Maxwell Morris' Three Semester Review

During these past three semesters, there were instances where I have had to employ the hypothetico-deductive method to perform certain tasks. One such instance of this was in one of the supporting courses I took in the spring last year, BSCI171. This course is the lab portion of the Cellular and Molecular Biology class taught here, and our final project involved testing the effectiveness of different antibiotics (ex. Penicillin, amoxicillin, ampicillin) on a strain of bacteria not revealed to the class. We had to employ this method to solve the mystery behind what the mystery bacteria was. This involved researching bacteria that had matching symptoms with the mystery strain’s, the aforementioned antibiotics, what they are used for, and lastly, what bacteria was resistant to them. We then had to use this research to come up with a hypothesis of what the bacteria may have been, our biggest suspects being e. Coli and salmonella. We requested the antibiotics necessary to test this hypothesis, so the next thing we needed to do was come up with a procedure on how to do so. The general idea of the method was to use multiple petri dishes to culture salmonella, e. Coli, and the mystery strain in all of these different antibiotics, to see if there was any sort of correlation between what they could and could not resist. If, for instance, both the mystery strain and e. Coli died to amoxicillin but resisted ampicillin, the mystery strain would likely be e. Coli, but on the contrary, if the strain resisted or died to everything unlike the other strains, there would be no correlation, the hypothesis would be falsified, and we would have to repeat our experiment with a different approach. In the end, the mystery strain ended up matching with salmonella, and so that was the conclusion. Having already studied this method extensively in SGC, I was more than prepared to employ it in a more practical setting, and it helped me with how effective I was able to do so as well.

As for the aspect of SGC that has connected me more to my major, that would be the html code and css we have used for these web pages. In my experience as an Information Science Major and former Computer Science major, programming in languages such as html is very important. My experience in programming related supporting courses such as CMSC131 helped me to appreciate this aspect of the class, as this was a fun way to practically use what I have learned.

Additionally, I have heard many different news items these past months regarding climate change. As a matter of fact, my studies on this topic in SGC has boosted my awareness of it much more, as I believe I hear about and comprehend it much more than I did before. The one that has struck my attention the most, however, is the recent burning of the Amazon Rainforest. To backtrack a bit, a huge factor of climate change is carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere, something that has increased global temperatures, droughts, and violent weather conditions over the years. SGC has taught me that if by 2050, the world continues as it has been in regards to these emissions, global temperatures will have increased by 2 degrees Celsius, warranting further adverse conditions. It is no secret that the burning of the rainforest will unfortunately deprive many animals of their habitats. An equally alarming concern that many people have looked past, however, is the fact that the world is losing one of its biggest defenses against excess CO2 in the atmosphere, as there is now much less trees to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, worsening the situation at hand. The lessons about climate change in SGC have allowed me to see this situation in a much more critical light, rather than just another unfortunate event that will work itself out later.

As a commuting student during my time in this program, I feel as if the living-learning aspect of this program did not impact me as much as it could have, due to my interactions with my fellow scholars being limited to class and certain events like field trips. That isn’t to say, however, that it did not positively impact me at all. Regardless of the limitations I faced not living in the same area as the rest of the SGC scholars, I have still had many interactions with them in the form of group projects, colloquies, field trips, and the like. These events have kept me in close contact with the people I have worked with for the duration of said events, and as a result, warranted lengthy discussions about certain topics I would’ve otherwise glossed over and forgotten. For example, all of the teamwork necessary to complete the recent “Search for Solutions” poster has allowed for the information to stick with me even now, weeks past the due date and after returning from a very leisurely holiday break. The effectiveness of thorium in comparison to uranium is something that has been registered into my long term memory, and my interactions with my group members have played a very large role in this. An identical effect has occurred with the colloques as well, as forced participation and discussions about a topic is much more effective in helping people retain information than being lectured at. In terms of contributions I have personally made to SGC, I have not made any sort of significant impact to the program as many other students likely have. However, I have actively involved myself in the aforementioned group projects and colloquies to allow for smooth, beneficial interactions and discussions.

The main thing that I was challenged with upon entering SGC was the severity of global warming and what exactly is being impacted, and by “challenge”. Prior to SGC, I understood that global warming was an issue that needed to be addressed before world temperatures became permanently altered by it. What I did not know, however, is that this would affect climate as a whole, which includes increased droughts and harsher storms, something that can permanently ruin poorer countries. To a lesser extent, my prior understanding of the word “theory” was challenged by debunking the phrase “Just a Theory”. The word “theory” should not be used interchangeably with “guess” or “conjecture”, as a real theory is a “set of underlying rules” backed by the laws of the real world. I have since then matched my beliefs with those that have challenged my prior ones.

Lastly, I believe that SGC will greatly inform my future, even if I do not use it much in a computer programming field, as the explanations of what science is and how our actions have affected CO2 in the atmosphere has allowed me to see the world as a whole in a different perspective. Humanity has progressed as far as it has because of our incorporation of technology into our daily lives, but it is also worth noting how it affects our world as well.

Last modified: 3 December 2019