Daily Archives: August 27, 2016

At Least It’s Not Engineering

 

Hey everyone! My name is Sarah Read and I’m a freshman this semester here at University Park! Probably the first thing people should know about me is that I’m a military brat.  I’ve been moving around the country (and the world) my whole life.  This move to State College is move number 14 for me.  My current hometown though, is West Point, New York!  For those of you who haven’t heard of West Point before, it is the home of the United States Military Academy and is located about an hour up the Hudson River from NYC.  A lot of people ask me if I considered going to West Point and entering into the Army.  The thought of going did, in fact, cross my mind.  It wasn’t until I made some friends with female cadets that I considered it though.  Here is an article about the women of West Point and how the dynamics have changed over recent years. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/09/04/magazine/women-of-west-point.html?_r=0

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I’m a Childhood and Early Adolescent Education major, and I’m not planning on teaching science.  I figured when putting together my schedule that SC200 would be a good option to take as a happy middle for a non-science major like myself.  My advisor recommended it over meteorology, so here I am! Science and I are tolerant of each other–some types of science more so than others.  For example, physics and I didn’t ever click, but I ended up getting credit for AP Environmental Science so that’s something!

After this past week of SC200, I have already become much more interested in the course material and in science itself than I was a week ago.  I really look forward to learning about the answer to some of these fascinating questions that are listed on the course schedule!

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Hello everyone, my name is Alex Schaefer. I’m from Fairfax, Virginia which is about half an hour outside of DC. I wrestled and played rugby all throughout high school, and I’m also the oldest of seven. I also plan on majoring in supply chain management and minoring in Chinese. I’m very excited to attend this course with all of you. I chose business over science because it comes to me naturally and interests me more than science at this point.

Science never really was a problem for me, however that is because it was all memorization and no critical thinking. I never had fun learning science, but I can see Andrew is going to change that this year. What stood out to me most during the first two classes is what Andrew said about critical thinking. To me that’s the most interesting way to learn. Rarely have I ever had to apply critical thinking to science, but almost every question I get in my SCM or Econ class I have here to apply critical thinking. I believe this class will open my mind to be scientifically inclined to answer questions. There are so many questions in science to think about, and to be quite honest we barely touched science in high school.

We all know and love Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad. I hope to feel the same way about science as he does in this picture.  A topic that interests me greatly, partly because of the movie Interstellar, is if it is possible to find another planet that has the ability to support human life. I don’t recall the name of the planet that we discussed in class on Thursday, but here is an article in depth on a possibly habitable world about 16 light years away. I hope you all enjoy it!

Science is Not for Me

Hi everyone! My name is Maggie Marchok and I am a sophomore here at Penn State. I am from a small town about 45 minutes north of Philadelphia called Washington Crossing, PA. I am currently in DUS, but hopefully by the end of this year I will be in the Smeal School of Business as a Supply Chain Management major. Like many of my fellow business majors, I am not a science person at all.

This article pretty much sums up why I do not like science and why I am not planning on majoring in it. Aside from the first reason listed, the last four hit the nail right on the head. Science is a dark and complicated subject. As someone who always looks on the bright side of things, I often find science to be pessimistic and therefore I do not like it. I also find it to be extremely hard to understand. Complex math equations and high-level reasoning really aren’t my thing. Therefore, pursuing a degree in such a field really isn’t up my ally. I want to major in something that I know I can excel at and something that I know I will enjoy. Unfortunately, science is not that something that I am talking about.

Even though I am not the biggest fan of science, I still have an appreciation for it. I recognize the fact that without science, we wouldn’t have things like electricity, knowledge of outer space, modern medicine, or a multitude of other important things. Therefore, I see great value in taking some sort of class where I can learn the basics of science without delving too deep into the matter. That is exactly why Science 200 is the class for me. I will be able to learn the basics of science through some very cool topics, such as “Does prayer heal?” or “Where does evil come from?”

Most science classes cover topics about biology, physics, and a plethora of other complex topics. However, this course  provides me with an opportunity to gain a better understanding of science through some very interesting topics. For once in my life, I am actually excited to take a science course! I am really looking forward to this semester.

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Initial Blog Post

Hey everyone! My name is Claudia Hatch and I am a freshman here at Penn State. I am from a town just outside of Portland called Oregon City, Oregon. I also share time at my dad’s house in Boring, OR. Yes that is the actual name of the town, I am not trying to bash on my home state. I am a Broadcast Journalism major in the College of Communications, and I plan to minor in music. I am the oldest of 8 siblings (three of whom are step siblings) and so far I am loving it here.

