Science Puppy

Tips for Grad School-Bound Undergrads: Yes, you really are expected to know that stuff

2005-02-10T14:23:00.000-08:00

Help me find a new ISP!!!!! See the bottom of this post ...
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I know that title sounds condescending, but stay with me here, people.
For all the talk I hear about how hard graduate school is, I think that getting an undergraduate degree is just as difficult but in different ways. Sure, getting my BS now wouldn’t be as hard, but then I’m not 20 anymore. I think it’s just plain easier to work hard when you’re older and a lot of the social/emotional issues of your early 20’s has been resolved. Undergraduate education in many universities is a survival process of learning to crack the code on five different courses at a time. The fact is that it isn’t possible to gain a deep understanding in five subjects in four to five months. And you really do need to be working on that social/emotional stuff so you can grow as a person, and not just as a scientist. Believe me, it's pretty obvious in grad school who neglected doing the former.
But my point is that somehow you need to learn the coursework in your field in a way that you remember the majority of it. Cramming does work, but only short-term. I'm sure you're aware that you'll be expected to know that stuff for a subject GRE test. But realize that once you're in graduate school, you will be spoken to as if you remember what you were taught while earning your BS. More importantly, you will be expected to have learned it well enough to develop good intuition so that you can really think on your feet and make intellegent conjectures when new subject matter is presented to you. And when people mention Chiroptera, you really shouldn't have a blank expression on your face.
To this end, I keep Campbell's Biology by my bed for night-time browsing. This is the greatest biology text that I know of, and it was used in my first two introductory biology courses as an undergrad. If you don't have a copy of it, I'm sure you can find used ones on eBay or Amazon.com, but I bought my current copy for $7 at Half Price Books. I look at it all the time, refreshing my memory on the taxonomy I'm less familiar with (really, people, you should know all the Orders and Classes of familiar species), how nerve cells work, etc. The message here is to develop and maintain a solid foundation in your field. Now go learn those Orders ... and that's an order!

Science news tidbit for the day: New Coral Species Discovered

Science behind the story: Do you know about different species concepts?

Cool science site of the day: The Tree of Life Site is great. I used it all the time as a research assistant. I remember having trouble locating species of interest using their search tool, but could get there by browsing. Maybe the search function has been improved.

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I'm in desperate need of a new ISP! I have to dump AOL as soon as possible. Its software is ruining my computer, and they are just soooooo annoying in general. Please leave suggestions in my comments.
Here are the details:
I have Windows 98. I need dial-up for 6 months. I want a service with the simplest, trouble-free software that doesn't do more than get me online. I don't want to get knocked off, but I can understand that it happens once in a while. I want it cheap. Anyone want to pitch their ISP? Thanks so much!

My Favorite Graduate School Tools: EndNote

2005-02-09T11:09:00.000-08:00

Help me find a new ISP!!!!! Please see bottom of post for details!!!

EndNote is a great way to keep track of all your references and automatically generate bibliographies. The key is to start early in grad school if you can. It is worth learning all of its functions and customizing it. Also, if you haven’t already checked out your university bookstore’s software deals, you should do so. I got this program at a very affordable price from mine. I'm using version 5, but I think they're selling 8. Updates and lots of info is available on their website. I put some ideas for customizing EndNote at the end of this post.

Science news tidbit for the day: Clever octopus sheds light on arm evolution

Science behind the story: The researchers in the above study are talking about convergent evolution.

Cool science site of the day: TONMO! This is a super-cool site for all things squidly

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Here are some ideas for customizing EndNote.
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Use the custom fields. Here are mine:

Custom 1: Record #

This is the identifying number that I write on the front of my hardcopies. It is usually the same as EndNote's assigned record number, but if you move citations around libraries, that number can change.

Custom 2: On File

This is a Y/N field meaning whether or not I have the hard copy in my files or a pdf on my harddrive. Actually, like all of my Y/N fields, I actually enter a Y or leave it blank.

Custom 3: To Get

Y/N field letting me know I need to get this paper. I keep all sorts of citations of interest in my library, and just because I don't have them on file doesn't mean I want to go get them right now. I use this field to generate a library/internet to-do list.

Custom 4: Get Citations

Another Y/N field letting me know to look this up in a citation index.

Custom 5: Request

If I can't get a copy of something I want, I put a Y here to let me know to write the author for a reprint or request a copy from someone I think would have it.

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Make up your own output styles to fit your needs.

I made up two that help me review the literature in my EndNote database and produce lists to go to the library with. One I called “Review,” and I use it when I'm browsing my database to let me know if it's something I have on file or need to get, if I've written notes about it, etc. It's basic library-maintenance info that shows up in the preview window when I click on a reference. I never use it as an actual output in a document. The other I called "To Get," and I use it to generate lists to take with me to the library. I pull up all the references that have "Y" in my Custom 3 field (see above), then sort by call number. Then I export all the citations using this as an output style.

Below I've put the bibliographic template that goes in the "generic" reference type for each of the styles I made. I think you can cut and paste them right into the window. I have other templates for each style - for journal, book, etc. I'd be happy to email the styles to you if you're interested (ocyanea@yahoo.com).

"To Get" template for generic

Call Number
`Author. (Year). Title.
In: Secondary Title (Secondary Author, ed)^eds). Publisher, Place Published, p. Pages.

