Monday, January 30, 2006

My major is Biology and Society. I'm taking Numeracy in the hope that I can begin to think about ways to apply quantitative values to the life and social sciences. As problems become more and more complex, ye olde data-gathering needs to be used to construct a formal model as a matter of efficiency as well as accuracy.

When we're looking at, say, the implications of globalization on infectious disease, things can get a little hairy.

This class won't teach me exactly how to figure that out, but I think it will help me explore ways to make information in these sciences more useful by understanding the fundamental concepts that govern formal models and quantitative techniques.

This ties into my major in which I'm supposed to learn "conceptual foundations of the biosciences and their diverse interactions with society through Bioethics, Policy, and Law."

Have I mention I failed swimming? Now would be a good time to mention that I failed swimming.

My real reason for pursuing this major is, to quote Bart Simpson:

Bart: "How would I go about creating a half-man, half-monkey-type creature?"
Mrs. Krabapple: "That would be playing God."
Bart: "God shmod! I want my monkey-man!"