I wanted to take this class because I am not a fan of science, especially when it comes to chemistry and biology. I heard this class was for people who were interested in how science relates to things in our everyday lives, and it sounded fun. I mean I was thinking if I could get away with finishing my undergrad studies without having to take a biology or chem class, I’d take it. However, I am happy with this course so far. It really seems like it is going to be a fun class! It is nice that we get to ask questions and sort of determine what is taught in class and what we want to learn. Building off of that I am not a science major because in high school science was hard for me, and I just did not find it interesting. I, like others have said, am just more interested in pursuing other majors. I really want to go into sports broadcasting, which is why I chose to attend this school, and I also am interested in pursuing music.

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This picture pretty much sums up how I felt about science in the k-12 system. I look forward to actually learning science in a fun, relatable way,instead of just reading and filling out worksheets  to get a grade.

Here is a cool, informative story on how vaccines work.. for all of you who had to get a shot before coming to school. Go check it out!

See you all again in class Tuesday!

Define “science”

Hi everybody, my name’s Meaghan Simone, I’m a freshman currently majoring in Graphic Design. I’m from Long Island, NY which is a good 4.5 hours from here. What’s so cool about Long Island, you ask? Well, other than beaches, some 3 star hibachi restaurants, and an abundance of car dealerships the answer is: nothing. Which is why being so far away is kind of a blessing.

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What brought me to SC 200? In all honesty, the environmental science class times just didn’t work with mine. Then I actually read through the course description and realized it was by far the most interesting and challenging class I had found, and it just seemed really cool to me. It didn’t fit the standard definition of “science” that we learned in school (just know the facts and definitions if you wanna pass), and I just really need a class where my brain can actually do something. Naturally, this turned into the perfect class for me.

Why is the artsy-fartsy kid not a scientist but in a science class? I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to be one. I really do love science (specifically the kind of science this class has to offer), since I was a little kid, but in the end my passion for art takes gold. Needless to say, looking at this class is making my love for science grow a lot more, and it’s making me feel the same excitement and passion for it i had when I was little. You know what REALLY sealed the deal? The fact that one of our teachings is “Do Aliens visit Earth?” WHO DOESN’T LOVE ALIENS?!? Anyway, here is a link to one of my favorite alien cases. Live long and prosper guys, can’t wait to get to know all of you 🙂

Science? More like magic

Hi, my name is Michael Garawitz. I am from Short Hills, New Jersey. I am about 30 minutes from New York City. I am currently a freshmen in the Division of undergraduate studies. I plan to transfer into the Business School and plan to major in economics or accounting.

During my orientation, I decided that I wanted to take a few classes that were vastly different than what I intend to major in. I wanted to try something out thats new. As I was reading about the classes, they all seemed incredibly boring. I knew I didn’t want to study the middle ages again, or learn about Greek and Roman history for the hundredth time. I saw this class and the course description caught my eye. “A science class for students who do not want to be scientists”. That sounded interesting. I kept reading and it said that I didn’t need any prior knowledge of anything regarding science. For a one semester course, I don’t mind trying something new. Before I begin to have all my classes focused around my major, I definitely wanted to take some cool and interesting classes. I actually found an interesting article that is related to what we will be learning in this class. You can find it here http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/10/141031-zombies-parasites-animals-science-halloween/.

I don’t hate science, however I am just not a huge fan of it. I never have been in High School. I just don’t find learning about organisms and species and genes to be very interesting. I would much rather learn about politics or the economy. I realize that science is important and I am grateful that there are people who actually like it. But, I’m not one of those people.

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My major is golf

I’m Rob MacPherson and I’m from Boston, Massachusetts.  Like most of us I am a freshman at Penn state UP and I started in the summer which helped in somewhat getting a feel for college. My major is Professional golf management which is in RPTM.  Coming to Penn state was a shot in the dark for me because I didn’t really know anyone personally that had been here before but all I knew was that they had a golf major which is wicked cool. I heard that I had a class on the golf course and that’s when I sealed the deal. Three credits to play golf. Dope. Then I realized I had to get in to the school which I was sure about since they made me wait half the damn year for a decision. But it worked, so it’s good and now I’m here, in a class of an absurd amount of people  with a professor with a semi cool accent learning about science. The bottom line is I am in this class because back when I was scheduling my classes I was told that this is the one I would least likely fall asleep in. I was down for that considering I wanted to make the most of my parents money goi towards school and not fall asleep in class. The second part of the bottom line is that I don’t want to be a science major not because I don’t like science but because I just don’t think in depth enough most of the time. I don’t always question stuff as much as I should and stop thinking before I get an answer. I hope to change that in this class but that is one reason I probably can’t major in science. If there’s one thing I want to learn about in class it is probably something that’s related to golf just because I want to learn about something that I’m going to need in the long run and I am interested specifically in. That being said here is a live link to a sports science clip,                                            imagehttp://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=10737949

My Relationship with Science

Hi everyone! My name is Tina Locurto and I am a Sophomore. I’m from Somers, New York, which is a very small town in Westchester County. I often tell people I live in the same county as where the X-Men live, which is something that always makes people laugh (and also provides for a great conversation starter).

