So, I haven't had a lot of time this week to come up with anything interesting to write about for my blog post (due a couple days ago), so I've decided to do something more interesting and a list of some of my favorite quotes/writings I've compiled over the last couple years.
Feel free to share your favorite quotes as a comment or add these to your own personal list.
"I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do." - Leonardo da Vinci
"I am a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it." - Thomas Jefferson
Maybe pessimism is just one's inability to control his perspective - a sort of submission to fear and bleakness. It's too often correlated to intelligence as 'realism', when perhaps it's just a reworking of the Stockholm syndrome. A pessimist is just a hopeless captive of this "cruel world" turned in its favor.
"I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it."
- Mark Twain
"But how can there be a perversion of faith, if faith, lacking objective justification, doesn't have any demonstrable standard to pervert?" - Richard Dawkins in The God Delusion
"You can have all the faith you want in spirits, and the afterlife, and heaven and hell, but when it comes to this world, don't be an idiot. Cause you can tell me you put your faith in God to put you through the day, but when it comes time to cross the road, I know you look both ways." - Dr. House
"This cosmic dance bursting decadence and withheld permissions twists all our arms collectively, but if sweetness can win - and it can - then I'll still be here tomorrow to high-five you yesterday, my friend. Peace." - The Royal Tart Toter
"The essentially creative act is the union of opposites. We are afraid of all that is dark within ourselves, not realizing that it is but the shadow of what is light, and therefor inseparable from it."
"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world. The unreasonable man persists in adapting the world to himself. All progress, therefore, depends on the unreasonable man." -George Bernard Shaw
"Thus strangely are our souls constructed, and by such slight ligaments are we bound to prosperity or ruin." - Frankenstein
“Man has such a predilection for systems and abstract deductions that he is ready to distort the truth intentionally, he is ready to deny the evidence of his senses only to justify his logic.” - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"
- Epicurus
"Logic is the anatomy of thought."
- John Locke.
"The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking."
- Albert Einstein
"It does not do harm to the mystery to know a little more about it."
- Richard Feynman
"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you like everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight and never stop fighting."
-E. E. Cummings
"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost."
- J.R.R. Tolkien
"You don't live as long as I have without a healthy fear of snakes, Bobby."
- Creed from "The Office"
"It will be a great day when our schools have all the money they need, and our air force has to have a bake-sale to buy a bomber."
- Robert Fulghum
"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?"
-Gandhi
"Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."
- Albert Einstein
"It is the job of thinking people not to be on the side of the executioners."
-Albert Camus
"The homage that every nation pays to the concept of right proves, nonetheless, that there is in man a still greater, though presently dormant, moral aptitude to master the evil principle in himself and to hope that others will also overcome it."
- Kant, "Perpetual Peace."
“All men's miseries derive from not being able to sit in a quiet room alone.”
- Blaise Pascal
"No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth."
- Robert Southey
“The intellectual advancement of man depends on how often he can exchange an old superstition for a new truth”
- Robert Green
"Into the pit with those bloodthirsty sons of war!"
- Hag from "Army of Darkness"
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."
- Albert Einstein
"Your place to serve is where your great passion meets a great need in the world."
- Frederick Beuchner
"In every country and in every age, the priest has been hostile to Liberty."
- Thomas Jefferson
"The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and then we shall save our country."
- Abraham Lincoln (Annual message to Congress, December 1, 1862.)
"There Are Two Kinds of People In The World: Those Who Think There Are Two Kinds of People In The World and Those Who Don’t."
- Robert Benchley
"I know you believe you understand what I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant."
- Robert McCloskey
"If you can't explain something simply, you don't know enough about it."
- Albert E.
"Two roads diverged in a woods and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference"
- Robert Frost
"He who knows only his own side of the case, knows little of that."
- John Stuart Mill in "On Liberty"
"Mankind are greater gainers by suffering each other to live as seems good to themselves, than by compelling each to live as seems good to the rest..."
- John Stuart Mill in "On Liberty"
"I may not believe in what you have to say, but I will fight to the death to defend your right to say it."
- Francois Marie Arouet, a.k.a. Voltaire
"When the road to happiness seems darkened, carry a light with you. When there seems to be little reason to carry on, your looking for too large of reasons. When you want to give up, then you know little of all the things you truly would lose"
- Confucious
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Monday, July 29, 2013
Friday's Discovery
As most of you know, my original project - the one I spent all semester in the writing seminar drafting a proposal for - was published before I got a chance to finish it. In fact, it was published before I was even fully trained in the lab, but I wasn't aware of this until around a month into SRI. At first this was kind of discouraging. To be honest, I wasn't sure I wanted to stay in the Gorsich lab anyway so when the opportunity presented itself to switch I had to fight hard not to take it. After a lot of thinking I decided to stay in the lab despite the fact that familiarity was really all I had there. What I learned last Friday affirmed to me once and for all that this was the right decision.
