[Kenna]

There are no strangers to science. And you shouldn’t be a stranger either! Tell us about yourself. Don’t worry about what others think. Just be yourself (but the coolest version, okay?)

Answer questions like:

What do you study (if you’re a student)?

What’s one question in the field of science that you would you like to see answered?

What are your hobbies?

Who is your favorite scientist?

Your favorite invention?

Personal theme song? (Don’t pretend you haven’t thought of this.)

[Kenna]

Now don’t everybody reply at once.

1. Psych major, English minor. Because understanding people is hard.

2. Will a (efficient) method of intergalactic travel ever be achieved?

3. Hoarding Asian relics and any technological innovations older than the 1930s for my future cross-cultural steampunk witch house.

4. Leonardo da Vinci (subject to change).

5. This system we call “writing.”

6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tds0qoxWVss My best friend picked it so it’s extra official, yo.

[Anonymous]

Oi.. Kenna. I wanted to reply but the problem is I don’t know the answer to half of your questions! And…if you’re a Touhou fan too, that’s awesome. 🙂

1) I’m always studying haha. Student for life. 😉 …though, right now I really should be putting my efforts into getting a job. :/ Which is probably going to end up being something I don’t want to do, but optimism is key no? So, my major was in Computer Science. (Previous majors Psychology, and Biochemistry: changed from those). My interest in that major was.. you can probably already guess, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Holography. I won’t go into the origins of my interest/passion, but my eyes were inundated with a grand dream. However, I gave it up… I’m currently studying many things to do with environmental sustainability, and hopefully I’ll be attending grad school within a couple of years in EnviEng.

2)Ok, I promise you all I’ve been educated in thermodynamics, but I just can’t help wondering if there’s any such thing as a perfectly efficient system. Generally meaning an given amount of energy input, will produce an equal ammount of energy output without the escape of ‘uncaptured’ energy. I know by the 2nd law of Thermodynamics this isn’t possible…but. :/

3) Animation (but, it’s winding down some as I just don’t have the time :(). And various other things.. I’ve dabbled in clothing and cosplay creation and design, music composition, working on plans to reform society…shhh. But, I don’t do anything regularly enough to be considered a hobby. Oh, and I really like drawing with pastels. I don’t do any artwork though because I currently don’t have the space for it. Lastly…it’s kind of a secret, but I plan to work on aircrafts in the future. So, it’s a future hobby I guess. 😉

4) This is bad… I’ll have to pass on this until I can actually recall who did what and that. 😉

5) How in the world could I actually pick just one?? 😀 But since you asked, I have a really great appreciation for modern water plumbing. Honestly, I praise its existence everytime I turn on the faucet. xD

6)I’m not cool enough to have a theme song..way to rub it in. >:/ 😛

[Kenna]

Ah, thank you for trying at least! Those questions are more like guidelines than requirements. If I get carried away in my poor attempts at humor, just ignore me.

3. Can I reform society with you? World domination used to be my main focus. But I realized providing accessible literature to the masses was more democratic and half as costly.

That aircraft line sounds fishy. <.<

6. Here, have this placeholder theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1s5Y3t7CI8 It’ll at least get you noticed.

[Anonymous]

Haha I get a kick out of your sense of humor 😉 ..probably due to the fact that it’s quite like my own, and I tend to enjoy it when it doesn’t get me in trouble. Even then some. xD

…accessible literature? Sounds like what I was talking about just this morning. I think you and I would find lots to talk about. 🙂

Aircrafts.. force fields.. all things I don’t bring up in casual conversation.. >.>

A placeholder indeed… well, Cowboy Bebop, I can’t complain. But Nyan-Cat will have to go, it defies my aversion to pop-culture. 😛

[Shiv]

It’s the first time I’m writing a post, but the topic is great =) so I just had to.

1. Field of study?
I’m a Biology student specializing in Metabolic Biochemistry and Nutrition Physiology. I’m French, so we don’t exactly have minors here.
I hope we get as many fields represented as possible ^^

2. That one is a tough one, and I just can’t choose, so I’ll guess I’ll pick two Biology-oriented ones.
So the first question I’d like to see answered is about the link between size and lifespan : ” Why bigger organism live longer ?” Or more accurately, what is the molecular basis behind this correlation. (It feels like it’s not a question, like it’s the just the “way it is”, but looking into the biology of this determinism is so fascinating).

And the second question would be : What is the molecular basis for consciousness? I know that’s neither a new one, nor an easy one :p. (And somehow I doubt that I will live to see any progress on this question).