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I am in the College of Communications, and I plan to major in Journalism with a minor in either English or Art.  I decided to take this course because I needed one more science class to fulfill a general education requirement. I also choose it because this class seemed genuinely interesting though, and not typical of a normal science class.

Which leads me to answering why I am not planning to be a science major.

I have a fairly complicated relationship with science. Growing up I honestly loved it, and enjoyed participating in the various experiments our class would conduct. For a while, I wanted to work with animals and be either a Veterinarian or Marine Biologist. Things definitely changed when I entered high school and realized math and science are two subjects that I absolutely despised. My science classes in high school were your typical science classes— where you have to cram for exams and remember complicated formulas and scientific equations— and if you don’t remember them you failed the class. I wish science classes in high school were taught differently, but I guess the teachers are just teaching us what is mandatory by state through the common core. I found this New York Times article about the Common Core that I found very interesting, and describes how the Common Core is hurting students across the country.

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Hey everyone, my names Daniel Lehecka and I’m a freshman currently pursuing a finance major at Smeal.  I’m from the suburbs north of Pittsburgh, and I went to a high school called North Allegheny.  If anyone is from Pittsburgh, you probably know exactly where I’m talking about.

So what brings me to SC 200 then, how did this business major with absolutely NO intention to ever do anything science related for a professional career end up in an oversized lecture hall with all of you?  I guess you could call it luck, fate, or pure magic.  This class was not a part of my schedule until the AP scores came out, I originally had Econ 102 as my 5th class.  But we got the scores back, I dropped out of Econ and went looking for a Gen-Ed.  After a lot of emails with my academic advisor (sorry Sarah) I decided that I should go looking for a Science gen ed so I could just get some of those credits out of the way.  I looked on lionpath and saw a whopping 2 options in front of me, Science 200 with very few seats left in the class, or an intro to biology.  I moved that mouse as fast as possible to get myself into this class, and now here I am.  Speaking of this class, I found an article that pertains pretty well to what we talked about in class Thursday which can be found here.

So why then don’t I like Science?  I’m not sure that it’s so much I dislike science as it is I like every other subject more.  Learning science in a public school is like eating pizza at a gluten free restaurant, it’s just not a fun experience.  I’m not interested in chemistry, physics was just a complicated mess and I almost failed out of anatomy.  In fact, I dropped AP chem after 3 days because the room was cold and dark.

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Do I inherently hate science, I guess no.  But would I like to spend as little time in a science class as possible?  You better believe it.

Hi class, my name is Mike Lupo and I am a freshman here at Penn State. I’m from Holmdel, New Jersey which is about 4 hours from here. Its located centrally in New Jersey so I am only about 20 minutes from the nearest beach which is nice in the summer. I am currently enrolled in DUS, but would like to study finance or economics down the road. When I was scheduling my classes with my advisor, I first wanted to select all of the required classes for an intended business path. After those classes were squared away I was able to pick an elective that intrigued me. Science is everywhere in our world and that is interesting to me. Weather it be the makeup of the solar system all the way down to sports science, it is such broad topic that everyone should be able to find an area that peaks their interest. When reading the course overview, this class seemed to hit on all areas of science that do interest me. Unlike chemistry where a lot of it is memorization or math, SC200 allows you to think critically and not have to be burdened with knowing how to do stoichiometry or significant figures. I am looking forward to the topics discussed in this class after receiving the schedule and feel that this class will keep me interested throughout the entire semester.

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I am not planning to be a science major for multiple reasons. The first is that I absolutely hate chemistry. I not only do not understand it but I also don’t find it interesting in any way. I struggled with it on the high school level, so I can only imaging the problems I would have here with the higher level Chem classes. Another reason is that I have always been interested in the business field and was set on my major being business related before I was even done with high school. My father was a finance major and loves his job, so that probably helped sway me towards a degree in either finance or economics. Although parts of science do interest me, I don’t love it enough as a whole to pursue it as a major. However, I am very eager to get going in SC200 and see what this class has to offer. It seems unlike any other science class I have ever taken and Andrew seems like a great teacher. When looking over the class schedule one of the topics that jumped out at me was “do fish feel pain?” I found that topic interesting because growing up near the beach, you always see people fishing. Even tough I’ve been exposed to fishing a lot in my life, I never really thought about weather or not a fish feels pain when it gets hooked. This led me to an interesting article which can be found HERE which goes into further detail about the kind of pain fish feel in relation to the kind of pain humans feel.

I Love Science…Sike.

Hey Everyone!

My name is Jeremy Perdomo, and I suppose I should start off by saying that I am a Freshman in the Smeal College of Business; more specifically, I am an aspiring Accounting major.

