science

I've been off the reservation for a few weeks, but I'm back! Going to do a few more posts before this quarter is through.

I was deeply impressed by Jeff's (was it Jeff? John?) presentation on astrobiology. Honestly, I felt humbled and a little embarrassed at my general ignorance of science. I was I could still explain to someone what oxidation is, for example. I took college level physics and chemistry, but after a dozen years it has mostly washed out with the tide.

I stopped at 3rd place books on the way home and bought a couple science books. One of them is "The Brain Rules" by John Medina, a neuroscientist who lives in Seattle. He has some pretty interesting ideas about learning and education based on his understanding of the brain. He believes that brain development is so unique in each person that we really ought to de-standardize education as much as possible. Also, he argues that multitasking is largely a myth: we can walk and chew gum at the same time, but two or more activities that each require focused attention, such as driving and texting, or reading and listening, simply cannot be performed simultaneously. Some people learn to switch back and forth very quickly, but switching is extremely taxing for the brain and tends to decrease overall efficiency.

That was a bit of a digression, but it does relate to some discussions we've had this semester.

More to come later.