As you might expect, losing the entire semester's worth of writing and the first month of summer for research really did not leave much room for anything else. I spent most of the time that I was in lab on my feet skating around everyone else to check optical densities or make time points or to do any of the other work that needed to be done at the time. What this meant was that I didn't have time to stay current regarding the articles in my field or to begin reading up on the parts of my research that had changed since my first project was cut short. So, a couple days ago when things started to wind down a little bit that's exactly what I did.
My original project was titled "Characterization of ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules in yeast exposed to fermentation inhibitor furfural." The benefit of this project was that it was relatively straightforward but had the potential to produce some pretty fundamental information to the fields of cell and molecular biology. Basically all I had to do was transform the P-body and stress granule marker plasmids into the yeast and grow them in the presence of furfural, periodically preparing slides from the culture to look at under fluorescence microscopy for formation for the RNPs. I admit it was pretty simple stuff, but it was engaging enough for my first project.
After I ended that project, the new focus of my research became comparative in nature. Whereas before I was only concerned with whether RNPs formed, now that we know they do in the presence of furfural (thanks, Iwaki), I am tasked with seeing if the overexpression of ZWF1, a gene important in the pentose phosphate pathway, effects their formation in the yeast. There is good reason to think that it will, but that's for another post.
So there I was consulting genome databases and the latest articles on ZWF1 when I come across an interesting piece of information: yeast ZWF1 is a homolog to a gene in humans. That is, humans have the same gene which is involved in the same relative process.
So here's where it gets sciencey. Brace yourselves.
ZWF1 in both humans and yeast codes for a protein, zwf1p, better known as glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). G6PD is an enzyme that catalyzes the first step - the rate-determining, irreversible one - in the pentose phosphate pathway, a mechanism which reduces NADP+ to NADPH. Basically, these activated carrier complexes are vital for cells - whether human or yeast - because they comprise one of the only methods biological organisms have for dealing with oxidative stress. So, NADPH reduces a molecule called glutathione. Reduced glutathione acts as a mop for free radicals in the system, removing the pressure of the oxidative stress, which is all well and good, but that's only part of why ZWF1 is so interesting.
Often in organisms diseases or afflictions amount to problems with a single gene or protein. Such is the case with hemolytic anemia, or G6PD deficiency. Hemolytic anemia is the result of a person having a low RBC count. There can be many things that case this but with G6PD deficiency, the resulting hemolytic anemia is caused by, you guessed it, a problem with G6PD - the enzyme that is coded from ZWF1, the gene whose homolog I work with in yeast. From what I understand, some event results in relatively inactive G6PD, which means a halted pentose phosphate pathway, which means no reduction of NADP+ to NADPH, which means no reduction of glutathione, which means its a free radical family reunion up in that cell. Further, erythrocytes have no other mechanism for dealing with oxidative stress -they rely solely on the pentose phosphate pathway, so those sucker just burst from all that stress resulting in the low RBC count a.k.a. hemolytic anemia.
Point is, unannounced to me, I've been working on some pretty rad medical stuff in addition to the implications overexpression of ZWF1 has on fermentation.
Fucking intense, am I right?
After I ended that project, the new focus of my research became comparative in nature. Whereas before I was only concerned with whether RNPs formed, now that we know they do in the presence of furfural (thanks, Iwaki), I am tasked with seeing if the overexpression of ZWF1, a gene important in the pentose phosphate pathway, effects their formation in the yeast. There is good reason to think that it will, but that's for another post.
So there I was consulting genome databases and the latest articles on ZWF1 when I come across an interesting piece of information: yeast ZWF1 is a homolog to a gene in humans. That is, humans have the same gene which is involved in the same relative process.
So here's where it gets sciencey. Brace yourselves.
ZWF1 in both humans and yeast codes for a protein, zwf1p, better known as glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD). G6PD is an enzyme that catalyzes the first step - the rate-determining, irreversible one - in the pentose phosphate pathway, a mechanism which reduces NADP+ to NADPH. Basically, these activated carrier complexes are vital for cells - whether human or yeast - because they comprise one of the only methods biological organisms have for dealing with oxidative stress. So, NADPH reduces a molecule called glutathione. Reduced glutathione acts as a mop for free radicals in the system, removing the pressure of the oxidative stress, which is all well and good, but that's only part of why ZWF1 is so interesting.
