Hello, My name is Thomas Ward. I am from Alexandria, Virginia, and a recent graduate of Bishop Ireton High School. I took this course for several reasons. I think science is interesting and my counselor suggested it as a good class to take. I also believe that learning how to frame a question or issue is a good skill for any major. Finally, I didn’t want to take Spanish.

I am not a science major because I already have an idea of what I want to do. I want to be an accessibility specialist. I want to learn about systems that help people with disabilities gain access to information. While my education will have a science component, I really need classes across a lot of majors to be prepared for my career. I would like to eventually work somewhere like the Target Center at the USDA (http://www.targetcenter.dm.usda.gov/about-TARGET). The Target Center houses all of the assistive technologies available to federal government workers.

I am looking forward to this semester and learning how to better frame a research.

Hi, my name is Ryan Kusmira and I am currently a Senior here at Penn State. I am from a community south of the city of Pittsburgh called Bethel Park.  I am a huge sports fan, especially hockey. It was really exciting to see the Penguins win the Stanley Cup this past year! Anyways, I’m currently going to school to get a degree in Recreation Parks and Tourism management. If you’ve never heard of this major then please check out this link and see what it’s all about HERE. I had never heard of this major when I first stepped foot in Penn State, and many of you probably haven’t either. I am so happy I found this and I love my major. I needed to take another General Science class and my academic advisor recommended this one. She told me that it was much different than normal science classes and that everyone who she has recommended for this class really enjoyed it. So I figured why not give it a shot. This class already seems really interesting and I am really excited for this semester. There are many reasons why I am not a science major. To get started, I love science and nature, however I never wanted to pursue a career in it. I am a people person and wanted to find something where I’m able to interact with many people everyday. The major I am in now is group oriented and focuses on working together and is not all about exams. I really struggle on exams and this is one of the reasons I never wanted to be a science major. 

Hi! My name is Mansi Patel and I am a sophomore in Divison of Undergraduate Studies (an undecided major). I am from a small town in Bergen County, New Jersey about 30 minutes away from New York City. My mother is a psychiatrist and growing up I was sure I would become one as well and take over her practice. However, when I realized that going to medical school was required in order to become a psychiatrist, I became unsure if going to school for many more years and completing internship, residency, and fellowship were things that I wanted to do. After taking an honors biology class my freshman year of high school, I thought a science related career probably was not for me. After honors chemistry and honors physics, I became sure that a science related career was not for me. I performed poorly in all of these classes and just found the material too difficult to comprehend majority of the time. Though I definitely found it interesting, I found that I wasn’t fully understanding the material, just swallowing it and regurgitating. However, what I am particularly interested in is the study of behavior and the mind so I am considering majoring in psychology, which is in the Liberal Arts college. There is a constant debate over whether or not psychology is a social science or a hard science. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/jul/13/news/la-ol-blowback-pscyhology-science-20120713 This is an article discussing why psychologists are not necessarily scientists. There is BS (Bachelor of Science) and BA (Bachelor of the Arts) for Psychology, so I am leaning more towards a BA in Psychology because there are no science related classes for this major.

Hey SC200!

My name is Grace Walker and I’m from Long Island, New York. I was born and raised on Long island and I’m grateful for that because of the 15 minute ride to any beach and the 45 minute ride to the big apple. I came to PSU because of the schools pride in their football, academics and to slowly branch away from my over bearing parents. Before I committed to this school I had only been here twice. Once to take a tour that I missed so it involved my mom walking around in a poncho when it wasn’t raining and her asking random people where all of the buildings were. The second time was for NSO which was definitely an experience. I had never tried the creamery and never gone downtown before last week…I know its shocking. After my first week of classes and as the first football game is slowly approaching I know that this school was meant for me because of the pride that it has.

I’m currently a Freshman and in the Division of Undergraduate Studies. Unlike most students I fell into this major because I’m not afraid to admit that I have NO idea what I want to do. As long as it does not involve science, then I’m up to try it. The reason that I am not a science major is because I was scarred from my high school science teachers. Not only were they brutally strict but they were so fascinated by what would go on during the labs. Watching microscopic things squiggle around was not interesting to me. The thought of an entire major to doing labs and dissecting things does not sound appealing to me.