3. Hobbies.
Like a craft or a science-related hobby? I can’t sew, draw or do anything that would be remotely useful if you’re stranded on a desert island…
I do bake delicious French pastries though (which requires a lot of both hypothesis-driven and empirical methodology).

I also love talking and making the world anew (I thing the theoretical question of “how to build a society to make it work on the long run ? ” absolutely fascinating and I like argumenting with people, (constructively of course), especially on controversial topic like faith, absurdity of life, and so on.

4. Who is your favorite scientist?
Dead or alive? :p
And I’d say Claude Bernard (he’s dead), a French Physiologist from the 19th Century that did a lot of great work in physiology and that laid ground for the scientific hypothesis-driven methodology as we know it today.

5. Your favorite invention?
I’m cheating, because I’m voting for electricity. Not an invention, but it changed our lives so much, in so little time, … it’s awesome.

6. Personal theme song?
I don’t have one, but I’ll admit the “Coboy Bebop” music is just epic :D.
I wonder if something like that would work? (this is some extreme electroswing, it does have a “mad scientist feel” though).

[Kenna]

1. “I hope we get as many fields represented as possible. ^^”

Me, too, Shiv. Me, too. Because this is S.H.I.E.L.D., I am Nick Fury, and you are to be my scientist Avengers to save the world.

2. I know nothing about biology but that won’t stop me from taking a shot at that question. Could it be that larger organisms survive telomerase shortening/cell aging better because they have more cells? Also would love to see the question of consciousness answered.

6. Did ya hear that, Yura? You’re epic.

Electroswing. It is…

Awesome.

[Anonymous]

Yet another society builder amoung us.. I’m starting to really think of this as S.H.I.E.L.D haha. 🙂

-Is now itching to give my input on the biology question- But this is supposed to be for introductions so.. -Kills brain processes-

Kenna, I’m thinking you should give everyone who joins an honorary theme song. 😉

[Kenna]

If either you or Shiv want to create a new forum topic to discuss biology in depth, or perhaps take it to the group chat, feel free to do so.

And way ahead of you, sista. I shall use my powers of induction to create a musical assemblage for anyone who lacks a theme (…or by request).

[Shiv]

I’m definitely creating a new topic to talk about this (and many other questions I hope 🙂 )

[Anonymous]

1. What do you study (if you’re a student)?
I am only obsessively schooling myself. Interests are pharmacology, phychiatry, neuroscience, endocrinology and related. I would love to teach myself quantum physics and better mathematics … but I don’t really need this, so I don’t.

2. What’s one question in the field of science that you would you like to see answered?
For example: If GABA-B agonists can reactivate damaged brain regions and how it particularly works.

3. What are your hobbies?
I suppose that pursuing my interests is my hobby .. but it is more like a compulsion. I just try to understand the entire universe around the clock. I have mice for example, but only to analyze their behavior and properties in excessive details that allow me to for example to better understand study results. You do for example never really realize, that a mouse’s lifespan heavily depends on psychological factors, and is not so physical at all. Not until you have had them as pets.

4. Who is your favorite scientist?
Nervousneuron: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTSvuyGbPIQ&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

5. Your favorite invention?
Despite the obvious (computer, internet, etc.), probably this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK367T7h6ZY

6. Personal theme song? (Don’t pretend you haven’t thought of this.)

[Kenna]

1. Quantum physics is always a nice, psychological trip down the rabbit hole. I wholeheartedly suggest it!

3. What are you doing to those poor mice?

5. Hello, new research spree.

6. Sound representation of the second law of thermodynamics (i.e., in an isolated system, entropy can only increase)? I think yes.

[Emerson L]

What do you study (if you’re a student)?
Not sure exactly but I’m currently enrolled in Organic and Analytical Chemistry
What’s one question in the field of science that you would you like to see answered?
I would like to see answered whether supermassive black holes are at the center of galaxies
What are your hobbies?
I like kpop and playing the piano and partner and contemporary dancing
Who is your favorite scientist?
Marie Curie
Your favorite invention?
Can-Opener
Personal theme song? (Don’t pretend you haven’t thought of this.)
DNA by BTS

[Anonymous]

What do you study?
Born under the shadow of Jim Crow Apartheid and the Intersectional Racialized Caste System that still endures, I was raised to view lifelong learning as a way of life, a moral imperative, and the only path towards freedom for me and mine.

I started in aeronautical engineering and somehow ended up in Ecological Systems theory, Environmental Psychology, in projects ranging from Human Factors R&D, early web design in the HTML Writers Guild, Change and Risk Management, Storage, Backups, Restores, Disaster Recovery, then IT Project Management before it became a cult.