Often in organisms diseases or afflictions amount to problems with a single gene or protein. Such is the case with hemolytic anemia, or G6PD deficiency. Hemolytic anemia is the result of a person having a low RBC count. There can be many things that case this but with G6PD deficiency, the resulting hemolytic anemia is caused by, you guessed it, a problem with G6PD - the enzyme that is coded from ZWF1, the gene whose homolog I work with in yeast. From what I understand, some event results in relatively inactive G6PD, which means a halted pentose phosphate pathway, which means no reduction of NADP+ to NADPH, which means no reduction of glutathione, which means its a free radical family reunion up in that cell. Further, erythrocytes have no other mechanism for dealing with oxidative stress -they rely solely on the pentose phosphate pathway, so those sucker just burst from all that stress resulting in the low RBC count a.k.a. hemolytic anemia.
Point is, unannounced to me, I've been working on some pretty rad medical stuff in addition to the implications overexpression of ZWF1 has on fermentation.
Fucking intense, am I right?
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Don't Even Ask: Responses to an 'All-About-Me' Interview
1. What do you know to be true, unquestionably beyond doubt, certain with every cell of your being, completely, passionately, righteously certain? -- Absolutely nothing.
2. What was the dumbest thing you used to believe? What changed your mind? -- I used to believe that sex was some sort of taboo, criminal thing. I reasoned that that is why it is done in secret. And I think puberty changed my mind. That and the internet.
3. What do you know the most about? -- I wonder if this is asking "what do you know more about than any other person?" or "of the things you know, which do you know the most about?"
4. Why do you do what you do? -- See determinism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinism
5. One word: breakthrough. What comes to mind? -- Frankly, what immediately comes to mind is how inconsequential and boring this question seems. But when I think of the word breakthrough I think of how I typically hear it accompanied with scientific.
6. What has been one of your most memorable experiences in your career? -- If I can just replace career with education, as it's pretty much the extent of any career I've had so far, I think visiting OWS in Manhattan with my freshman SOC221 professor was the most memorable experience I've had so far.
7. What global policy, credo, practice, or law would you like to decree? -- Hm... probably something environmental. 40 lashings for improperly recycled plastics would be a good place to start. (I do it for teh lulz).
8. What experience tested your mettle but made you a better person? -- In a word, McNair.
9. Finish this sentence: "It's a good day when..." -- it's not a bad one. I find that defining everything that isn't absolutely terrible as okay helps to make it okay, and the likelihood of running into a bad day when you call most days good is lower than the alternative.
10. When was the last time you thought, "Yes! That person has got it going on!"? -- Probably a couple of days ago after watching an E. Warren video wherein she lambastes a couple of reporters who clearly didn't know who the hell they were talking to, or what the hell it was about. E. Warren's got it going on.
11. What question in your life has had the biggest impact on you? -- This one. This one being asked right now. Dat impact.
12. What are you positively addicted to? -- The World Wide Web.
13. What's the best advice you were ever given in terms of business? -- Spoken by a wise man I once knew: fb;gm.
14. What's the most common life advice that you give your friends? -- "Named must your fear be before banish it you can." (Also, lol @ "friends").
15. What the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word devotion? -- Religion.
16. What are you most interested in? I like rhetoric and philosophy. Like, a lot.
17. What are you incredibly grateful for? -- All the stuff everyone else already said added together +1.
18. What's your form of service to the world? -- There is a quote that says something along the lines of "your place in the world is where your passion meets one of its greatest needs." I tend to agree with this, but service is different than place, so I'm going to modify it: your service to the world is what you do in your place in the world where your passion meets one of its greatest needs. Unfortunately I haven't really figured out the "passion" and "greatest needs of the world" parts yet, so the best thing I can do for now is find my place. And a step toward service is kind of like service, right?
"Something inspirational" - Someone Important.
2. What was the dumbest thing you used to believe? What changed your mind? -- I used to believe that sex was some sort of taboo, criminal thing. I reasoned that that is why it is done in secret. And I think puberty changed my mind. That and the internet.
3. What do you know the most about? -- I wonder if this is asking "what do you know more about than any other person?" or "of the things you know, which do you know the most about?"
4. Why do you do what you do? -- See determinism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Determinism
5. One word: breakthrough. What comes to mind? -- Frankly, what immediately comes to mind is how inconsequential and boring this question seems. But when I think of the word breakthrough I think of how I typically hear it accompanied with scientific.
6. What has been one of your most memorable experiences in your career? -- If I can just replace career with education, as it's pretty much the extent of any career I've had so far, I think visiting OWS in Manhattan with my freshman SOC221 professor was the most memorable experience I've had so far.
7. What global policy, credo, practice, or law would you like to decree? -- Hm... probably something environmental. 40 lashings for improperly recycled plastics would be a good place to start. (I do it for teh lulz).
