Dissociated Thoughts

Science Nerd

"BCOF Insignia" 

Day 3220: September 7, 2021
Prompt: "Science is a way of life. Science is a perspective. Science is the process that takes us from confusion to understanding in a manner that's precise, predictive and reliable - a transformation, for those lucky enough to experience it, that is empowering and emotional." Brian Greene - Use this quote to inspire you blog entry.

SCIENCE!!!

         My mind works well for the study of science. I like order and facts, research, field study, and even the not so fun things like writing up reports. Science gets my pulse racing and excites my mind. There is so much to see, do, and learn under the huge canopy term of Science. There's always something new to discover, to prove. Ask any of my former students and they will tell you, "This lady is crazy about science!"

         I have been a science nerd since I was little. It began with my love of all things fossil. I'm pretty sure my love of fossils, paleontology, and archaeology began before any other love of science. With Daddy being an excavationist (he likes to say he plays in the dirt for a living), he would often find amazing fossils. Some of which he brought home for us, those that the paleontologists would allow him to keep any way. He found a mammoth on one job site. Didn't get to keep that one. But he brought a wide variety of fossils for my inquisitive hands and mind to explore. I now have one heck of a collection of petrified wood, ammonites, and other fossilized sea life. I suppose that was about the same time my love for geology happened also. My rock and geode collection has been growing since I was a young little thing. I still collect cool rocks I see hidden amongst the more common rocks littering the ground.

         When my big brother received a telescope for Christmas one year, my attention grew to encompass what was above me as well as what was below me. I was so enchanted with the stars! I even painted pictures of them. So I began reading everything I could get on astronomy. I think I checked every book on the subject out of the school library at one point or another.

         When my parents bought a farm and moved us to the country, my love of all things living occurred and triggered my love affair with Biology. The wide range of biology is probably still my favorite science, but as I have aged and added more and more knowledge to my brain's memory banks, I discovered the many disciplines under the umbrella of the term biology. There are so many that call to me; microbiology, herpetology, ornithology, zoology... but amongst my favorites are: mycology, botany, and genetics. It only made sense that my area of research would be plant genetics. Long hours of working in the lab and the growth chambers, DNA sequencing, data entry - it never got old for me. Along with my boss, I discovered so many titillating secrets about how plants work to adjust to new environments; not just physically, but at the DNA level as well. We found that gene to gene interactions were the cause of certain physical traits. There was something new to learn every day!

         But I also discovered amazing sciences like chemistry and physics. Physics is amazing! It uses Mathematics to explain why and how things do what they do and is not limited to living organisms. It helped me understand a little better how my brain works. You know, some sports are actually easier to play when one has a decent understanding of the laws of physics. And chemistry! Getting down to the core of things! All of those elements so orderly and precise! Creating so many different things from those same building blocks we call elements. How could you not love science with so many directions in which you can delve?

         But I prattle on. Science is a way of life. For those of us who are science-minded, it is our passion, our love. It isn't something that can be switched on and off like you can a light (which can be explained through physics). It is with us every second, makes us who we are. And through science, humanity has been able to understand how things work in the natural world, we've learned more about ourselves, and have progressed our abilities in medicine and technology. All Hail Science!

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