Technically today was the second class, but the first was taken up with surveys - three! - which B had students fill in so she could determine where we were at, as well as our general knowledge and attitude regarding science. (It can't be an easy job teaching chemistry at a liberal arts college!) I imagine I was the first person to answer the question Why are you interested in chemistry? this way: "Because physics seems to me like philosophy and biology like history, and my own work tries to bridge philosophy and history." Bet she had a good laugh!
Thursday, September 04, 2008
One second in
Have I mentioned that I'm taking a chemistry class this semester? Better late than never. (I never had chemistry in high school or college.) So I'm sitting in on my colleague and friend B's course "Chemistry of Life," an intro to chemistry for liberal arts students. Very exciting. Today we got an overview of the players in the emergence of life on earth, starting at the very beginning, with lots of pretty powerpoint slides and websites. Here's a picture from a NOVA website, "1 second after the big bang."
Technically today was the second class, but the first was taken up with surveys - three! - which B had students fill in so she could determine where we were at, as well as our general knowledge and attitude regarding science. (It can't be an easy job teaching chemistry at a liberal arts college!) I imagine I was the first person to answer the question Why are you interested in chemistry? this way: "Because physics seems to me like philosophy and biology like history, and my own work tries to bridge philosophy and history." Bet she had a good laugh!
Technically today was the second class, but the first was taken up with surveys - three! - which B had students fill in so she could determine where we were at, as well as our general knowledge and attitude regarding science. (It can't be an easy job teaching chemistry at a liberal arts college!) I imagine I was the first person to answer the question Why are you interested in chemistry? this way: "Because physics seems to me like philosophy and biology like history, and my own work tries to bridge philosophy and history." Bet she had a good laugh!