8. What experience tested your mettle but made you a better person? -- In a word, McNair.
9. Finish this sentence: "It's a good day when..." -- it's not a bad one. I find that defining everything that isn't absolutely terrible as okay helps to make it okay, and the likelihood of running into a bad day when you call most days good is lower than the alternative.
10. When was the last time you thought, "Yes! That person has got it going on!"? -- Probably a couple of days ago after watching an E. Warren video wherein she lambastes a couple of reporters who clearly didn't know who the hell they were talking to, or what the hell it was about. E. Warren's got it going on.
11. What question in your life has had the biggest impact on you? -- This one. This one being asked right now. Dat impact.
12. What are you positively addicted to? -- The World Wide Web.
13. What's the best advice you were ever given in terms of business? -- Spoken by a wise man I once knew: fb;gm.
14. What's the most common life advice that you give your friends? -- "Named must your fear be before banish it you can." (Also, lol @ "friends").
15. What the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word devotion? -- Religion.
16. What are you most interested in? I like rhetoric and philosophy. Like, a lot.
17. What are you incredibly grateful for? -- All the stuff everyone else already said added together +1.
18. What's your form of service to the world? -- There is a quote that says something along the lines of "your place in the world is where your passion meets one of its greatest needs." I tend to agree with this, but service is different than place, so I'm going to modify it: your service to the world is what you do in your place in the world where your passion meets one of its greatest needs. Unfortunately I haven't really figured out the "passion" and "greatest needs of the world" parts yet, so the best thing I can do for now is find my place. And a step toward service is kind of like service, right?
"Something inspirational" - Someone Important.
Sunday, July 14, 2013
"What's chronic, repetitive or inflamed in your life?" - Danielle LaPorte
"Try not to over think everything." This short and sweet sentence is probably the best advice I've ever been given, and it's some of the only advice I can never seem to follow. So it lingers in my thoughts, subtly haunting me from day-to-day. But the advice itself is only a reminder of what's really getting at me.
What seems to be the biggest problem I face is an overwhelming feeling of futility. When I give reality any real thought I always end up with the same eerie, shrill feeling: none of this really amounts to much of anything. Not really. Steeped in convention and inherited values, I get the feeling that we are all just blindly, steadily marching toward oblivion with smiles more or less painted on our faces. I've convinced myself that this isn't the product of emotion but logic. It's reason that has led me to this conclusion, eagerly pushing me toward the edge of optimism (and indeed sanity if I can admit that) to a bird's eye view of the abyss that awaits everything and everyone anyone has ever valued. In the end, I ask myself, what is it all for?
I'm not religious. I see the value in faith - I was raised in a deeply religious family with pastors for grandparents, so I've seen that side of things - but it's just not my narcotic. I'm not convinced of eternal happiness or existence. When I think about the universe and (to the best of my ability) consider its scale and immensity, I can't help but realize just how fragile everything we know and value is. In the scheme of the universe we are less than inconsequential, and at any time some cataclysmic event could reduce all of the knowledge and history ever recorded since the beginning of time to dust. And calling what would be left of our existence dust is probably being generous - there's no guarantee that there would even be a trace left after such an event. Neil deGrasse Tyson says, "the universe doesn't care about us," and although he says this in a comedic and conversational tone, I doubt he finds the idea much more comfortable than anyone else who has given that truth any serious thought.
This sense of meaninglessness is not conducive to anything. I know that. I know that living life with the thought that everything is coming to an end sooner or later is, in itself, useless (I'm sure you can appreciate the irony in this by now). But that doesn't comfort me, and I'm not sure that it should. As a scientist, I probe the world in search for truth. And as far as I can see, it's true that we are on a collision course with another galaxy with plenty of asteroids and other space debris to encounter along the way. It's true that everything we've ever created from the Mona Lisa and the Prius to Central Michigan University and the friends we have there is hurling toward its place in the utter, inescapable chasm of nothingness that awaits.
This idea is was it chronic in my life. This is what I struggle with from day to day to say nothing of things far less existential such as finances and my research.
What seems to be the biggest problem I face is an overwhelming feeling of futility. When I give reality any real thought I always end up with the same eerie, shrill feeling: none of this really amounts to much of anything. Not really. Steeped in convention and inherited values, I get the feeling that we are all just blindly, steadily marching toward oblivion with smiles more or less painted on our faces. I've convinced myself that this isn't the product of emotion but logic. It's reason that has led me to this conclusion, eagerly pushing me toward the edge of optimism (and indeed sanity if I can admit that) to a bird's eye view of the abyss that awaits everything and everyone anyone has ever valued. In the end, I ask myself, what is it all for?