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I am doing this course because my academic advisor recommended it. I’m interested in all of the lessons that have been taught and I’m curious to see all of the science that we learn to answer the questions asked. I am also staying in this course because I love Australian accents and I wish I had one. This Michael Scott meme describes my opinion of science and also my love for the Office. I can promise you that no one loves the office more than me. If you, like me, would like to learn how to speak with an Australian accent follow this link

Hello, my name is Wesley Ogino.  Oxford, Pennsylvania is a small town in southeastern PA that I call home.  To give some perspective on where Oxford resides, I can leave my home and be in Maryland in five minutes, or be in Delaware in fifteen minutes.  I am a freshman in the Division of Undergraduate Students, trying to find a major that actually seems interesting.  I have the motivation and want to do big things, but I’m just waiting for something to really catch my eye.  In my free time I really enjoy to snowboard.  I’ve been snowboarding since I was just a wee lad at four years old.  The sport gives me a reason to actually look forward to the temperature being under 32 degrees.  There is a science behind snowboarding that I do not comprehend, even though I put it into action every time I head down the mountain.  Here, I learned how snowboarding works in the eyes of someone who knows their physics.  Now you can learn too.  To me personally, they just made snowboarding sound too complicated.

Why didn’t I become a science major?  Maybe, it’s because I took biology my freshman year and absolutely hated it.  Maybe it’s because I had chemistry my sophomore year and I also hated it.  Science has never appealed to me…at all.  I’ll be honest, I didn’t even give physics a shot.  Oh, and I forgot to mention that I’m pitiful at math.  The often present correlation between math and science scares me away from any major that would require me to be adequate at both.  I wish I was a genius when it comes to these subjects, but unfortunately I was not blessed with a math and science brain.

So, here I am in SC200.  At NSO, the adviser who aided me in the course selection led me to this course.  While looking for a General Education course, the adviser basically shot down every class I considered taking because he knew it wouldn’t interest me enough.  Finally, he told me to search for this class and read the course description.  I was set on taking SC200 as soon as I learned what it was about it.  I’m very excited for the topics we will be covering, as just reading through the schedule had me intrigued.  I can’t wait to see the entirety of what the class holds in the future.

I am a huge fan of The Office, so here is Michael Scott showing what went through my head when I looked at my first chem test in high school.

And here is a link to various “Science for Dummies” instructional books.  If you’re anything like me, they might come in handy.

Hi,

My name is Hannah Curran and I’m from Los Angeles, California. I am a freshman in the Division of Undergraduate Studies, but i plan to transfer to the Smeal College of Business. In order to achieve the requirements to get into my major, I must maintain a certain GPA, and since science is a requirement, but it does not interest me in the slightest, here I am in SC 200.

For as long as I can remember, I have never enjoyed science or seen myself in a profession that has anything to do with science. The only “science” thing that has ever interested me is Grey’s Anatomy (and I’m not even sure that really counts). I’m not sure if my lack of interest in science is due to a lack of engaging science teachers or if the material just never interested me in the first place. The one thing I know for sure is that as much as i would love to love science, given its endless possibilities, it is not for me. I am excited for this class more than i have ever been for another science class because the topics are interesting and it involves critical thinking instead of memorization.

Hello! Hola! Bonjour! I am, Jovian Osborne, Jovi is preferred.

I am a senior majoring in Advertising and Public relation Communications, minoring in a new minor DMTA (Digital Media Trends and Analytics). Although I attend Penn State; I am a “city-girl” from northern New Jersey and passionate about fashion. I am a former Style Guru fashion blogger for a company based in NYC CollegeFashionista.
Besides my love for fashion, I am a lover for all things Advertising, media and pop culture. My goal is to work for one of the top fortune 500 magazine companies, GQ, as a creative director. Once accomplished, I would like to construct my own brand as an entertainment stylist. As well as, becoming CEO of my own multi-specialized Public Relation firm.

So, why this science course? Well, in order for me to succeed in my career I must first obtain a degree. Science is a required course and my adviser, recommended me to take science 200. Majority of the students she knows enjoy and pass the class. So, here I am.

With that being said I never enjoyed science nor’ have had interest in becoming a Scientist. I like to think of myself as a creative and science doesn’t scream creativity. Its main focus are theories and hypotheses. In my opinion, science is something you “do” its something you learn. In contrary, to fashion and communications which allows you to express yourself.
I never thought Fashion and Science would correlate until I read this post A Fushion between Fashion & Science. This article explains how fashion is a science of appearance. I thought it was pretty cool and think you guys should check it out.

-Jovian Osborne

Over the past couple of months there have been multiple times when I’ve been asked what my major is and I have felt like a less capable student. I am undecided and I still am not any closer to figuring out what I want to major in.  I never excelled in math or science. Both of these subjects were a struggle for me throughout all of high school. I realized these subjects just weren’t for me; I don’t understand or enjoy them. I’m not a science major because it’s not something I enjoy or would even be good at.

