I choose to do science because I believe that of all endeavors Man can undertake, there is none as noble and worthy as seeking the truth. I believe this spirit was manifested in me when I learned to appreciate and understand geometry in middle school. Geometry allowed one to merge mathematics with visual shapes and objects, in the sense that one could prove, given a regular hexagon, the interior angle must be 120 degrees! We could certainly measure the angle and find an agreement, but the proof is exactly what the word says, additional proof that what we perceive from our senses must be true. One could argue that it is what we sense and experience that provides legitimacy to our thought, and not the other way, but I think that's the beauty of the whole catch-22 situation---neither really provides legitimacy for the other. Rather, it's the result, the truth, when I measure 120 degrees or conclude from proof its 120 degrees, that gives our measurement and logic credibility. The uncertainty in our senses and uncertainty in our thought are dispelled when the result of both processes agree. When we have struck upon such a truth, we are certain of it! Thus, I am lead to believe more and more in seeking for truth, because it is the only thing that is certain.
Here's an interesting story, mice sing ! Check out the sound clip at the bottom of the page. Apparently during courtship male mice sing. This was discovered when researchers let male mice sniff on female or male mice urine, and though the original intention was to see how the male brain differentiates the pheromones, they noticed a rather complex ultrasound pattern erupted when hetero (whether there are homo mice is a question) male mice smelled female pheromones. This places mice in the same league as some other complex singing beings such as birds and dolphins! This is interesting for many reasons, but one I can think of is since mice are relatively easy to manipulate genetically, and the fact that they utilize complicated vocal patterns to court mates means perhaps mice have some simple language abilities. So we may be able to understand how language and vocal abilities develop and play such a crucial role (obviously as in birds better singers get to procreate!) in animals. We a...
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