Category Archives: Assignments

Introduction and BioBlitz

Assignments, BioBlitz

Hi, I’m Arty. I’m currently undecided on my major, and am taking classes in a variety of fields in order to figure out where my greatest interest lies. In my freshman year, I took pre-med classes, with an interest in research. Right now, I’m trying out film, acting, and psychology classes. Whatever captures my interest most is what I’ll pursue. At the moment, I’m leaning towards acting, film, or stand-up comedy as a future career.

This semester, I expect to learn about the institutions which people go to to learn science, and about the rate at which science and technology are advancing. Since the Industrial Revolution, humans advancements in technology have been moving forward at an exponential rate, which makes today a very exciting time to live in. What this means and what it can lead to is something I expect to be covered in this class.

During the BioBlitz, I met a few entomologists (I was in the insect group), journalists, and even people from Google. We walked through Central Park together, trying to collect insects. The methods we used were interesting, and some were new to me. We would carry around butterfly nets, and wave them around in hopes that any insects flying in the air will get caught. We even captured insects from the soil by using a special suction device. Afterwards, we deposited the insects in a vial of ethanol (poor little guys), which was brought to the lab at the end of the day.

The purpose of our efforts is still something I’m trying to figure out. One reason might be to allow us to get a glimpse of what a researcher’s job is like. An entomologist would have to spend days outdoors, trying to collect samples and data, before any of it can be studied and used to advance our knowledge. Another reason for the activity might be exactly what the BioBlitz description says: to sample the biodiversity we find in Central Park. Perhaps we might discover a new species, or find an estimate for the current populations of the insect species already known. However, this seems unlikely because the sample size we collected would be too small to make any definitive generalizations about the whole park. Either way, this was a good introduction to the world of researching biology. Instead of diving headfirst into a career we’re not sure of, this allows us to simply get our feet wet first.

As you can see in my picture, I was lucky enough to try out Google Glass, which was an amazing opportunity. I was thrilled to play around with a product that will be the next big step in technology. I also got to speak with the entomologist who led our expedition. I asked her how and why she chose to pursue this field. She excitedly replied that studying insects is a very hands-on activity. She told me how in college, she used to dislike indoor classes, where all the learning was very cerebral and bland. This job contrasts greatly in that you’re mostly outdoors, and exploring places that you haven’t seen before. I believe that this is a great response, considering how many jobs are monotonous and cyclical, where the employee goes to the same office and does the same thing everyday. In other words, she wanted to avoid doing a 9 to 5 job in a cubicle every day, which is something I also want to avoid doing.

My only disappointment with the BioBlitz experience is the fact that I didn’t get any end result for all my exertion. I expected to see some new statistics about Central Park’s biodiversity, but I wasn’t given any. It would be interesting to see what our efforts came to, and how this is going to benefit science. Other than that, I was glad to have been there, since it was a relaxing outdoors experience that allowed me to meet some interesting people with uncommon occupations.

Reflection: “The 95% Solution” by John H. Falk & Lynn D. Dierking (9.9.13)

Assignments, Reflection

In their article, “The 95% Solution”, Falk and Dierking explain informal science, and argue its importance for science literacy in the general population.  Once such example of informal learning is hobbyists.  “…many [hobbyists] with little formal training, [exhibit] high levels of knowledge and depth of understanding.  Such hobbyists often have collegial relationships with experts in the field and some… have contributed scientific discoveries” (p. 489).  Here, the authors present hobbyists’ accomplishments as a finding, which surprised me.  Weren’t the original scientists hobbyists, educated men who morphed philosophy and common observations into the principles – or predecessors of such – that we have today?  Why is it surprising that people who are passionate and curious should approach a professional level of activity?

 

Related, they say that, “much of what is learned in school actually related more to learning for school, as opposed to learning for life” (p. 489); students learn to succeed in school rather than to retain or understand the information in their lives.  This finding related to that of the hobbyists.  If people are interested, they are likely to integrate their interests into their life.  However, if they are uninterested, as students might be by in-school science, the information does not remain with or inspire them.  This concept of interest supports informal science; public learning settings should grab its targets’ interests and relate to their lives.  For instance, if there were a science based drama, people might become more involved in the show for its plot while absorbing science at the same time, or at least spurring them to look into the science surrounding the show. For example, my friend researched the science behind dreaming and consciousness after watching Nolan’s Inception (2010).

 

From the article, I gather the most important part of “free choice learning” (p. 486) is the freedom.  It is the liberty to choose what one learns, and the positive experience in having that liberty, that allows a person to learn outside the classroom.  As a student a year out of high school, I can say I am more interested in linguistics than I ever was in chemistry because I am not being forced to memorize information that is not applicable to my life.  (If it was the chemistry of baking, and we did in-class baking, would I have been more interested?  Certainly.)  I learned the chemistry for school, as mentioned above, and cannot remember much aside Pb and Fe being lead and iron respectively… and that’s because I took Latin.

 

On A Side Note: Halfway through the article, it bothered me that science was never defined.  What do the authors consider science?  I could talk about linguistics or music, which are sciences in their own respects.  In fact, according to the Oxford Dictionary, the archaic definition of science is knowledge.  This definition adds an interesting perspective to the article’s argument: Can a wide array of knowledge be learned informally?