Truelife: My Roommate is a Biohacker.

So I came home today, back to my house that I share with a roommate. When I opened the front door, I automatically knew something was wrong. There was an odd smell and in our dinning room, huge sets of trays and what looked like mini refrigerators. After taking a history of science class the semester before where we read Biopunk… I knew what was going on. True life: My roommate is a biohacker.

         My reaction was speechless. I had so many thoughts going at the same time… “what the heck is she thinking?”, “I hope this stuff did not get into my room.”, “Does she even know how to do this stuff?”. Well to answer my questions, no she did not have a clue what she was doing. She is a journalist and wanted a little experience so she could write an article. She has had zero training and zero lab experience. Also, there was stuff in my room, everything of mine from the living and dinning room, so moved it to have more room.

         After analyzing the situation, I sat her down and explained my thoughts about this little endeavor. First off, this is our house, not just hers. She could not just waltz around doing whatever she pleased with out even asking me first. However, she probably knew that I would have said “Heck to the NO!”. Second, she has no idea how to do any of this correctly. She had open dishes and her insulators were not even plugged in. She probably had not been using gloves and who knows what kind of germs and bacteria are spread around our house now. Last, but certainly not least, there is no telling what she was messing with or creating. Biology is much more invasive and complicated than it appears. When you mess with it, it can cause major consequences. I am completely one hundred percent against just anyone doing this kind of stuff. If you have training and knowledge about what you are doing, it might be okay. In all reality I want trained scientists dealing with biology and it should be in a controlled environment.  You never know what could happen if it was out in the open for everyone, and that scares me. 


*disclaimer: My roommate was not really a biohacker, I just wanted to make my blog post a bit more interesting by telling it in story form. It does however display my personal opinions on biohacking and amateur biology.

Citizen Science

After classifying about 100 galaxies, my eyes hurt, my brain is mush and I need a nap. With all the aftermath aside, this was so cool! I thoroughly enjoyed looking at all the pictures and classifying and learning all the terms and ways to classify these pictures! I personally did not have any unusual or new galaxies which was a bummer. I can only imagine coming across a picture that could not be classified. The task was fairly simple, answer the questions according to the pictures. It got a bit tedious and repetitive at times but when a different type of galaxy came up, it was nice to have some different answers. 

            With the Zooniverse project, I choose to classify stars with planets around them. It had a short tutorial about what to look for and how to mark the data. Again, it was very simple and to the point but very tedious work. I did not classify as many of these as I did galaxies but it was pretty much the same. I got bored fairly quickly and was not as into the classifying as I was with the galaxies.

            Citizen science is a very interesting concept and I think as a whole, it can be very beneficial. It is clear that these scientists have so much data that they need some help that a computer cannot do. Citizen science helps them and can be very beneficial to the scientific community. We all know that galaxy zoo has enabled average people to discover new types of galaxies, that is just cool. 

Fairy Tale Magic

In today’s use of slang, I would be considered a Twi-hard and I am not afraid to shout it from the roof tops. Other people are potter-heads, and others are just simply wizards and fairies. Whatever floats your boat I guess. I have never really stopped to think about how we live in this world with amazing scientific discoveries and huge inventions that we never could have imagined before, yet, we still have this giant fascination with the magical world. After thinking this over for a while, I started to think about how I even came to liking these kinds of things? I personally am a reality over fantasy in most aspects of my life, except entertainment.

My theory about why the world has such interest in fantasy is that our imaginations like to run free. In the world today, we have become a place with things we always thought were the future, so its not imagination anymore. With fantasy, it is a way for our minds to be free again, imagine what ever our hearts desire just for fun, no strings attached. With science today, it all is worth something, and is accountable. That makes it not as much fun for some people. Fantasy and magic is a strictly entertainment outlet, which everyone needs every once in a while.