I guess to avoid an awkward introduction, I am expected to follow the normalcy of social standards and tell you guys a little bit about myself, so here it goes; I am Dominican and Ecuadorean and come from a small town in The Poconos called East Stroudsburg, which is actually a little less than three hours away from State College. Consequently, I graduated from East Stroudsburg High School North, and could not be more proud to be a Timberwolf!

Click here if you want to be directed to the website of my high school, although I know, according to statistics, the majority of you could not care less.

While attending this school, I was extremely involved in extracurriculars, ranging from being captain of the Varsity Tennis Team (click here to learn about the science behind a tennis serve) to being head of the Speech and Debate Club. However, I still remained one of the top students in my class and graduated in the top five percent of my nearly three-hundred student body.

Growing up, I was always extremely invested in my family, and I could not be more grateful for having them in my life! They never failed to support me and all my endeavors, and when my friends were not around to lift me up, I knew I could always count on them. Thus, I grew very close with my parents, especially my mother. Want to see a picture of us with the Snapchat Dog Filter? I gotchu.

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I am enrolled in this course mainly because my academic advisor highly recommended it to me, although, after careful consideration and extensive research (stalking) of the professor, I agreed that I should give it a try:) To be completely honest with myself, at one point in my life, I was determined to major in Biology; however, after I thought about it and did more research,  I realized that it was mad work, so I said “Sike!” and now I’m happily here.

I am not planning to major in Science for a majority of reasons, but the greatest is because I no longer have an insatiable interest in it, which is almost an essential part of anyone’s education. After taking all the science classes in my high school, I came to the realization that this was not something I wanted to be spending the rest of my life learning about. It morphed from something that I could not learn enough about to a topic that I so eagerly avoided.

Anyways, this is the end of my blog; sorry I am kind of boring on the internet; I promise you that I am actually very lit in real life! If you see me, say “What’s up?” please!

 

Science…Fun…Doubtful!

 


Hello my fellow classmates of SC 200, fall 2016, I am Mya Avant. It is my first year attending Penn State, and previous to moving to State College I lived in two different places. The first place being Delaware, where which I lived in a very suburban area. I moved to South Jersery in 3rd grade. I moved to a very small community, where which everyone knew everyone, and you had to drive 40 minutes to go do anything significantly fun (i.e. movies, mall, dinner, etc.). As much as I loved being able to have what felt like family around me there were many down sides to living there. One which made me have a strong distaste for science. In high school I had a science teacher who although very kind ruined science for me. Not only did he never explain the real life ties to science when he taught, he flat out rarely taught in his classes. This lead me to believe that…

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… in which science is fun.  Thus, I am not a science major.

   I’m taking this course to challenge this thought process of mine. I knew that a large reason I hated science was because I didn’t see how it related to me, and so I’m hoping this class, that is fully based on science in our world, can somehow intrigue me. I am taking this course to give science a second chance because perhaps it’s not science that is the issue but the educational system itself. By this I mean that the structure in which we learn may be fractured, and this may be why we don’t enjoy it. So I ask you all to take a look at this Ted Talk, that made me think of education differently, and give your opinion on what is being stated. Do schools kill creativity?

Why I am not in Love with Science

Why I am not in Love with Science

 

Hello everyone! My name is Asaad Al-Busaidi. I am from a country in the Middle East called Oman. I am in the Smeal College of Business. One reason for doing this course is because my intended major is Finance, which is also related to science in some ways. For example, a financial Manager in a petroleum development company needs to at least have a broad knowledge in petrol to make better decisions about many financial aspects such as investments. In addition to the relation between Finance and science, I became interested in Genetics since I was at high school because of my experience in aviculture. Not only did I love Genetics but I also tried to apply it in my experience in aviculture, as I used to study Genetics, mutation particularly, to help me have a better understanding of the world of birds and their colors and to breed birds with specific desirable colors. Also, I love science because it gives explanations for many things or tasks that take part in our day-to-day life. And thus my interest in science and my previous experience made me choose to do this FANTASTIC course, as it will also help me get a better understanding in what was is going around me.

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The reason I did not want to be science major was because of my high school experience in physics and chemistry which was not really that fun. Even though I got good grade on math, I received very low grades on physics. Also, I believe that I have a much bigger interest in Finance and that I would do well in the world of business.

Finally, I would like to share with you this link that is for this amazing website that covers many topics about how stuff works. If you are the type of person who always wonder about how stuff works, then open this link and believe me you will learn a lot about how many common things that we do in our life and know nothing about they work. It includes topics such as how oil recycling works and even has videos that show how they work in a more detailed way.

Why not Science? Here’s Why…

Hello everyone!

