Dude, Play This Game

Just trust me! 

WARNING: Humor (Or an Attempt at It) Ahead

I lost a good friend today.

He’s only been with me for a little over two weeks, but he’s served me well. He’s gone with me on runs, and he’s often been there to support me no matter what I’m doing.

He may not be the same color I am, but that didn’t stop us from bonding with blood, sweat, and tears. With us, there was no race.

I’ll miss this guy.

RIP – My black Nike sock. May he live forever in the laundry room amongst all the other piles of lost clothes.

Quote of the Day

“Is it June 13th yet?”

“Tat tvam asi.” – Thou art That.

All you ever really need to know.

Possible Majors: Math

Well, as a continuation of the Two Roads post, I thought I might make my journey towards a major a while big blogging project! I could even change the title of this blog to “What will Dave major in”! I could, but I won’t. :)

Anyway, since I don’t really know what I do want to major in, I thought I might post on a few things that I don’t want to major in and why.

The first in this series is mathematics. This one’s quite simple, really.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love mathematics. Math has always been one of my favorite classes ever since, well, since I started learning about it. I loved the rigor of learning the time tables (quick, what’s 7 * 8?), the magic of how linear algebra got rid of those stupid “guess and check” problems, and how calculus manages to derive most of the laws of kinematics with a few very simple integrations. I love how math can explain most of anything in the world (a la the show N3UMBERS), and how no matter how far you go, math will always have more to give you. And of course, I love how cerebral math is: no body required.

That all said, I can’t imagine math as anything much more than a fun hobby. I can’t imagine it as a career. Admittedly, if you’re solving proofs with top dollar prizes, it can be a very profitable hobby. And also admittedly, I understand that a lot of what we know in physics, chemistry, economics, and several other fields owe their history to math.

So, what can you do with a math major? I see two options (once again, I know I’m being extremely shortsighted and biased here): a math teacher or a hermit that lives in a whole somewhere trying to solve the 4-colored map problem. I could never be a teacher: can you imagine kids actually wanting to listen to me? And the hermit in the whole thing sounds like fun, but I’d rather contemplate my navel and see friends and family occasionally rather than spend 4 years proving something only to find that an algebra early on makes the rest of the work useless.

So, all that to just say I don’t think a math major is for me. Maybe a math minor: that could be fun (you know, like a hobby).

One possible major down. A ton more to go.

Wish me luck.

Beauty-ful…

Maybe I should be a chemistry major…

Read the full story about the new periodic table design here.

And no, this won’t be replacing old faithful anytime soon. :)

For Posterities Sake

I heard somebody out in the hall singing this today. Ah, more memories. Though I don’t think that anyone who reads this blog knows the memories… :(

More Gay Animal Fun

Check out this article by the BBC about gay animals. Yes, we all remember that Seed article. Ah, the memories.

And this is how the world ends…

I’m so confused right now. So, we’re learning about gas laws now in Chem. You all already know that. But what you don’t know is that we’ve been lied to!

It turns out that P1V1=P2V2 isn’t Gay-Lussac’s law… it’s Amonton’s!

Gay-Lussac’s is about adding volumes…

But wait, there’s more. There doesn’t seem to any consistency. Sometime’s the two laws are used interchangebly

So which is it, Mr. Chemistry God? I must know!

Because my legacy at Chi (you know, for the pneumonic) hangs in the balance!

Would I ever have thought of it without GAY-Lussac? Amonton’s just wouldn’t fit…

My worlds falling apart…

:)

Two Roads Diverged (Again…)

So I find myself once again standing at a crossroad. For real this time. Not my usual “wells” and “maybes.” I’m really starting to reconsider my major. I know, I don’t actually have a major yet. But I’ve been telling everyone that I’m going to be a Chem major. I must now say that I’m not so sure about that.

Now, don’t worry, I’m not pulling out the philosophy or religious studies rabbits from my proverbial hat yet. But I am seriously considering a major in either neuroscience or psychology. Leaning more towards neuroscience (though the neuroscience program here is pretty nascent).

I just can’t see myself honestly doing chemistry for the rest of my life. I hear my brother talk about the research he’s doing, and he sounds so excited about it. And I just think, “Yeah, uh huh? Where’s the beef?” (how’s that for vegetarian!) Not that I don’t think what he’s doing is cool, I just don’t want to do it.

Who knows. I’ve only had a single semester of chem here, and it’s been gen chem. Nothing all that exciting there. Maybe organic will spark my interest. Or maybe I’ll just end up doing something completely random.

Two roads diverged, and I sat down and tried to figure out which one to take…