I am taking this course for two simple reasons. The main reason I am taking it, is to satisfy the gen ed requirement. Another reason is after reading the description of the course I thought it would be interesting and help me make me think more critically.

I love coffee and drink it every day, so I could relate to this article and thought it was interesting. http://www.iol.co.za/scitech/science/news/need-coffee-its-in-your-genes-2061361

Hey guys, my name is Brendan Mironov. I am a junior in The Smeal College of Business studying finance. I was born in Edmonton, Alberta which is located in western Canada, (cold, very cold) but I spent most of my middle and high school days in Miami, Florida. (warm, very warm) My parents were both born in Russia, and I speak Russian fluently. My father played hockey earlier in his life, which might explain why I moved all over the place growing up. Here is a picture of my dad and I, 17 years ago.  I am a huge sports fan and I love my Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers, Miami Dolphins, and Miami Heat.

I am taking SC 200 this semester because I love to think. I enjoy classes that stimulate my thinking, make me look at things from a different perspective, and ask why, not classes where I memorize flashcards for a multiple choice test. From what I hear, that is exactly what SC 200 is.

I loved science as a kid in grade school. It was fun. We made tornadoes in soda bottles and looked at videos of rockets. As a 10 year old kid, it doesn’t get much better than that. Plus, nothing was better than having Bill Nye roll into your classroom on Monday morning.    

As I grew older and entered high school, science became boring for me. It no longer made me think and wonder why. Instead, science became intimidating with a bunch of confusing words that I could not pronounce, let alone understand. Because of these reasons, I decided to steer away from a science major. I am hoping SC 200 will bring out the 10 year old kid in me and show me that science can still be fun.

Hi SC200, my name is Anthony LoPresti and I am from Montgomery, New Jersey. I am a freshman in DUS. I played baseball and football in high school and I am planning on joining a club baseball team here. The reason I took this class was because I needed to take a science class and I hate anything that has to do with physics, biology, or chemistry. ” Certainty and Controversy ” sounds like it has nothing really to do with the topics I listed before. In high school, I did okay in high school but I had basically n o interest in the class. I decided to try chemistry honors the following year which was probably the worst mistake I’ve made. I realized that I hate Chemistry and am very bad at it. My junior year I took biology and I still did not like it but it was my favorite out of the 3. Another reason I took this course was because

I would never consider being a science major because it was by far worst subject in high school. I am currently undecided, as I said before, but I am thinking about going down a path in business. My top two picks to major in are finance and economics but I am still not a hundred percent sure. The reason I am choosing a business path because I really working with numbers. I liked Algebra in high school but I also took pre-calculus which I hated  but still, I like numbers so I am most likely headed down a business path.

The only aspect about science that interest me is the history of the universe and what other forms of live could be out there. I’ve heard about a couple really good shows that talk about these topics: Through the Wormhole and Cosmos

Hello there! I am Savannah Stalnaker, and I am a psychology major. Psychology is technically a science, or rather a scientific study of the brain and behavior. My goal is to become a clinical psychologist, where I want to help people cope with mental illnesses as a therapist. At first, I thought I might want to be a counseling psychologist, but they do not typically work with mentally ill people, instead they help people transition through life. The two overlap heavily, but I want to use my skills to help people and I wish to study mental disorders.

So why would I take this course when it really does not correlate with psychology all that often? Well, I am not very interested in chemistry, and while I enjoyed physics in high school that was one of the hardest classes I have ever taken and I got my fill in on momentum and calculating the force of gravity the moon has on a 102 kg child on earth. I am done with that.

However, I enjoy debates, and the class description I read during orientation sounded very open-discussion based, and more so discussing theories rather than spewing out facts in a monotone voice for over an hour, the only other sound being pencils on paper and the occasional cough or sneeze. I am interested in the topics we are discussing in class, and I feel like this course will actually help me in life rather than knowing how to calculate how far away a ball of a certain weight would land from the base of the cliff of a particular height if you were to stand on top of it and throw the object with a specific velocity.

