Term begins

So, today is the start of week one so I'm a scientist actually doing some science again as opposed to a scientist writing reports like I was before. Got my lecture time table and for about 6 week's it's pretty good, then I'm going to die untill after summer exam time, but such is the life of an undergrad.

Coming back to university after being out on placement for a year is very odd. I'm a lot more organised and attentive then I was before, and I think being around scientists has kind of, well, desensitised me a little. Maybe it was just me but before I was a little of about talking to lecturers, like you couldn't talk to them like you would a guy on the street because they're better. Now, well, I see that just because someone has knowledge you don't doesn't mean they're untouchable and that you're a bother to them. It's ok to approach them. I feel like more of an adult, not a kid still in school but an adult there to better themselves, and it makes all the difference.

I need to start applying for pHds soon, now there's the scary thought.

zomg a book!!!!

You know you class as a science geek when coming into the library you have to stand at the new books self for ten minutes deciding if you'd rather read about transcription of hormonal signalling on your break today because you genuinely can't decide, they both sound so interesting. Though the fact that I intend to spend my lunch break reading about science might be a bit of a give-away too.

Science-fictional

Ok, I have a confession to make. I'm the kind of person you really don't want to be sitting next to when watching sci-fi. I mean, I'm the annoying girl who sits there getting stressed because that's just not how science/evolution/the human body works. I do it a lot. The latest thing is Heroes. They ran a catch up session of the first 9 eppisodes this weekend and, like the diligent student I am, I sat up late watching them all. They just get almost everything wrong. They abuse evolution, they misuse things like the human genome project (really, how hard can it be to check wikipedia and find out what it is before you start tossing a term like that around). It annoys me beyond all measure and, as far as I can tell, there are two main reasons for that.

1. We all know that the science is wrong. We can watch that and know we're suspending disbeliefe about it and evolution won't really make me control space and time. But there are SO MANY people who watch this and just don't know that. Another of my bad habbits is that I hang around on a debate forum for American teenagers, and the number of them who do believe this kind of shit is amazing. These shows just don't help becasue for the people who don't take time to understand evolution, it seems plausable to them.
2. It shows a disrespect for biology. Just throwaway comments like the human genome project. The thing is, everyone and their grandma thinks they know evolution (hence the masses of American teens who insist science is wrong and they've spotted some key flaw that all those highly trained and very intelligent scientists missed). Can't they accept that this isn't an easy, throwaway topic? Maybe consult a biologist occasionally?