Shannon's blog

Throughout the semester, we have been exposed to fresh, eye-opening perspectives of the evolution of science and literature. Regardless of whether or not people choose to accept the observations, generative stories still emerged from the class to possibly assist with the ambiguity of our lives. The classroom and group discussion experience was quite personally rewarding, as I “came out of my shell” to embrace new ideas. Although quite overwhelmed with information at times, the entire class really reaffirmed my understanding through our successful group presentation.

Have you ever felt a string of emotions come over you upon entering a familiar place? One of life’s simplest pleasures we can experience is to have our senses immediately stimulated upon entering a surrounding environment. It is suggested that an emanation of good or evil forces dictates how the miniscule nerve endings in our mind and body will respond. The atmosphere in which we stood may have produced “good” or “evil” feelings, but we tend to overlook the presence of these emotions when they evolve in our unconscious behavior. Whether to smell the scent of freshly baked cookies or to have the hair on the back of our neck rise, we are left with a distinctive story, a special impression that our brains do not document for analysis. Nevertheless, our mind establishes a unique connection that evolves from a specific locale.

We as humans are unbelievably diversified. Each of us spawns from different races, socio-economic statuses, and regions of the world. We speak thousands of independent languages and have established ways of life. Biologically speaking, one person’s specific arrangement of genes makes him individually unique in the world. We are highly specialized people who strive to surmount the challenges presented by the world and attain new goals. What is the unconscious motivation that drives us to achieve our goals, gain knowledge, and discover new things? Despite the realization that each person is biologically distinct, the guarantee of man’s progress on Earth rests on the boundless leverage of curiosity. Inquisitiveness, in coalition with imagination, may prove unkind at times through the decisions we make in life, but they are useful scientific and literary tools. One of the motifs in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland is steadfast curiosity, as he unfolds the tale of a young girl who gains maturity and valuable insights of the world via her fantastical imagination. Curiosity may have killed the (Chesire) cat, but it is an essential attribute to possess when striving for success in both the sciences and humanities.

Shannon McPherson

Evolution Paper 1

February 16, 2007

I found Chapters 1-4 to be very interesting. I'm going to be completely honest: Before I read the material, the thought of reading 80-some pages about evolution made me sick, as I am a Spanish major taking this class for a Div. II requirement & by spark of interest. I'm glad I read now because I learned some new things that 1) I have always wondered about but never cared or remembered to research & 2) just never occurred to me. For example, I never knew that the young Earth initially consisted of methane, molecular hydrogen, ammonia, and water vapor, and finally, oxygen came in increasing quantities with the rise of cyanobacteria.