My name is Cristen Heaton and I am a Junior here at Penn State and I am studying Recreation, Park, Tourism Management (RPTM) with my path being Commercial/Community. I am a Resident Assistant (RA) in East Halls for freshmen! A lot of people think I am absolutely insane for doing it, but I love helping others and spreading my love for Penn State through my residents. Both my parents work at Penn State, my mom works as the assistant to the department head in BBH and my dad works for OPP (Office of Physical Plant). I grew up in a small town called Julian, PA which is 15 minutes away from main campus. I associate myself with being a “townie”. I am apart of the twirling club here at Penn State and I have been twirling since I was 8 years old.

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I am the one on the left!

To be completely honest, I am taking this course to fulfill a general education requirement. I heard that Andrew was an awesome professor and really got you to think about the world around you. I am pretty excited to be in this class to hopefully change how I look at the world around me. I have taken Bi Sci 3 before with Christopher Uhl and I loved it, so I thought why not try Sci 200.

When picking a major at Penn State I wanted to do something that would make me happy for the rest of my life and something that I genuinely liked doing. I am a social butterfly so the only major that really clicked with me is RPTM. It isn’t too stressful and I can enjoy myself. Science to me is a scary word. I have so many associations with science but they aren’t great. I have always struggled in science related classes. I think of math equations, chemicals, and more which causes a lot of anxiety. When I think of science I honestly just want to cry because of my past experiences. I am positive that I will enjoy this class and maybe start to associate positive feelings with science.

 

As I stated above, I am a RA in East halls and I am overseeing 60 new freshmen as they are making their mark here at Penn State. One thing that has been common the first couple days of class is how the transition is very hard for some. This is completely expected as I am a Junior and I am even struggling with the first week of classes with getting so many papers, directions, etc. I want to dig into this topic deeper to try to understand why anxiety is taking over so many people’s lives. I personally struggle with anxiety but it is a personal goal of mine to make sure no one else suffers as much as I did my freshman year. I found this great article by BU Today about anxiety in college and so happens that the study done in the article was done at Penn State! It drives me insane that anxiety can affect students so much that their grades suffer. To me that isn’t fair at all, anxiety is hard to control.

I can’t wait to meet some of you! If you see me in class, don’t be afraid to say hi! I love meeting new people. 🙂

Science- not my thing

Hey everyone, my name is Olivia DeArment and I live in a small town called Winchester Virginia, about 45 minutes from DC. I am in Division of Undergraduate studies as of now but i am planning on majoring in Business Marketing in Smeal. I play soccer, love to hike and exercise and I have the best and cutest chocolate lab in the world named Bettis, named after the Steelers player Jerome Bettis.

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I took this class honestly originally because an advisor told me this was an intriguing course that I could fill my science Gen-ed requirement with. However, I read the description and I agreed that it looked like a course I could really enjoy. I can’t say I hated science in high school, but it just was not for me. I found myself bored to tears as we reiterated counts of cell, chemistry equations, and uses of the periodic table. What caught my eye about this class was instead of the memorization and straightforward right or wrong answers science courses or rather any course requires, this one allows for discussion, questioning, and to create our own answers. I love critical thinking, discussion, and exploring the wonders of the world. This class seems to do all of the above. I am excited to explore and draw conclusion from the world we live in while exposing myself to science that we can all have an opinion on. Seminars and deep discussions about the unknown has always been a strong interest of mine, and I am ready to dive right into this while learning about the world of science at the same time.

Although science is not my favorite, I am willing to work to enjoy it and hopefully by exploring and participating in this different approach to a science course I can find a new way to enjoy it. I do really enjoy english and I love to read about anything and everything. I think this course can aid me in my writing and critical thinking that pertains to english classes I will take later on. This seems to be a class that can benefit me all across the board.

After reviewing some of the questions that are planned for the class, I came to thinking of my own. I love the idea of coming up with wonders or itching questions and discussing anything from the validity of it or what it means in the world in general. I have always been very intrigued with criminal justice and studying crime and a question that I have always had was: What about an individual’s mind allows them or makes them have the desire to commit crime or murder? I found an article pertaining to this question that I found interesting, hopefully some of you will too!

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The Day I Broke Up With Science

Hi guys, I’m Rachel Anton, and I’d like to tell you about my ex, Science.

Science and I go way back. I remember having the best of times with science when I was in elementary school. Playing with bugs, making silly putty, and having those pet frogs that you couldn’t take out of water or else they would die (one of the biggest disappointments of my childhood). Everyone could see it; science and I were in the honeymoon stage. Every time I was asked my favorite subject, I’d say science. But, then we grew old together. High school came around and instead of playing with meal worms, I was learning about mitosis and meiosis. What is that? Who had science become? I never knew science would do me like that. I trusted science. We had so much fun together, and suddenly everything became definitions and equations. It was safe to say that the honeymoon stage was long gone, and my relationship with science was sinking. So, we broke up. It was tough because I still had to see science every day. Going to required high school science class was painful because I knew we would never be the same. So, why did I take Science 200? Well, I read the description that essentially said, “science for people who don’t like science.” Even though me and science had a terrible break up, I think it’s safe to say we will never get rid of each other. Science 200 seems like the perfect opportunity to bring back that honeymoon stage.

