Monday, November 5, 2007

But I want it NOW!!! Part Deux

I spent the weekend doing absolutely nothing. Nada...zilch...got NOTHING done. I spent hours on my calc homework and got nowhere. I didn't even crack the chemistry book, which is a problem, since my test grades seem to be progressively getting worse (my most recent grade was a 123/140, which is a B+, which is a GOOD grade, but it feels like an F to me). And we all know the next step is dumpster diving and panhandling, right?

I wish I knew everything and I knew it all right this instant. Is that so much to ask? Would it be such an out-of-this-world request if I asked to be a leading scientist with only a degree in Professional Writing? I mean...who needs basic math, chemistry and geology skills? Who needs to know what questions to ask and how to go about answering them?

And that's the key, isn't it? To know enough about something to be able to ask good questions...questions that lead to answers that lead to more questions. And there're only so many questions you can ask if you don't know anything. So you learn. You learn all you can about something. And then when you have questions, you do all you can to answer them. And slowly, you know a lot about one thing and a little bit about the things related to that one thing.

I don't know anything. Not yet. And that's fine, because I'm in my first friggin' semester of my friggin' undergraduate degree. And I have something I didn't have the first time around: ambition. Hopefully, I'll find I have a good mind for science along the way.

P.S. I had a scientist moment this weekend when I found a dead bird and decided I MUST pick it up and examine its wing structure. I couldn't put it down. Its wings were SO light...and it reminded me of the latest SV-POW! post on pneumaticity...which is awesome.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I found a dead bird this weekend too (a house sparrow) and did the exact same thing, only I checked out the feathers more than the wings. It's amazing how light the little critters are, isn't it?

I highly recommend taking an ornithology class if your institution offers one. I loved mine, and you get to hang out with a bunch of bird nerds. :D