I'm not religious. I see the value in faith - I was raised in a deeply religious family with pastors for grandparents, so I've seen that side of things - but it's just not my narcotic. I'm not convinced of eternal happiness or existence. When I think about the universe and (to the best of my ability) consider its scale and immensity, I can't help but realize just how fragile everything we know and value is. In the scheme of the universe we are less than inconsequential, and at any time some cataclysmic event could reduce all of the knowledge and history ever recorded since the beginning of time to dust. And calling what would be left of our existence dust is probably being generous - there's no guarantee that there would even be a trace left after such an event. Neil deGrasse Tyson says, "the universe doesn't care about us," and although he says this in a comedic and conversational tone, I doubt he finds the idea much more comfortable than anyone else who has given that truth any serious thought.
This sense of meaninglessness is not conducive to anything. I know that. I know that living life with the thought that everything is coming to an end sooner or later is, in itself, useless (I'm sure you can appreciate the irony in this by now). But that doesn't comfort me, and I'm not sure that it should. As a scientist, I probe the world in search for truth. And as far as I can see, it's true that we are on a collision course with another galaxy with plenty of asteroids and other space debris to encounter along the way. It's true that everything we've ever created from the Mona Lisa and the Prius to Central Michigan University and the friends we have there is hurling toward its place in the utter, inescapable chasm of nothingness that awaits.
This idea is was it chronic in my life. This is what I struggle with from day to day to say nothing of things far less existential such as finances and my research.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
What thing, experience or person has really contributed to the individual you are today?
Who we are as people is drawn from our past experiences. I am not convinced that we have the capacity to influence ourselves in any certain way, and definitely not as much as many people might hope or presume. How we react to new situations (and thus what prospective ideas and situations we allow ourselves to get into) is determined by our histories with other situations we perceive to be related. Additionally, there are other forces not directly related to our experience as conscious beings, but linked to our biology that play a significant role in manufacturing the individuals we are today.
My understanding is that genetics is our general guideline to living as we know it. We are biologically programmed to react in certain ways, to adhere to certain imperatives, and to reproduce. I speculate (and there may even be studies that support this) that even seemingly complex behavioral patterns (like love) can be explained by a sophisticated balance of chemicals and reagents in the brain passed down from ancestors via recombinant heredity. From this I figure that if these complex behaviors - the ones we generally think of as fundamentally human, fundamentally "us" - are indeed just the products of chemical reactions in the brain, then the individuals we are today are really just reactionary shells. We are who we are by the grace of circumstance - victims of fate.
I imagine then a classroom of students all given different writing implements, but assigned the same essay prompt. By virtue of the simple difference in the tool each person is writing with, every essay will be different at least at a basic level. Then you consider the environment, with some students sitting in the front of the class closer to the teacher and white board being more likely to stay focused than those with 5 rows of desks in front of them; kids sitting next to the windows, those that didn't catch breakfast that morning, and those with ADHD or dyslexia may also be less likely to focus on the task. Similarly and more generally, we are all influenced by whatever happens to be going on around us. Chromosomes as our pens, and socioeconomic status, geography, and everything else playing the role of the kickball game going on outside the window, we may fundamentally amount to nothing more than predetermined reflexive vessels of experience.
My understanding is that genetics is our general guideline to living as we know it. We are biologically programmed to react in certain ways, to adhere to certain imperatives, and to reproduce. I speculate (and there may even be studies that support this) that even seemingly complex behavioral patterns (like love) can be explained by a sophisticated balance of chemicals and reagents in the brain passed down from ancestors via recombinant heredity. From this I figure that if these complex behaviors - the ones we generally think of as fundamentally human, fundamentally "us" - are indeed just the products of chemical reactions in the brain, then the individuals we are today are really just reactionary shells. We are who we are by the grace of circumstance - victims of fate.
I imagine then a classroom of students all given different writing implements, but assigned the same essay prompt. By virtue of the simple difference in the tool each person is writing with, every essay will be different at least at a basic level. Then you consider the environment, with some students sitting in the front of the class closer to the teacher and white board being more likely to stay focused than those with 5 rows of desks in front of them; kids sitting next to the windows, those that didn't catch breakfast that morning, and those with ADHD or dyslexia may also be less likely to focus on the task. Similarly and more generally, we are all influenced by whatever happens to be going on around us. Chromosomes as our pens, and socioeconomic status, geography, and everything else playing the role of the kickball game going on outside the window, we may fundamentally amount to nothing more than predetermined reflexive vessels of experience.
Having now taken up way too much time seemingly ignoring the prompt, I'm going to try to pull it all together simply: every thing, experience or person contributes to the individual encountering he/she/it thereafter. In short, the person who has really contributed to the individual I am today is the person I was yesterday. After all, reminding myself of the first sentence in this post, where would I be without my informant?