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I am not planning on being a science major because some things just aren’t meant to be. Although I love some parts of science, I can’t see past the parts that I hate. Instead, I am an AD/PR major in the College of Comm. Writing and telling stories are two things that I absolutely love. I’ve always loved them but suppressed my feelings when I thought I wouldn’t make money if I followed my heart. Once science and I finally ended things, I let myself free. I realized that money doesn’t matter. I realized that following a passion will get you much further than anything else. Science, I hope you’re not jealous. This is for the best. This one is for you.

 

Stranger Things

Hi Class!

My name is Caroline Sorrentino and I’m a freshman. I’m from Long Island, New York so being around mountains and not beaches is an adjustment; but a good one! I’m in the College of Communications and when I was told I needed to take a science I was taken aback, I remember having to pick between this class and Insectology so, without hesitation, I chose SC 200 hardly even knowing what it was, but I just despise bugs. The advisor helping me create my schedule suggested I pick this class anyway and explained it to me by saying an example of a lesson was “Why praying is scientifically proven to work” which I thought was super neat. I was never great at science, it didn’t make sense to me because there were so many variables as opposed to history and english where everything was blunt and to the point. I think that I chose Communications and not Science as my major because I have a passion for people, whether it be helping them or conveying a message to them. Science has never and probably will never be my strong suit but that being said doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy trying to understand it and learning what it has to offer. That’s probably why I’m so grateful to be taking this course.

I am a huge fan of horror and Sci-Fi movies and shows though. I recently came across my new favorite show (which, I admit, I finished in two days), Stranger Things on Netflix. The new Sci-Fi drama features four boys who play Dungeons and Dragons and their fantasy world more or less becomes reality in a dark, chilling way. If you haven’t seen the eight episode series yet, I highly recommend it. From the 80’s inspiration to the acting, the show is bound to be a complete success and I’m already anticipating the next season.

Wondering if the show is for you? I attached a link of reasons why you should be watching it here http://www.realclearlife.com/2016/08/17/all-the-reasons-why-you-should-be-watching-stranger-things/

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She blinded me…with SCIENCE

Hello SC 200! My name is Kayla Smith, I’m from Edison, New Jersey. I currently am in the DUS program here at Penn State due to my incredible indecisive nature. Science has always been a particular interest of mine from a young age, my dad works in pharmaceuticals and it is honestly quite surprising that I’m not think about it at the moment for a possible career in the future.

When I talked to my academic advisor during orientation, he laid out all the courses that would be practical for pursuing a science major. The part that turned me off the most was how much math was required for it. I’m not the biggest math fan in the world, but I love science… hence why I decided to take this class! It looked very intriguing based upon the description and I am slowly getting excited to see what is going to come out of it!

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a little humor for your day 🙂

In hopes of taking this class, I want to finally be able to see where I want to go in life, if that involves heading towards a path with science. For right now, I chose not to be a science major so that I can explore different interests and take the basic requirements now to get them over with!

I can tell that this class is going to be a challenge, but I can see it being very interesting and unique which is why I took it in the first place! In relation to science, I found a cool article on some new discoveries and technologies that are being discovered. One of them I liked the most is about a new smart-phone connected contact lens… Eye-Phone…theres always something crazy being discovered everyday thanks to science!

Stepping Out Of My Comfort Zone

My name is Samantha Sichenze and I am new to Penn State, actually to college in general.  During my NSO, I found out that being in the College of Health and Human Development meant that I was required to take a science class.  I was disappointed and nervous.  Science has never been “my thing” as long as I can remember.  From making dioramas of biomes in first grade to calculating the velocity of light in junior year, I couldn’t say I’ve enjoyed it.  Scrolling down the never ending list of science classes that I could take, I became overwhelmed.  Thankfully, my advisor , seeing the skepticism on my face said, “ Do you like science?”  I hesitated at first, thinking she was looking for a positive response, but then blurted out very frankly, “not at all.”  She said “Perfect!  SC200 is the class for you!”   She began to explain how the professor changes your entire perspective on the subject of science.  He makes you see it in a different light, in a way you’ve never seen or been taught before.  Coming from schools with poor science departments, I was doubtful.  Since first grade, I’ve had nothing but a negative outlook about learning science.  But I was up for the challenge – the challenge to see if this one course could make me love the one subject that I’ve always dreaded.  I’m now ready to take risks and step out of my comfort zone.