Hi, my name is Sean and I’m from Fresno, California. You’ve probably never heard of this place and really the only thing notable about it is that the quarterback for the oakland Raiders graduated from Fresno State. But other than that its nothing special. I came to Penn State to study in the Smeal College of Business and major in Finance. I am taking this course mainly because in the description it said that this course was not intended for Science majors, but it would still fulfill my GenEd requirement for science. That sounded like the perfect class for me so I signed up for it. I am not planning to be a science major because of my junior year honors chemistry class. Going into this class I was interested in chemistry because I wanted to learn how different elements reacted with each other. I can remember making dry ice bombs with my friends, kind of like this, and wondering why it worked the way it did (it blows up at around 1:19 if you’re interested). Or when my biology teacher lit his table on fire and it just went out peacefully without catching the building on fire. These were the things that had me interested in science. But once honors chemistry started my interest in chemistry quickly faded. My teacher told us that in order to get a good grade in the class we would essentially have to get a good grade on every test and lab for the whole year. And once she started teaching, chemistry went from learning how things interact with each other to simply doing boring and complex math problems. I felt like I had no idea what was going on every time I stepped into class.

I barely pulled out a B in this class and the experience finalized my decision to major in Finance. I still remain interested in science and I realize its vast importance in today’s society, but I no longer have any interest in pursuing it as a career.

Hi SC200! My name is Daniella Cappello and you guessed it, I am not a fan of science. i am from Central NJ and have been dancing since the age of two. Like many of you, I am enrolled in this class to get a general science out of the way. To be honest I did not know what this class entailed until the first day and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It was relieving to find out I will not be suffering through a lab or memorizing the planets.

Although science and I do not typically get along, I always find myself questioning different aspects of science. For example, is there a cure to cancer? Do aliens exist? Questions like these and many others constantly circle in my head which is why I am actually looking forward to discussing them in class.

Now as I mentioned earlier, I will not be digging deep into science for my major. When I am dancing I feel as though I am able to conquer the world. While in science I feel confused and out of place.

Heyy, Penn Stater! I’m Huang Yinghui from China. This is my first year in PSU and SC200 is my first GN class taken in Penn State. The only reason I chose this sounded boring course is my advisor’s strong recommendation. To be honest, my original thought is that just go to the first class, if it doesn’t go well, then drop it. Fortunately, I didn’t give up before I tried. Andrew is quite a unique teacher. He introduces obscure scientific knowledge with vivid explanation. Now I choose to stay in SC200 with all of you. : ) An interesting phenomenon I found in class is that not like other classes I’ve taken, this class has few Asian. This may be a good sign that helps me get involved in the class and adapt to the culture shock as soon as possible.

Talking about why I’m definitely not major in Science is that science is always followed by strict rules and regulations. I hate things which have to be repeatedly done like memorizing formulas. Overall, science is too serious for me. I’m currently in DUS and plan to enroll in Smeal School of Business. But who knows, the only thing doesn’t change is change itself; I may change my mind to major in Science in the future after finishing SC200.

The following is the video that Andrew showed part of it to us in the very first class. It’s TED called ‘The bugs are getting smarter. Are we?’ Hope you can enjoy it all. Happy SC200!!!

Class 2016 view 2

Why you are doing this course?

SC, science’s controversy and certainty, refers to people’s critical thinking about current science. Before I took this class, and I was in high school, I have a thought that many findings in the world now is magic. I mean nature is attractive for human, and scientists have given the reliable definitions or guess for all of the known findings such as Bermuda, aliens, and pyramids. Relying on scientific explanations, researchers make the nature more obvious for human’s curiosity.

When I was young, my parents and teachers told me that if I want to declare the things what makes me interest, I need to read books to get more knowledge. Unfortunately, the book’s knowledge is confusing for me at that time, and there is no science class in middle school and high school. It means I have no opportunity to group talking with my classmates about science questions which makes me confusing but curious. In addition, I want to share my thoughts, maybe absurd, to others who can solve it for me, and at that time, I have made a decision that I will achieve my science dream in the future.

As soon as I study in penn state, I search the class that relate to science, and I find SC200 class in surprised, because SC 200 class is not only  just relating to natural science, but also teaching us how to use critical thinking to judge current science. For my perspective, science is not just phenomenon, if I want to focus on it. Science need to be discussed, and it should have bilateral aspects. There is no absolute positive or negative science thing in the world, and people ought to use brain to think it. In the meantime, after logical thinking, getting your own reliable opinion.

What’s more, my friends who are one year older than me told me that professor Andrew is knowledge, friendly, and humorous. After their semester on SC200 class were told by professor Andrew, they said science seems more interesting and available for them. For me, professor is same important like content of class, because a humorous professor will have better influence on student than boring professor, and after three classes on SC200, I holds my view that professor Andrew is a great professor what I expect.

