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LizJ's picture

On Being a Scientist

Submitted by LizJ on Wed, 09/09/2009 - 11:47pm.
Paul Grobstein is one cool dude. Who knew science was so interesting? Who knew I was a scientist myself? I didn't, but Paul did. One of the many great quotes I heard in Tuesday's class was "Nothing a scientist says is true" (I wish I could go to my 10th grade biology teacher now and shove that in her face, but I will refrain). Anyway, I would love to see Grobstein and Roughgarden just duke it out sometime. Roughgarden obviously has many stories to tell, and I think she tells them quite well. I know people felt slightly offended by her occasional defensiveness, but I thought she was refreshing. She is writing from her point of view and she let's her audience know that, so good for her.
 
I like to think of myself as a free thinker, always open minded. I sure am glad I am this way because "Evolution's Rainbow" is taking my mind to places it never thought it would go. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at the word "category" ever again. It seems like such a dirty word now. Why would anyone want to categorize something? It just doesn't seem worth it to limit diversity by categorizing something. Humans are diverse. Why try to hide that?
 
My favorite example Roughgarden gives in her book is about the "Lesbian Lizards" or whiptail lizards. Even though, they are an all-female species that clonally reproduces, they still go through courtship. The all-female whiptail lizards court almost exactly the same way ordinary sexual species of American whiptail lizards do. That's so cool! So why do I like this example (aside from the fact Roughgarden titles this section "Lesbian Lizards")? I like this example because it further proves the fact that the ideas of "gender" and "sex" are human created categories. Knowing this, it gives me hope that in the future (maybe the far far future) these categories could be changed. Humans made the categories and therefore they can change them.

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