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In high school, my experience in the science department was like a rollercoaster ride.  My results in biology and chemistry were adequate, but when I moved up to physics, my grades plummeted.  I tried so hard to maintain a good average in the course.  I went to Study Help once a week, in addition to hiring an outside tutor to come over and prep me for each test.  Unfortunately, nothing worked.  I would feel so defeated when my friends, who barely opened a book, scored significantly better than me.  Don’t get me wrong, high school isn’t the reason that I am not a science major, it just reinforced my decision to not pursue a career in that field.  I love to travel and meet new people, people with different backgrounds, experiences, and cultures.  This trait led me to choose Hospitality Management as my major.  The feeling of waking up each morning, knowing that my ultimate goal for that day is to help people will hopefully make me eager to start each day.  That’s not to say that there aren’t characteristics of scientists that I admire.  Their relentless pursuit to find cures for diseases or life on other planets, for example, inspires me.  That determination to make life better for people is something that I hope to take with me as I venture out on my career path. An issue I’m fascinated with is the ending of the world, as discussed in this article. People claim this to be true because it was written in the Bible, while others claim that to be false based on scientific facts. I would love to learn the actual truth behind this speculation. So I look forward to taking this class and possibly developing a better appreciation of the science that exists all around me.

Science 200 and Me

Hi everyone, my name is Isobel Hoang. I am a sophomore business major from Northern Virginia. I’m taking Science 200 because I needed a science general education course. I choose Science 200 because it’s wide breadth of topics enticed me as it seemed to be more interesting than a class that focused on the specifics of one topic. Science 200 also appealed to me because it is geared towards non-Science majors.

I am not planning on being a Science major because I have never liked science in the past. Growing up, my science teachers never made the subject interesting. The only interesting days in science was when the teacher would play a video. Videos like Bill Nye and the Magic School Bus became the only interesting thing about the subject. In high school, the Science teachers made the class tedious and filled with busy work. This increased my dislike for the subject and my inclination to not be a Science major.

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Bill Nye (above) the savior of science in elementary school.

If you are like me, and miss Bill Nye being the only thing about science that you enjoy- then go to this link here. It will take you to Bill Nye’s website where he has videos uploaded. You can take a walk down memory lane and watch some of his recent science experiments.

 

Science From A Different Angle

I have always known that science is something I enjoy. I admire it particularly for its importance, and moreover the unrelenting momentum it has in answering the literal biggest questions in the universe. I signed up for Science in Our World because of this appreciation and curiosity I have, and to further my understanding of scientific principles and topics. Relating to the second topic of this blog, I would say I signed up because I am not a science major. What I mean is that I did not want my schedule and collection of information this semester to have a dearth of fascinating and deliberately special lessons.

However, I myself am not one to enter into my college career with a schedule centered around a topic I am not appropriately versed in. So what enticed me is the imaginative and important style of the material presented that we have yet to explore, but I still am not one to major in science at this point in my understanding of it. Keeping some of it alive in my education was a priority.

I am extremely moved by the immensity and confusion of space. Among other large topics in science, space is something that continues to be a focus that has so much left to uncover. I hope that I cannot only learn more about this incredible portion of science, but that I can branch out to different subjects and topics that pique my interest just as much. This representation of the scale of the universe is exactly the mind of thing I am attracted to in science. I hope anyone that checks it out agrees that it is not only relative to the initial theme of the class but incredible on its own. http://scaleofuniverse.com/ Another topic I am very curious about is the natural progression and evolution of evil capacity in the human mind. How soon will terrorism be twice as likely? This is an imperative topic and can definitely be addressed in a scientific form that speaks to the depth of the issue. Data-and-World-Map-on-Global-Terrorism-2002-2011-The-Economist

Hello SC 200, my name is Luke Visser, I’m from San Diego, California, and I am a finance major here at Penn State. I planned to stay as far away from any science classes as possible until I was informed by my advisor that I had no choice but to take one in order to fulfill my requirements. After she told me this, I think she could see horror in my eyes because she immediately recommended SC200 as the course for those who’d give anything to never have to look at another periodic table again. After hearing that, I signed up without even reading the course description. While it was probably a poor decision to sign up for a class I knew nothing about, I couldn’t be happier with the outcome. This class seems extraordinarily different from my high school science classes where I memorized everything but understood nothing.53879277

I have read through the topics of discussion for future classes and I’m genuinely interested in most of them. I’m looking forward to really discovering new things and acquiring knowledge I actually want to know. I think I will enjoy my time in class, stay interested throughout the year, and unlike many previous science classes in my life, I think I’ll actually be able to stay awake. On top of not boring me to death, I think the critical thinking involved with this science course will actually help me be successful in the business field. I appreciate science but it has never captivated me the way business does. For this reason, I have not chosen a major in the science department. I am, however, already beginning to enjoy science more in only two short classes so who knows where my interests will be four years down the road. 