In the conclusion, these reasons prompt me to take SC200 course in the first year, and I believe that in this class, I can contact much fascinating science phenomenon, comprehend useful thinking skills about science, and know how to solve questions from professor Andrew.

Why you are not planning to be a science major

Nowadays, I don’t really want to major in science because I prefer making contact with people than with theories, experiments and statistics. Science is a rigorous subject that requires patience and preciseness. However, I am fond of flexible subjects like business. I find that doing experiments and analyzing data can usually be tiring for me. When choosing a major, I assert that I should take personality into consideration. I am not the kind of students who are meticulous about science and always eager to devote themselves to scientific research. Instead, I have passion in business field. As far as I am concerned, a large number of students dream of becoming scientists when they grow up but I don’t think of that now. Admittedly, science can be a incredible major for some students . I just prefer committing myself in other fields. I am not rigorous enough to consider science problem, and I believe as a university student I should learn some basic science knowledge but I don’t want to take science major because of my personality.

Link: Like what I mention above that Bermuda, aliens, and pyramids are magic for human. Clicking here to see videos about these phenomenon.

Hello everyone my name is Owen Hawk I’m from Bethlehem, PA and I go to the greatest school in the U.S. I love everything about this place, i guess thats why they call it Happy Vally. Im in the PGM program and let me explain that since I have to every time I tell someone. PGM stands for Professional Golf Management and before you ask, Yes it is actually a major. I got my first real taste of science in middle school, and I enjoyed it because I had a great teacher. He talked about the things I wanted to learn about like space and aliens. Then I hit High School and science was absolutely ruined for me. Nothing but keeping your head in the book and memorizing formulas, and don’t even get me started on the teachers. My spark with science was relit when I was told about Andrew’s science class. It was described as the look in science that I actually enjoy. I  instantly signed up for the class. I knew it was a great way to knock and credits and avoid a science class that was all about keeping your face in a book. 

The reason I am not a science major is for the love I have with the game of Golf. I wanted a career where I could wake up everyday and go to work at a golf course. They say, “If you love what you do you never work a day in your life.” I love this quote, this is what I want to be able to say one day. With the PGM program that is where I’m heading without a doubt.

Although we have only had a few classes I can tell I made the correct decision joining Andrew’s science class. I mean we got to chose the topics we get to talk about! You show me another class offered here at Penn State that you can do this at. Im so excited to learn and talk about all the interesting topics we gave to Andrew. I’m definitely looking forward to talking about anything in space. That is my favorite topic in all of science. I sometimes catch myself just getting lost while staring into the stars and wondering what could be out there. One of my friends back home had a telescope and I could spend hours on hours just looking at stars and if I was lucky a plant. One of my favorite movies of all time is Interstellar. If you haven’t seen it yet first off, what are you doing with your life? Second, go watch it right now. This movie will absolutely get your mind thinking. After you watch it the first time, the secret is to watch it a second time to pick up on the things you missed and trust me there is stuff you will miss.

Here is a link to purchase Interstellar its a must watch.

http://www.vudu.com/movies/#!content/608646/Interstellar

Hello SC 200, I am Arunima Sthapak, a freshman studying in the Smeal College of Business, working towards a finance major. I was born and brought up in India, however, I have been living in Hong Kong for the past four years.
Up until the time of applications in my senior year of high school, I was debating between choosing Engineering or Finance as my major in university. I have always had an inclination towards science, as a result of which I pursued AP Physics in my junior year. Unfortunately, I came to know that I wasn’t very good at it. I did great on the Math portions but had a hard time with the concepts. So I decided to give up on the idea of engineering and moved towards a major in the field of economics. It was a subject that I both liked and was good at (seemed like the most practical option).
As for this course, I chose it because one, I needed the credit and two because it gave me a way to stay connected with my interest in science without having to deal with the very technical stuff. I am particularly fascinated with the science behind outer space. What it’s like outside of our galaxy, is it possible to have a parallel universe?

One of the most interesting things that I just saw has to do with the facial expressions of the sun. From the looks of it, it seems as though the sun has an anxious looking expression, but as we dig deeper, it can all be explained by the sun’s magnetic field and solar activity. Is the sun really nervous?

Other than outer space I also have quite an interest in answering questions about the origins of things. I took a world history course in high school and simply loved knowing the history of mankind, from Lucy to Donald Trump. How did we get here? With the same fascination, I love learning about the origins of other things in our world. Earth, plants, technology, I’d like to know the history and science behind them all. So that’s why I chose this course. Seeing that we don’t have a fixed syllabus I’m hoping that we will get to touch on some of the topics that fascinate me.