the Big Bang theory hurt their faith in God if they already believe that there were "planets without number"? How else did they think it happened? I mean, surely they don't think God went, "Oh, I'd like a planet there *Zap*! And one there *Zap*! And a gas giant there *Zap*! ...? Unless a better theory can't be disproved, it looks like the Big Bang theory is it! Science is how we try to explain how the world and universe were created; religion is how we try to explain why. That's a pretty obvious distinction in my book!
I love astronomy. If I were remotely competent in calculus and physics, I'd either be a geologist or an astronomist. So cool! And paleontology is pretty sweet too, but the job market's pretty full. Gah. I love science. It's so cool! How could anyone not think so? I mean, it's not the only scholastic-y thing I enjoy--editing, history, language drift, print publishing and psychology fall into that realm, to list a few--but it's always interesting, and you'll never learn everything in your field, no matter how much you study and research!
...I'm such a dork. I do realize this. But hey! All power to somewhat socially-competent nerds (otherwise known by the highly technical term of "dork")!