Science has acquired quite the reputation as a subject that causes students to pull out their hair, lose sleep and dread going to class.
The stereotype is well justified. Science, and I say this with the utmost respect, kicks your butt.
But before all of Naraghi Hall comes storming to The Signal looking for my head on a stick, I would like to state that as a student of scientific academica, I enjoy getting my butt kicked.
This continuous scientific slam-down tests the absolute farthest reaches of a mind.
It has caused me to memorize words that are impossible to pronounce, stare at microscopic bacteria found on the inside of my cheek and even once led me to sit down by a pond and listen to frog mating calls for over an hour.
So the question is why? Why subject ourselves to such mentally taxing experiences?
The answer that question with one word: perspective.
The greatest thing we can take away from any science course is the perspective that comes along with it. A simple example is when leaves change color during autumn. Science majors no longer see the beautiful array of bright red and yellow colors that cover the tree.
They see that the leaves are no longer producing chlorophyll and in turn displaying carotenoids already present in the leaf, hence the red and yellow colors. Knowing this makes those leaves even more beautiful.
Now, this isn’t to say every child that walks by a tree should point at it and say, “Wow, look at all that chlorophyll.” They should however, use the natural world as a basis to quench their curiosity.
That is exactly why the promotion and advocacy of science is so pivotal and should not be put on the back burner of educational priorities.
Why not instead of molding science as a sulfuric acid spewing, sleep snatching monster (which actually sounds pretty cool) we help people see it for what it really is. A source of wonder, art and most importantly an empowering perspective that drastically changes how we look at the world around us.
So for those who go running for the bushes every time someone so much as mentions anything scientific, remember this: the carbon bonds that make up your existence are those same bonds that were formed during the inception of the universe.
Remember, we are not just products of the natural world, but a literal part. Shoot for the stars, remember, you’re made up of the same stuff as they are.