Also, I found this website with some great thought provoking questions, so if you need to get those wheels turning to prepare for all the critical thinking in this class, or you’re just bored and sitting in you’re dorm room, it’s worth a click.

Just a munchkin in a world we donut know

Hello! My name is Taylor Rodrigues and I am from Monroe, CT. I am currently a freshman at University Park and I am studying Broadcast Journalism. Throughout high school, science was not my best subject but it definitely was not my worst. I favored subjects like Biology and Earth Science rather than more mathematical subjects like Physics or Chemistry. I actually signed up for SC 200 at my NSO because it went with my schedule. Initially I wanted to take a Biology class, however my advisor suggested not to take it unless i was Pre-med. Since I am aiming more of my classes towards the English field, and I needed a science General Education course, my advisor recommended this course especially when I told her science was not my best subject. This course is perfect for me because it allows you to think critically and actually develop a respect for science, even if you don’t like it.

When I first walked into this class I definitely liked how it was a big lecture hall because I work well with lectures and just listening to the professor. I also liked how Andrew allows us to ask or text any question we want since he stated how “No question is too stupid.” I also was fond of how he stated that we have to think and use our minds in this course and if we can’t do that why are we here. Andrew said that there are many students that wanted to take this class and they were not able to so definitely this class is worthwhile and I realized I was lucky to get a seat in this class. Even looking through the schedule for SC200, there are a lot of distinct and interesting topics to cover. For example, one topic that I definitely will be fond of is the zombie virus one since I used to watch a lot of The Walking Dead. I cannot wait to explore these new topics and actually think about each one.

One topic that I thought was pretty interesting for the longest time was genetics. I liked to learn about eye color, hair color and pretty much the basic stuff. I found an article on CNN that explains how a coffee habit can be genetic and since I work at a Dunkin Donuts back home, I thought this article would be definitely interesting. (Sometimes we get customers that come in at least 4 times a day just for coffee). I also feel like a lot of college students would want to know about this since many students have 8 or 9 AM classes and many students stay up all night studying for exams.

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(I know I’m not a science major but this picture was pretty funny)

This class is a great opportunity for kids who don’t really excel in science to further their knowledge on everyday topics like “catching obesity” or “vaccines.” This world is filled with so much science and there are so many topics to discover, some are interesting and some are not. I believe that this class will help me respect the subject of science like how I respect the subject of English or Journalism.

High school killed science

Hi, my name is Tyler Confair, and I am a freshman. I am one of the few commuters as a freshman attending Penn State University. I am going to be majoring in Professional Golf Management and plan to work with merchandise. I only live about fifty minutes away in a small town called Jersey Shore, PA. It is not as bad as I thought it was considering I have no Friday classes. Assuming that everyone thought of the show when I said Jersey Shore, the school got a couple of the members to come meet everyone. The reason they didn’t come was that they did not have anywhere to party at. Something that is a big deal around the town is the Little League World Series which is currently going on.

When I was scheduling my classes with my advisor, she told asked me if I liked science. I told her I hated it because of the teachers I have had in the past. They never made the class exciting because it seemed as if their paycheck was more important then having fun with everyone. It was a bland class and I hated every minute of it. Once I stopped ranting about my old high school teachers, she told me Andrew was the guy to have to change my view on  science. I kind of just figured she was just trying to get me to pick something so she could get out of the room faster or just did not want to hear anything else I had to say. So, after seeing the syllabus and seeing what he expects out of us makes me very excited to finally enjoy a class I have always disliked. He lets us control what we learn and if we do not like it, we have the ability to pick something everyone likes. I also need to apologize to my advisor for not believing in what she said about him because she definitely proved me wrong.

Like said before, science is not my thing but I have always been interested into learning new things scientist find or create. Maybe it was all the stupid labs the teachers made us do and did not relate to anything we were discussing in class. I just knew I was ready to get out of my science class as soon as I walked in to start it. Golf deals with a lot of science, and it is not the science he is goiImage result for golf and scienceng to teach us sadly. That would pretty cool if he started to talk about “how to perfect golf.” Which will never happen. I also have a thing for the supernatural and what could be beyond the planet. Will there be a
day when we finally reach contact with another life form, with the technology rapidly growing and with more scientist trying to solve the same question. It will happen one day, and I do not know what to expect when it does if I am alive. Here is a link explaining this thought What if extraterrestrial observers called, but nobody heard?

I just hope I get the chance to finally enjoy science and learn new and exciting things that are currently being viewed by scientist. I also want to get a better perspective on extrterrestrial life and what scientist know so far. Even though I do not like science at the moment, I think Andrew is going to make sure I leave satisfied with taking his class.