"Review" template for generic

Author (Year) Title. Secondary Title.
OnFile? Custom 2 Get?Custom 3 Request?Custom 5 GetCitations?Custom 4 GetMissingInfo?Custom 6
Label
Notes

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I'm in desperate need of a new ISP! I have to dump AOL as soon as possible. Its software is ruining my computer, and they are just soooooo annoying in general. Please leave suggestions in my comments.

Here are the details:

I have Windows 98. I need dial-up for 6 months. I want a service with the simplest, trouble-free software that doesn't do more than get me online. I don't want to get knocked off, but I can understand that it happens once in a while. I want it cheap. Anyone want to pitch their ISP? Thanks so much!

Another day slipping by again?

2005-02-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

I wasn't able to sleep much, but I did manage to work out some this morning. Now I look at the clock and I've been messing around online for an hour and a half, looking at useless items like the Lincoln Fry. Too bad I ate all the Wheat Thins yesterday; I'm sure there was an image of Elvis in there somewhere.

I did find a cool site on the upcoming Chinese New Year - it starts tomorrow. 2005 with be a Year of the Rooster, which is where my birthdate a falls in the Chinese zodiac. Here's a site with really nice papercut art. I'd love to learn to do something like that, if I wasn't ... oh yeah! I'm supposed to be writing my thesis!

Howdy Folks From Thesis Hell!

2005-02-07T12:10:00.000-08:00

Wow! Just when I thought that graduate school couldn't induce any more humiliation and self-loathing ... it's thesis writing time!

So I spent all of last year on a fellowship ... and to make the last little bit of money that I have last through my thesis writing this year, I've moved in with my parents for a few months.
Now the only income I have is from selling things on eBay. My goal is to be finished with my first draft in March. I've done my introduction and methods chapters ... I'm in results pergatory. I know, I know: do the introduction last. But don't worry - I have to write it again anyway. One of my committee members called it "misleading." Ouch.

Now, I love my parents. We get along just great. I've been quite a distance from them over the last five years, so it's been a nice time to catch up with our relationship. But I have to tell you, being asked five times a day, "So, do you feel like you're getting a lot done today?" is a bit hard to get used to. Lucky for all of us, I'm a chronic people-pleaser (not to mention that I'm not an ingrate) and I haven't asked them to stop talking to me. I have started answering "no" every time, though. I hope that this will work.

Me and a fellow grad student used to bitch a lot how the first-year grad students would ask about how our projects were going - like every time they saw us. God, we just wanted to punch them. They're all eventually beaten down though, and stop asking about people's projects for fear they'll be asked about theirs.

Days and weeks are certainly not the proper time-scale by which to judge progress in gradual school. Sometimes months aren't appropriate either. My parents - bless their generous hearts - think that hours are.

Discussions for people with stronger stomachs than I have

2005-02-06T11:33:00.000-08:00

Here's one thing I sure won't be discussing: the evolution "debate."
Why wouldn't I want to discuss such a super-hot topic?

1. There is no debate among biological scientists educated in evolutionary theory.
- there would be less debate in society in general if decent science education existed in our schools
- and no I'm not afraid of using the word "theory" - there's a difference between evolutionary theory and evolution as a general concept; the misuse of the word "theory" as some ding against evolution comes from a basic misunderstanding of how scientists use the word

2. There are those with stronger stomachs for such debate ... those who apparently can think and write on the subject at length without having a nervous breakdown like I seem to do every time.

3. This is an education problem. EDUCATION - that means years of learning, folks, and my weighing in on the discussion with some blog entries or links to good essays that I find on the web are not going to replace the education that people should be getting starting in grade school.

I've given some thought about how I will approach the problem when I am in front of a classroom. I will, I'm sure, be asked about "alternatives" to evolution by some student whose parents and/or school refused to educate him.

I think I'll tell him that I will be teaching the functioning of a cell, but that it is just a model based on the extent of our scientific knowledge. There are myriad alternative, research-based hypotheses for various molecular functions within a cell, but I won't be teaching those because the scope of any classroom education restricts the teaching of the any but the most widely-accepted models for how things work in the biological world. However, there is no scientific, research-based alternative for evolution. So the only alternatives to evolution are alternatives to science, which is outside the scope of a science class. I am there to teach the prevailing model for any system or process ... be it a kidney, photosynthesis or speciation.

I expect I'll be answered with a "Well all I know is that I didn't come from no damn monkey."

Welcome to my Science Blog

2004-12-27T06:08:00.000-08:00

I’ve started this blog to offer commentary and evaluation on current science news headlines. I hope to offer a (new) scientist’s perspective on some of the science and health issues that reoccur in the popular media, furthering understanding of what science really is and how it works. The process of writing this blog will hopefully sharpen my writing skills as well as help me to develop and better communicate my thoughts to a non-scientist audience. Because I am a biologist, I will be sticking to issues related to biology, ecology and human health.

BUT ... as I am in the middle of writing my thesis, most of my posts with likely deal with this birthing process as I find my way from graduate school to the workplace. So this is likely to be a hodgepodge of personal journey and intellectual interest. Just don't hold your breath for a lot of the latter.

puppy out

First Post Test

2004-12-21T11:24:00.000-08:00

This is only a test.