Sunday, June 23, 2013
What makes me really happy?
Well, it doesn't take much. I'm happiest when I'm in the company of a good book or friend. My idea of a perfect day is one that involves a lot of reading or good conversation, a comfortable place to sit, and coffee. Oh, also maybe a thunderstorm. I like those.
The thought of my family (especially my siblings) laughing and enjoying their lives also seems to do the trick. I realize that I'm different from them in a lot of ways and because of this it's not always possible for me to be the person that makes them happy, but knowing they are not suffering and are getting the decent life they deserve is really all I need to be able to enjoy my own life.
Solving problems also makes me really happy in a sort of "I belong here" kind of way. I think all humans crave the feeling of belonging and I satisfy that craving when I'm working on solving a particularly difficult problem, especially if it is in the company of other people that are equally dedicated to coming up with creative, innovative and original solutions.
PS. This question probably deserves a whole book, and I'm confident that I could write one just about my own life and what makes me really happy. Frankly though, ain't nobody got time for that, and if I'm going to leave out a crap load of stuff for brevity's sake anyway, I might as well stop at the 3 things that I immediately thought of.
The thought of my family (especially my siblings) laughing and enjoying their lives also seems to do the trick. I realize that I'm different from them in a lot of ways and because of this it's not always possible for me to be the person that makes them happy, but knowing they are not suffering and are getting the decent life they deserve is really all I need to be able to enjoy my own life.
Solving problems also makes me really happy in a sort of "I belong here" kind of way. I think all humans crave the feeling of belonging and I satisfy that craving when I'm working on solving a particularly difficult problem, especially if it is in the company of other people that are equally dedicated to coming up with creative, innovative and original solutions.
PS. This question probably deserves a whole book, and I'm confident that I could write one just about my own life and what makes me really happy. Frankly though, ain't nobody got time for that, and if I'm going to leave out a crap load of stuff for brevity's sake anyway, I might as well stop at the 3 things that I immediately thought of.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
An excerpt from Huxley's "A Brave New World."
"The theme of Brave New World is not the advancement of science as such; it is the advancement of science as it affects human individuals. The triumphs of physics, chemistry and engineering are tacitly taken for granted. The only scientific advances to be specifically described are those involving the application to human beings of the results of future research in biology, physiology, and psychology. It is only by means of the sciences of life that the quality of life can be radically changed. The sciences of matter can be applied in such a way that they will destroy life or make the living of it impossibly complex and uncomfortable; but, unless used as instruments by the biologists and psychologists, they can do nothing to modify the natural forms and and expressions of life itself. The release of atomic energy marks a great revolution in human history, but not (unless we blow ourselves to bits and so put an end to history) the final and most searching revolution."
I think I'm in love.
I think I'm in love.
A salute to "the greatest show on Earth."
The assumption that the universe can always be broken down and resolved into easily understood adages and Wikipedia articles is an erroneous one. The fact is that some things are, even in their most condensed forms, still fantastically complicated. Such is the case with evolution and the evidence for it. Admittedly, the proof for evolution - especially considering molecular sequence data and certain dating methods concerning fossils - is probably too sophisticated for non-scientists. Or at least it requires more time to look into than most people can or will afford it.
My recommendation: grant the specialists - geneticists, paleontologists, geologists, anatomist, physiologists, etc. - that have spent their lives researching this stuff and converging on near unanimous support for evolution via natural selection the same trust you do the pharmacists and medical doctors that prescribe you medical treatments (they are, after all, scientists, too!). Just for a minute unhinge yourself from the religion, upbringing, etc. that won't allow you to either look into the facts yourself( and in time understand them), or trust the many great people that have contributed to our understanding of "the greatest show on Earth."
My recommendation: grant the specialists - geneticists, paleontologists, geologists, anatomist, physiologists, etc. - that have spent their lives researching this stuff and converging on near unanimous support for evolution via natural selection the same trust you do the pharmacists and medical doctors that prescribe you medical treatments (they are, after all, scientists, too!). Just for a minute unhinge yourself from the religion, upbringing, etc. that won't allow you to either look into the facts yourself( and in time understand them), or trust the many great people that have contributed to our understanding of "the greatest show on Earth."
Sunday, June 16, 2013
What is success?
Success is accomplishment/attainment of some desirable outcome or result as defined by the entity using the word. As such, there are many different definitions of "success" relative to the individual, political party, graduate admissions board, etc. Defining it this way, and operating on the assumption that you're interested in my ideas and not a political party's, I think a good approach to a response is to list what I want for myself for the future, again with success being the acquisition of the listed.
