April 15, 2006 - 21:22
Projects:
Earlier on in the semester, doug wrote
"I think the study of "emergence" can be seen as a luxury topic. People may see it as non-critical, and do not see it as a field of inquiry that will immediately solve real problems. (I beg to differ). I suspect that the few women and other underrepresented groups are attracted, first, to the major topics, and slowly diffuse into "fringe" areas."
This sentiment rang all too true to me. Emergence may attempt to explain and describe the physical world, but constructing computer models does not feel like solving everyday problems. It feels like playing games.
I didn't begin seriously studying science until college. And, four years later, I still find myself fighting my distaste for disciplines that feel so distanced from the rest of the world. It is sometimes hard to justify studying an obscure discipline. What is the value in studying emergence?
I found a great deal of solace in a blog post by a great blogger, Young Female Scientist. She writes
"One of the only things that keeps me in science is knowing- not wondering in the slightest, actually- that my project is something that I can do now, and that science will be better off than if I left. "
As the class winds down, I find that this is an extremely comforting thought. Our thoughts and contributions do matter. And even if we do not have the answers to emergence now, we have come closer. She adds
"There are plenty of examples of stories in science that got dropped for say, 30 years, and then picked back up again. Or 100 years."
We probably will drop the blog, more or less, but who knows if someone will stumble upon our musings, extrapolate a new conclusion and sketch out a discovery that turns into a breakthrough? Even tiny steps can further scientific knowledge.
Comments
Small Steps
Submitted by LauraKasakoff on April 16, 2006 - 21:11 Permalink
Unrelated to real life?
Submitted by DavidRosen on April 17, 2006 - 21:45 Permalink
Relevant?!
Submitted by Doug Blank on April 19, 2006 - 19:35 Permalink
I think the ideas of
Submitted by DavidRosen on April 20, 2006 - 01:02 Permalink
why does it matter (or not)?
Submitted by Kathy Maffei on April 18, 2006 - 13:53 Permalink
which?
Submitted by PaulGrobstein on April 18, 2006 - 17:03 Permalink
the need to defend one's work
Submitted by Kathy Maffei on April 19, 2006 - 08:02 Permalink
Perhaps...
Submitted by LauraKasakoff on April 19, 2006 - 13:31 Permalink
Obscurity?
Submitted by SunnySingh on April 19, 2006 - 09:36 Permalink