Platelets

So, I just got back from donating platelets at our local blood donation center.  This actually always makes me feel ill for awhile afterward - the anti-clotting factor doesn't really agree with me.  For one thing, it acts as a calcium blocker, which means that I feel all tingly until things return to normal.. Also, I feel nauseous - also I am sure from the anti-clotting.

On a positive note, today was my one gallon donation day.  Given the nature of this semester however, I think it will be a span before I hit that two gallon mark.  This is a little too bad, because in September they have a new Sooner shirt coming out.

Currently, I am using this time to recover without taking my usual several-hour post donation nap.  I have a committee meeting tomorrow and I feel there are a few things I need to strengthen.  One of those things is the interdisciplinary nature of being a Deadly Ninja of Science Communication.

Granted, this is not the actual proposed title of my degree, although a rebel nerd part of me really wishes I had the courage to go ahead with this degree name.  While it would be awesome, it does not, however, have the professional ring to it that I think will actually land me a successful position in my future career.

For now however, let me elucidate the nature of Deadly Ninja-hood.

As a Deadly Ninja of Science Communication, I am at heart, a scientist.  I have been extensively trained in the natural sciences and it is nature that quickens my pulse.  Were I communicating anything else, I would be less excited.

However, my love of biological sciences is not one that can be contained, and as such, I want to "shout it from the highest hills and even tell those crazy daffodils" (this is from a Righteous Brothers song).  Thus, I must understand basic principles of communication that will allow me to describe my passion to non-scientists in ways they will understand and be convinced as to how exciting and useful is science.

One of the primary means of communication in the realm of science is writing.  Thus, I must have a decent grasp of rhetoric in general as well as demonstrate proficiency in technical, discipline-specific writing forms.  Being able to communicate and write personally, I feel, is not enough.  I wish to become a Ninja Master so that I may create a Ninja Army.  Thus, principles of education come into play.  This is also helpful in creating outreach programs that actually make a difference.

Finally, one cannot transform the present without understanding the past.  Thus, principles of History of Science are essential to being a balanced Ninja.  We're not the first ones to think of this communicating science to laypersons thing, you know.

Now I just need to write this so my committee will agree wholeheartedly!

Balance of Power

"The power of a scientific theory may be measured as a ratio: the number of facts that it explains divided by the number of assumptions it needs to postulate in order to do the explaining."

The above is from a recent article by Richard Dawkins, in response to comments made by Governor Rick Perry of Texas.  Dr. Dawkins often comes on a little strong, but what he mentions here is an interesting guideline.

In truth, Occam's razor postulates much the same, i.e., "simpler explanations are, other things being equal, generally better than more complex ones".  (This is directly from the Wikipedia article Occam's razor, which is actually a very detailed and interesting read, if you are so inclined.) 

However, Dr. Dawkins' restatement of Occam's razor  is put forth in a way I can better understand.  What he's saying, more or less, is that the explanation should not be more complex than the phenomenon. 

Dr. Dawkins' line of reasoning also protects against oversimplification, in accordance with Einstein, who put forth that, "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

So, what is it that I want to say?

First, let me tell you a story about my general exams in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. 

I was actually presented with and asked to reconcile Occam's razor with Einstein's thoughts on simplicity.  I did pass my generals, but never really felt like I had addressed that question to my (or anyone else's) satisfaction.  Richard Dawkins does so in a single sentence.  Needless to say, I am impressed.

Above this, stands a clarifying moment.  This week, I helped a business student who needed her research paper to sound more like a research paper.  After piddling around with some sentence structure and word choices, I realized something very important.  Her thesis statement was too broad.  In fact, it was so broad that I really had no idea as to what her paper was actually about.

This is a problem that I have with my research.  Problems and phenomena are so big, its hard to begin simplifying down to a manageable question.  The question however, is where simplicity starts such that, by the end of the research, there is one powerful segment of theory.

These segments are how we build science.  Subsequent research will strengthen, repair, or demolish prior theories as appropriate.  That is what it means to make an original contribution.  Not to chaotically build some towering work from duct tape and Popsicle sticks, but to look at the bits and pieces of questions, theory, and phenomena that already exist and finding a way to make our mark on that world.

Science is so often extremely competitive, which is strange, because in the end, the whole of what we create really is collaborative.

:

Segments Build Science

If there is magic...

Loren Eiseley once wrote, "If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water."  Dr. Eiseley was an incredible man and merely reading the Wikipedia entry on his life makes me feel inadequate.  However, as his writing was accessible, readable, and downright inspiring to the lay audience, I am going to assume that Dr. Eiseley's thinking is more in line with Galileo than Newton.  Newton would have called me a "little smatterer" in natural science, I am sure.  Jerk.

Truly I did not start this post to call Sir Isaac Newton names.  I was having trouble thinking of something to say and my eyes fell upon the framed poster on my wall that highlights Dr. Eiseley's words.

I am going to reveal something to you now - my heart hopes for magic.  Not card tricks and distraction games, but a magic made of the beautiful complexity of this world; something beyond that which we initially see.  Doesn't everyone?  I think that's why some people are so upset by science.  They are afraid that investigation into the beautiful magic of our world will destroy the spark that is there. If we look too close, if we pry too forcefully, we will be left holding the broken pieces, wishing we could undo what was done.  That is a sad thought... it makes me sad just to write the words down and see them on this screen.

But let me tell you something.  I don't believe for a minute that we will lose the beauty, lose the magic.  I think that the deeper we look the more we will stand amazed.  To think that we, tiny individuals that we are, could somehow do something that would reveal this world as a sham, that would uncover the Great Oz as just a man behind a curtain cheapens that beauty, that magic.  Science does not destroy, it explains.  With each explanation, we may find a little piece of the puzzle, but we also find a new trail of questions to follow.  There is no bottom of the bucket.  There is no sidewalk's end.  There is no edge of the map where we tumble into nothingness.  The beauty and mystery of this world are nigh infinite.