Success awaits, comrades.
- A fully funded Ph.D. in a biology related field.
- A research position in industry (that is, one far from teaching) in which I would be challenged to come up with exciting, new, and innovative technologies and information related to cell, molecular, or some other sub-field of biology.
- A group of friends and colleagues I can feel comfortable around; ones that I would appreciate, and that would appreciate me as a person.
- Maintaining connection with my family in Michigan especially if I end up living out of state.
- A (long awaited) feeling of financial security and solvency.
Success awaits, comrades.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Camp Epiphanies
Camp was a lot of information cramming into a small amount of time, so there wasn't much time for an epiphany. Reflecting however, I think there are a couple things I took away from camp that come somewhat close to epiphanies.
1.) The discovery of a Microbiology & Pathogenesis Ph.D. program. Apparently, many schools offer this option, which I was previously completely unaware of, but seemingly fits my interests perfectly. The idea is to research new or alternative treatments for infectious diseases.
2.) My portfolio is probably not as bad as I previously thought. Maureen's presentation really helped me toward this conclusion, also making me less anxious for the GRE, and more confident in my grad program search.
3.) Finally, I sort of realized that maybe this whole grad program search thing is better done in company even if no one else in the cohort is interested in pursuing a similar degree. Sitting with some fellow scholars outside of the mock interviews on the last full day of camp, I couldn't help but notice how much better the grad school search experience was with people to bug about this faculty member's project or that school's stipend and health coverage.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
My Voice
"Your 'voice' is your unique contribution that is made up of your passion, talent, values and the 'needs' of the world - what problems need to be addressed and solved? What can you do that other people can't?" - Lynn Curry.
In response:
My passion is for problem solving. It's my reason for pursuing a terminal degree and the reason I keep going from day to day.
My talent is for considering the many intricate and generally complicated and hidden variables in a situation. This ability fuels my passion for problem solving, and most often gets me into trouble - it seems people would rather believe things are either good or bad, black or white, than spend time facing reality for what it really is: a labyrinthine yet systematic array of facts.
I value truth and coffee. Science brings me close to both, so it's my favorite.
The world is full of people willing to believe whatever lie makes itself most evident and takes the least amount of convincing. The world needs to emancipate itself from the tendency to only consider the most superficial aspect of problems and enter the domain of critical thinking. I confidently believe that you can't ever hope to solve a problem without fully understanding it. Any attempt at a solution will create another problem until the entire situation is considered with all of the facets that feed into it.
What I can do that other people can't is exactly what my talent is: to look at the complexity of a situation and consider all of the aspects of the problem. My hope is that considering this, I will inspire a new approach to whatever field I end up in.
In response:
My passion is for problem solving. It's my reason for pursuing a terminal degree and the reason I keep going from day to day.
My talent is for considering the many intricate and generally complicated and hidden variables in a situation. This ability fuels my passion for problem solving, and most often gets me into trouble - it seems people would rather believe things are either good or bad, black or white, than spend time facing reality for what it really is: a labyrinthine yet systematic array of facts.
I value truth and coffee. Science brings me close to both, so it's my favorite.
The world is full of people willing to believe whatever lie makes itself most evident and takes the least amount of convincing. The world needs to emancipate itself from the tendency to only consider the most superficial aspect of problems and enter the domain of critical thinking. I confidently believe that you can't ever hope to solve a problem without fully understanding it. Any attempt at a solution will create another problem until the entire situation is considered with all of the facets that feed into it.
What I can do that other people can't is exactly what my talent is: to look at the complexity of a situation and consider all of the aspects of the problem. My hope is that considering this, I will inspire a new approach to whatever field I end up in.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Concerning Strengths and Cohort Contributions
Considering my contributions (voice) in our cohort, I'd like to first consider my strengths according to strengthfinder.com (1 to 5, 1 being the strongest):
1. Self-Assurance
1. Self-Assurance
2. Command
3. Analytical
4. Intellection
5. Arranger
Now my 5 weakest qualities according to the site (1 to 5, 1 being the weakest):
1. Positivity (Har har...)
Now my 5 weakest qualities according to the site (1 to 5, 1 being the weakest):
1. Positivity (Har har...)
2. Harmony
3. Context
4. Connectedness
5. Includer
So, now having seen the spread, you're probably wondering why I haven't attempted to overthrow Lynn, Maureen, and Kim for sole dictatorial control over the program. I assure you, it's on the way, but for now (admittedly more realistically) I'm still trying to find where I stand within the group. As I mentioned to Miki (the other power-hungry, cold controller of the group) earlier today at the seminar, it's odd being in a hierarchy-free sort of arrangement like we have. I feel like what's inevitably going to happen is I'm going to rely more heavily on my 4th strength - intellection - by focusing on intellectual discussion and introversion. It's at least the most civil direction to go in I feel. My contributions will be limited to my analysis of whatever interesting debates/discussions are going on individually, with little effort in the sense of cohort-wide direction.
