Last Third quarter, I can say that we did a lot, literally. The storybook took up most of that quarter and it changed us all. We drew, we colored, we conceptualized, we finalized, all was done. I couuld say that it was exciting and uit was worth the time. But even though the time was mostly spent on the storybook, we also spnt time on evolution’s effect on diseases. As I am going to be a doctor in the future, I can say that it is hard to prevent diseases even though we ought to. But we can prevent them in the best way by not letting evolution reach diseases sooner than expected.
Overall, I can only reflect a few of the third quarter, but with all the storybook experience, we can say that it is worth it. But why is this relevant to me in the first place? What I can say is because making a storybook enables us to present ideas in a simple way. This helps us for future papers like journals in the field of science. So it is worth the hardships and cramming to make one.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
SELF-REFLECTION ESSAY 2
We are now nearing midway in our final year in Pisay, and we expect more in LifeSci. Studying evolution was just the beginning. Now we are able to learn about the human behaviour. From beauty to monogamy, we are to tackle these.
Beauty. Some may think of a face. Others of a body. Whatever they think it is, beauty serves to attract more potential mates. There is an advantage to people who are said to be beautiful. These people may have the “golden ratio”, or 1:1.6, in their bodies. Beauty can be seen even by babies. Beauty serves as a security thought for babies, while it serves as a mate detector by adults. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and we can see it now.
Monogamy is when a species has only one specific mate for a specific period of time. This was our topic for an exhibit. We learned a lot about human behaviour in our topic and in the other topics. Humans, just like other animals, have complex ways to determine a suitable mate. From voice, smell, size, etc., these factors are critical in finding a mate.
What I learned is that life is a tug-of-war between the fit and the unfit. Maybe what we need is beauty to be successful in finding a mate, or a good voice, or a sweet smell. But what we really need is to have a sense to understand others in order to have a successful life.
Beauty. Some may think of a face. Others of a body. Whatever they think it is, beauty serves to attract more potential mates. There is an advantage to people who are said to be beautiful. These people may have the “golden ratio”, or 1:1.6, in their bodies. Beauty can be seen even by babies. Beauty serves as a security thought for babies, while it serves as a mate detector by adults. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and we can see it now.
Monogamy is when a species has only one specific mate for a specific period of time. This was our topic for an exhibit. We learned a lot about human behaviour in our topic and in the other topics. Humans, just like other animals, have complex ways to determine a suitable mate. From voice, smell, size, etc., these factors are critical in finding a mate.
What I learned is that life is a tug-of-war between the fit and the unfit. Maybe what we need is beauty to be successful in finding a mate, or a good voice, or a sweet smell. But what we really need is to have a sense to understand others in order to have a successful life.
SELF-REFLECTION ESSAY 1
First day in LifeSci. I wondered what would happen in the elective. I knew that it was going to be fun in the subject. I was right. LifeSci is fun even though there are many requirements.The groupworks are fun, the topics are easy, these things help in my career as a doctor in the future.
One of the things that were done in LifeSci during the first quarter is the topics on Darwin. We were given the topic, “Evolution before Darwin”. We knew a lot from the topic, from the people involved, to their works. We also learned more about Darwin through the other topics. Darwin sure has come a long way just to publish his works.
We also discussed the film “Judgement Day – Intelligent Design on Trial” We knew then that even though natural selection is a valid proof for diversity on Earth, many people still believe in Creationism and its other forms, such as Intelligent Design.
That is just the beginning. I expect more in the quarters to follow.
One of the things that were done in LifeSci during the first quarter is the topics on Darwin. We were given the topic, “Evolution before Darwin”. We knew a lot from the topic, from the people involved, to their works. We also learned more about Darwin through the other topics. Darwin sure has come a long way just to publish his works.
We also discussed the film “Judgement Day – Intelligent Design on Trial” We knew then that even though natural selection is a valid proof for diversity on Earth, many people still believe in Creationism and its other forms, such as Intelligent Design.
That is just the beginning. I expect more in the quarters to follow.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
INDIVIDUAL ENTRY: THE HUMAN FACE - SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST
What is beauty? Some people may say, "It is in the eye of the beholder". Others may say, "It i very complicated". Ask me, and I will say, "It is more than that". So what is beauty? Beauty is a very complicated thing where people are attractive to a person. This may not mean that a boy will like a girl who is attractive to another boy. Even better than that, beauty has some effects on babies. Let's see how.
Even when humans are just mere toddlers, they can easily recognize between a beautiful face and an ugly face. Babies tend to cry when confronted with an ugly face. This is a sign of repression for the babies, and it acts as a warning in which the babies must distrust the certain person. A beautiful face acts as to the baby in which the baby trusts that person because of the beauty. As we get older, we look for beauty not as a sign of security, but as a sign of health in finding a potential mate. An ugly person tends to have few to none who want to mate with him, while a beautiful person has many suitors.
But what if you are not beautiful to anybody's eye? There is one solution: plastic surgery. This will change your external look and turn you into a more beautiful person.