The Wonderful Future that Never Was

Different levels of traffic, that is an amazing idea! It was in the twentieth century at least. The idea was to make different street levels, one for people walking, one for slow traffic and one for faster traffic. There would be ramps to get to each one. It seemed like a good idea at the time.
This idea showcases the base for 1900's science inventions, make life move quicker. That is what almost every invention was about. How can we get there faster? How can that be done quicker? How can we cut down that time? The different levels of traffic would work if engineering allowed it and if human nature was easier to understand. People would never be able to go on the right level of auto mobile traffic, there is always that slow traffic even still today. Everyone was in a hurry and things would get very congested. This invention also shows how there was a concept of close knit cities. The Multiple levels of traffic would only be in crowded cities and be very short down a road.
From the view point on their present, it was a great idea. People could get places faster and it would keep people and traffic separate.

Science Fiction

Science fiction and science fact are opposites. We know that already, but people in the 1930's did not exactly know how to differentiate. People who were listening to “War of the Worlds” had to be confusing science fact with science fiction. The radio announcer talked about the observatory and the astronomer that was viewing mars. Then her started to describe the aliens heat rays and the material their “space craft” was made out of. He described how the metal was not human made because it came through the atmosphere and would have been torn apart. This is an example of using science-based ideas and exaggerating them to create science fiction. Also, the people of the 1930’s were listening to the radio, not watching this on television or watching a movie. The radio created a real life feeling so many people believed that this was really happening. Those people who were familiar with science fiction knew that this was supposed to be entertainment for the listening population. Everyone else used science fact to understand what was going on. The confusion between science fact and fiction can create major problems and chaos. 

Benjamin Franklin was not a president.

http://www.npg.si.edu/exh/franklin/bfpeale.htm

            Benjamin Franklin, a great father to our country. The picture I choose was the one painted while Franklin lie in his death bed. It represents his scientific discoveries as well as his opinion about them. While reading through the “Franklin and his Friends” web site I discovered more about Franklin than just the guy behind electricity.

While giving tours of the museum I request that the tour guides include more than just the type of painting and that this is Benjamin Franklin.  I want them to discuss the development of society that his inventions had. Not only did the lightning rods protect houses but it also gave people more comfort and stability. They would not have to worry as much about their homes when a storm came.

            The painting also show cases Franklin’s opinions of his own inventions. According to the site, Benjamin was not a fan of the lightning rods with the knobs at the top. The artist used great detail showing him holding a rod with a pointed rod and not one with a knob on it.

There are so many hidden details in a painting that people would not expect. If the visitors took one thing from this painting it should be to look at all the fine print and think about what the mean on a larger scale. Most people think Benjamin Franklin was a president. Well, he was not but he was a leader of science and politics. He developed so much more than we could ever imagine with out studying it further and just maybe, that’s what the observers will do.

Albert what?

http://pullthecork.wordpress.com/tag/albert-einstein/

Albert Einstein, a man of wisdom and courage. Yet, we picture him like this, see picture above. Why is that? Beats me, but my best guess would be that we picture scientists as crazy. Well, that brings up a whole new predicament. Where did this theory of smart people acting like lunatics come from? I wonder this outside of class all the time.

         Einstein is a classic. Not only did he discover the worst equation physics and chemistry can ask for (E=mc^2), but he also teaches the words youth how to stick out their tongues. I am almost certain that somewhere at sometime, someone was playing around and said “hey, how funny would it be if we made Albert look stupid!” and lo and behold a classic view of Alby. Obviously that’s not the picture I chose but pretty much everyone knows what I’m talking about. I chose this picture of Albert because it is more realistic. Although his hair is messy and he seems out of sorts, this was the real him. As a science major myself, I can understand why he would want to pull out his hair and maybe scream a little here and there, but he never gave up. Albert didn’t let his appearance influence his work. So, do all scientists go batty?

I would think not, but for some reason the usual acceptance by convention is the crazy guy in a white lab coat. That just seems odd to me. I want to know where this silly idea came from. For now, I’ll just assume that Alby was not what pop culture makes him out to be.