That's probably all for now.
That's probably all for now.
My research
As per a conversation I had earlier with Tarah and Matt, I won't be posting my entire research proposal on here, but since this blog is for you fellow McNair scholars and since you've all seen me present my project anyway, I'll just briefly describe what I've been doing lately in lab for now.
Generally this week was slow in lab. My research involves a lot of tests that take hours or days to complete, so I spent most of my time setting up conditions for research after the Kentucky trip. I didn't get the full 20 hours in lab - again because there isn't much I can start and leave for a week - but considering my schedule, I'm pretty happy with what I've accomplished.
Regarding the procedural side of things, since Monday I've grown a strain of yeast (SGY 102) which will be implanted with the specific plasmids from two bacterial strains (B181, B182) which I've extracted the DNA from and frozen for tomorrow's transformation.
Mostly what I've been doing this week is making myself anxious for the hardcore research I plan on doing upon our return from camp. I can't wait to have something more substantive to report to you all, including (dare I mention it) results!
Generally this week was slow in lab. My research involves a lot of tests that take hours or days to complete, so I spent most of my time setting up conditions for research after the Kentucky trip. I didn't get the full 20 hours in lab - again because there isn't much I can start and leave for a week - but considering my schedule, I'm pretty happy with what I've accomplished.
Regarding the procedural side of things, since Monday I've grown a strain of yeast (SGY 102) which will be implanted with the specific plasmids from two bacterial strains (B181, B182) which I've extracted the DNA from and frozen for tomorrow's transformation.
Mostly what I've been doing this week is making myself anxious for the hardcore research I plan on doing upon our return from camp. I can't wait to have something more substantive to report to you all, including (dare I mention it) results!
Monday, May 20, 2013
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
To anyone that wanted a better look at S. cerevisiae, here are some of my favorite picture of the yeast.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
My fellow McNair scholars
Rather than describe you all with a crayon color, song, or haiku, I'll just trust that you all know yourselves well enough to not need a summary and move on to talking about who I am and what I'm about - subjects you're all certain to be less familiar with.
To start simply, I'm Jayson. I hope you know that by now, but something you probably don't know is that it took me most of the semester to learn all of YOUR names. As the title of this blog has already stated, I drink coffee, read, occasionally research (although that occasionally is about to become a bit more confident given the start of SRI), and partake in a bunch of other human activities when I can. My research involves the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as you all know by now, and I'm specifically researching RNP formation in these guys when exposed to fermentation inhibitors (I'll probably post a link to my research proposal later). My mentor is Dr. Steve Gorsich, a great guy I look forward to getting to work with this summer.
I come from a city about an hour north of Detroit called Port Huron. As the name implies, Port Huron ("PoHo" as we Huronites aptly slander it) is rather amphibious running along a lake with rivers flowing through it and such, so that's what I'm used to. To be honest, I'm not liking being so far away from a lake this summer, but what Mt. Pleasant lacks in water, it makes up for in tortuous wind and painfully typical housing (that's all the criticism I have for the place, I swear).
Regarding our 2013 cohort, I struggle to find many criticisms of you guys, which is a rare thing for me. I thoroughly enjoy the time we spend together, and I look forward to watching all of you graduate with whatever sort of degree you find appropriate.
To start simply, I'm Jayson. I hope you know that by now, but something you probably don't know is that it took me most of the semester to learn all of YOUR names. As the title of this blog has already stated, I drink coffee, read, occasionally research (although that occasionally is about to become a bit more confident given the start of SRI), and partake in a bunch of other human activities when I can. My research involves the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as you all know by now, and I'm specifically researching RNP formation in these guys when exposed to fermentation inhibitors (I'll probably post a link to my research proposal later). My mentor is Dr. Steve Gorsich, a great guy I look forward to getting to work with this summer.
I come from a city about an hour north of Detroit called Port Huron. As the name implies, Port Huron ("PoHo" as we Huronites aptly slander it) is rather amphibious running along a lake with rivers flowing through it and such, so that's what I'm used to. To be honest, I'm not liking being so far away from a lake this summer, but what Mt. Pleasant lacks in water, it makes up for in tortuous wind and painfully typical housing (that's all the criticism I have for the place, I swear).
Regarding our 2013 cohort, I struggle to find many criticisms of you guys, which is a rare thing for me. I thoroughly enjoy the time we spend together, and I look forward to watching all of you graduate with whatever sort of degree you find appropriate.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)