What’s one question in the field of science, that you would, you like to see answered?
Culture as a Technology, Economic Democracy for Social Democracy, to demonstrate an alternative to Corporate Feudalism, the reinvention of societal infrastructure, systems that encourage increased fitness and competency for self-governance, a systemic focus on reformation and reduction of social service bureaucracy, and the reinvention of critical infrastructure by repatriation from private ownership and also private influence by political means, restoring public resources and infrastructure to the public trust. Using collaborative action, research, design, development techniques to Optimize Human Strengths, Accommodate Human Limitations.

What are your hobbies?
I am told I don’t really have “hobbies” I have obsessions. The closest to a hobby I have is archery and I have always loved the study of woodcraft, hiking, backpacking, camping. Back east I canoed Miami White Water most of my life, but now plan taking up open water Kayaking and Camping in 2021 with an Oru Coastal XT. I correspondingly am switching from sportbikes to Dual-Sport/Adventure Biking and Camping. My interests make me an outlier, so long ago I learned to appreciate my own company and solitude.

Who is your favourite scientist?
My personal mentor from my teens and into my 20s was a Dr George Sperti. He never spoke down to me, or took exception if I didn’t agree with him. He taught me how to work in a lab, how to design experiments, how to be deliberately curious, to question my assumptions in an organized fashion, to be wary of how implicit biases can creep in and corrupt one’s world view, and most of all to avoid comfort as a aim in life. The pain of hearing he died completely caught me off guard, and reflecting in the month and years immediately following, I realized how much he was also a moral authority, his willingness to sacrifice of himself to a higher cause, his devotion to intellectual and emotional truth were a high bar set before me and I didn’t realize it until he was gone.

Your favourite invention?
Wow, tough question. The most useful was unexpected. George invented and patented the first proven clinically effective Sun Lamp. I tried it to help with depression, without realizing until several years had passed how widespread the positive effect would be on the rest of my life.

On a far less serious note, electric guitars. I never really appreciated the degree of socialization I never would have had, if I hadn’t been improbably talented in music. I do feel bad about giving up playing, but I was just born before people could accept in or out of the business.

Personal theme song?
I guess I have thought of it, but my theme songs have changed as I grew and learned about life.
Right now it is Sia’s Never Give Up
https://youtu.be/h6Ol3eprKiw

Unstoppable also by Sia
https://youtu.be/I90KY3HNm0Y

When I was barely older than a toddler my favourite music at the time was Debussy’s third movement of Suite Bergamasque “Clair de Lune”, in D♭ major. I would sit underneath my mother’s Baldwin Baby Grand and it was like a waterfall of music, perhaps all of my yearnings in music have been to recapture that feeling.
https://youtu.be/8uupXFIc4DM

I had three pre-teen and teen favourites part from the Beatles and Stones everyone loved.
“Rock Steady” by Aretha Franklin which was the B-side to “Oh Me Oh My (I’m a Fool for You Baby)”
https://youtu.be/_gWHD54GXmk

“Ode to Billie Joe” by Bobbie Gentry just haunted my soul for years, and sadly is a recurring theme throughout my life. Gentry has, however, commented it is a song about indifference, the clue is “unconscious cruelty” of the family in the song as they discuss the reported suicide.
https://youtu.be/HaRacIzZSPo

The bridge in the song is gone now, but where it stood was only a few steps from now-ruined Bryant’s Grocery and Meat Market, where 14-year-old Emmett Till allegedly whistled at the co-owner in 1955, resulting in the boy’s being beaten to death, his broke body was sunk in the muddy waters of the Tallahatchie.

But it was “Itchycoo Park” sung by Steve Marriott and the Small Faces that just slayed me.
https://youtu.be/fayL1WTR1Go

The voice, the look, the style of lead singer Steve Marriott between the mid 1960s through 1970s was a perfect storm of culture for me. As usual I was completely at odds with everyone elses tastes.

I do still remember being scared of getting caught sneaking out of the house to hear Humble Pie play at Cincinnati Gardens in the early 1970s.
I Don’t Need No Doctor
https://youtu.be/mSyrf-FYKVE

Hallelujah (I Love Her So)
https://youtu.be/nji48TuMVlM

Honourable mentions . . .
The Allman Brothers Band – Statesboro Blues ( At Fillmore East, 1971 )
https://youtu.be/dWy3Q30Cn2A

My favourite riding home drunk song
Pony Boy by Dickey Betts
https://youtu.be/m90KZ87mS28

[Author]

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