I think King Solomon captured this thought perfectly over 2000 years ago.  A great scholar and wise man of his time, he wrote (and I'm paraphrasing here) that it is the nature or glory of God to conceal a matter and that it is the nature of royalty (some people update this to "scientists") to discover.  That is why I do what I do - why I love science and respect what we can do as scientists.  This is also why I value communication.  I want to help scientists communicate this delicate beauty to other people in ways that allow those people to see the beauty in investigating the magic that exists in our world.

Like a maelstrom, hits the new semester

The start of the new semester reminds me of a physics problem.  "Student A is already skating on thin ice (assume no friction).  If semester hits with velocity x, and student A is traveling at velocity y, at what point will student A either gain momentum or fall flat on her face?"

I'm shooting for the first option.

I will say that its going to be an exciting semester.  BioWriting is off to a good start and I expect the same from GeoWriting.  I'm actually taking classes again, so that's adding a little intensity - I'm doing selected readings with my adviser and working through Education Research.  Also, I have signed up for a mid-semester course, Project Wet, Wild, and Learning Tree.  This is exciting and will be lots of fun.  I do a lot of outreach activity, so these training sessions will not only give me credit, but will also be a really great resource.  I went through Project Wild in Texas, so I expect good things from Wet and Learning Tree.

On the outskirts of my periphery (I wish - everything seems front and center these days) is GTA, which is going strong.  We're up to 56 applicants, meaning I will have to tell six hopeful people that they'll have to wait until next year to participate.  Yarg.  I also need to apply to OSTA - the science coordinator for our local school district wants me to give a presentation on science writing.  As a Deadly Ninja of Science Communication, how can I refuse?  Exactly - I can't!  Plus, I see promoting authentic science and authentic science writing in our school systems as essential to college preparation and development of critical thinking skills.

Well, good deal.  I feel a little more centered this morning now that I have that out of my system.  Best to get started on the day, although I am hiding out in the Writing Center this morning with the assumption that no one will be coming to my office hours during this first week of classes!

There is a kitten locked in my bathroom.

Again.

Also, the thing with the women went great.  Some of them had their kids there and the giant water beetle performed on cue.  One of the kids named him "Buggy" for me.

Hello. I am a woman scientist.

Today I get to speak to a group of women who could use a little encouragement in their lives.  I have to say, being asked to talk to this group about what it is like to be a "woman scientist" puts on the pressure.  How do I reach out to these women whose problems I can't even begin to understand?

I've been thinking about this on and off for about the past week.  This is what I think I am going to do: talk about science as a mystery.  Nature is accessible to everyone.  That's my plan.

I'm taking with me the "ducky boxes".  These are little baby shower favor boxes in which I've placed various small items - marbles, paperclips, cotton balls, etc.  The whole point of this exercise is to take my participants through the process of thinking like a scientist.  We'll use our senses to try and figure out what's in the box.

Then I think I'll talk about how it was observation and using my senses that drew me into science.  When I was a little girl, we lived near the ocean - I loved to just sit and watch tidal pools.  Tidal pools really aren't too far from ducky boxes.

I'll try and bring this back around to where we are (in a landlocked state).  I have some "stuff" - snake skins, snails, fossils, mussel shells, etc. from our state.  I also have some information on a Master Naturalist program fairly nearby and I have a story about a woman who went back for her degree after going through a similar situation to theirs.  She started by getting her associates at a community college and eventually came away with a master's degree.

So, that's my plan.  I hope it works out - I think it will.

I have the crazies

This semester is going to be truly exciting.  I have since abandoned my quest to be a pure scientist pursuing scientific research.  This means I have entered the realm of teaching, communication, and outreach.  I cannot tell you how fun this is. 

Fun notwithstanding, the extensive "to do" list at the beginning of the semester is threatening to rise up against me, hence the crazies.  Nothing serious of course, just the realization that the past 4 or 5 hours of my life have been spent sending emails pertaining to about 3 or 4 different activities.  Once this tidal wave of organization has passed me by, life should return to its normal hum.

Until then, I have a better understanding of how my kitten feels when he's racing up and down the hallways with his back arched, ears pinned back, and eyes fully dilated.  He is the ultimate personification of the crazies.  Currently, this may actually result in a kamikaze kitten attack to the back of my desk chair from the top of the bookshelf.  If that happens, I think I may join him in his running.

The nature of "To do" lists

Have you ever noticed that the "to do" list is self-populating?  Task growth rate far exceeds death rate.  My lists also clone themselves.  I often find several around the house containing much the same information, with enough mutation to have evolved.

I am not against such tasks and their preferred list habitat, but at times what had been one simple task divides itself into several complex tasks, something that I find inherently disturbing, but in line with the chaotic nature of the universe.

The various Odums, ecological gurus that they are/were, mulled over the pulsed nature of ecosystems, remarking that while we like to believe that the world is heading toward a "stable state", we never actually reach that state.  As such, the state of change, or "Nature's Pulsing Paradigm," becomes the stable state.  Perhaps I should just accept this premise as the driver of my "to do" lists and stop fretting about them in general.

I suppose if there were nothing on my "to do" list, I would eventually fuss about being bored.

Testing... one two three testing...

Well, it is entirely terrifying to start a blog on Blogger.  This is not because it is not ridiculously simple, but because some of my favorite and most respected posters are on Blogger.  Truly I feel like pond scum next to charismatic megafauna.

All in the name of science, communication, and education!