After seeing the documentary of John Cleese entitled, "THE HUMAN FACE - SURVIVAL OF THE PRETTIEST", I wasn't sure about beauty. After seeing the video, I became both conscious and confident of my looks. I think that having the golden ratio in looks will help in attracting potential mates. But believing in having a beautiful face will help more in having good mates.
Even when humans are just mere toddlers, they can easily recognize between a beautiful face and an ugly face. Babies tend to cry when confronted with an ugly face. This is a sign of repression for the babies, and it acts as a warning in which the babies must distrust the certain person. A beautiful face acts as to the baby in which the baby trusts that person because of the beauty. As we get older, we look for beauty not as a sign of security, but as a sign of health in finding a potential mate. An ugly person tends to have few to none who want to mate with him, while a beautiful person has many suitors.
But what if you are not beautiful to anybody's eye? There is one solution: plastic surgery. This will change your external look and turn you into a more beautiful person.
After seeing the documentary of John Cleese entitled, "THE HUMAN FACE - SURVIVAL OF THE PRETTIEST", I wasn't sure about beauty. After seeing the video, I became both conscious and confident of my looks. I think that having the golden ratio in looks will help in attracting potential mates. But believing in having a beautiful face will help more in having good mates.
GROUP ENTRY: MONOGAMY - MATING FOR LIFE
We sometimes here the word "monogamy" in our daily lives. Monogamy is a state wherein a species has only one mate at any one time. But in today's world, monogamy now refers to having one sexual partner irrespective of marriage or reproduction.
There are three types of monogamy, namely: sexual monogamy, social monogamy, and genetic monogamy.
SOCIAL MONOGAMY - when animals form pairs to mate and raise offspring but still have flings—or "extra-pair copulations" in science lingo—on the side.
SEXUAL MONOGAMY - the practice of having sex only with one mate at a time.
GENETIC MONOGAMY - refers to two partners that only have offspring with each other
Monogamy has advantages over polygamy, but it also has disadvantages. An example of an advantage of monogamy is:
- The couple invest more time in their offspring
An example of a disadvantage of is:
- Less chance of genetic variation
An example of an advantage of polygamy is:
- More offspring, therefore, more children.
An example of a disadvantage of polygamy is:
- High mortality rate for offspring
Seeing this, I pondered more on the different effects of the different kinds of monogamy on humans. I thought, "What would humans do when they can choose one kind of monogamy?" I think that this may cause a society with many problems. But this thing may rather be better than polygamy.
So, if I ask you, what would you choose?
(Description: Description of monogamy and its advantages and disadvantages over polygamy.)
(Contributions to the poster: Research, Poster final design)
REFERENCES: http://www.livescience.com/animals/061120_monogamous_animals.html
http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monogamy
Monday, February 28, 2011
GROUP ENTRY: EVOLUTION BEFORE DARWIN
Before Charles Darwin, some people have thought of evolution as a driving force in life. Though they may seem to be unfamiliar, they play a huge role in presenting evolution as a process of nature. Here are some of them.
ANAXIMANDER
TITUS LUCRETIUS CARUS
GEORGES-LOUIS LECLERC, COMTE DE BUFFON
PIERRE-LOUIS MOREAU DE MAUPERTUIS
ERASMUS DARWIN
To think that many people have contributed to evolution,yet they are all but unrecognized. We should give these scientists a special place in books, so that many people may know about their contributions in evolution.
If people can think of radical thoughts in a society with a fixed belief, we may be able to challenge old scientific beliefs in exchange for beliefs with more scientific proof than the older ones. I, as a future biochemist, can be an example for change in the scientific community. If many people find many new things, I hope they will not be afraid to challenge the old ones.
(Description: condensed description of people who proposed evolution before Darwin)
(Contributions to project: research, poster plan, poster finalization)
REFERENCES:
(2009)http://www.aboutdarwin.com/
(n.d.)http://www.humanistictexts.org/lucretius.htm
(n.d.)http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaximander
(n.d.)http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucretius
(n.d.)http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comte_de_Buffon
(n.d.)http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maupertuis
(n.d.)http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus_Darwin
ANAXIMANDER
TITUS LUCRETIUS CARUS
GEORGES-LOUIS LECLERC, COMTE DE BUFFON
PIERRE-LOUIS MOREAU DE MAUPERTUIS
ERASMUS DARWIN
To think that many people have contributed to evolution,yet they are all but unrecognized. We should give these scientists a special place in books, so that many people may know about their contributions in evolution.
If people can think of radical thoughts in a society with a fixed belief, we may be able to challenge old scientific beliefs in exchange for beliefs with more scientific proof than the older ones. I, as a future biochemist, can be an example for change in the scientific community. If many people find many new things, I hope they will not be afraid to challenge the old ones.
(Description: condensed description of people who proposed evolution before Darwin)
(Contributions to project: research, poster plan, poster finalization)
REFERENCES:
(2009)http://www.aboutdarwin.com/
(n.d.)http://www.humanistictexts.org/lucretius.htm
(n.d.)http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaximander
(n.d.)http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucretius
(n.d.)http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comte_de_Buffon
(n.d.)http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maupertuis
(n.d.)http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus_Darwin
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