I was so excited I got to share what I’m doing for my project and hearing about what everyone else is doing for theirs during our discussion in Thursday’s class! Small discussions really make a big difference, in my opinion. I was impressed with everyone else’s topic, research, and their plans for their creative displays. I like how we’re all doing something different, from molecular gastronomy to fractals to video games to nutrition– it’s crazy how broad the categories of art and science expand; there truly is some area of interest for everybody.

The forms I received from my classmates gave me just the feedback I was looking for, and some feedback that I wasn’t looking for, but I think will allow me to take my project to the next level. My project is clearly defined as “the science of hurricanes” or something along those lines by my peers’ single-sentence descriptions. Seeing those responses was perfect; that’s exactly what I want my topic to be and I’m glad it’s clear to my audience. The points of my presentation that my peers found interesting were usually my enthusiasm towards my research, and the small causes that create the large effect of a hurricane. Those points are great! I’m glad my enthusiasm showed because I want my audience to understand and know that I am passionate about my topic in the same way that any passionate researcher (like Richard Taylor or Georgie Freedman) is about their work. If someone isn’t initially interested in hurricanes and the importance of my research on them, I want to sell that person. After going over my entire final project and the steps it took to get there, I want that disinterested person to say “Wow! That’s actually pretty interesting!” I think that’s the response any true artist or scientist wants when someone looks over their work.

Which leads me to the common question my peers had at the end of my presentation which was, “What’s [your final project and] your creative display going to look like?” That should be the biggest question my peers have because that’s my biggest question too! I will continue to think about and work on developing my creative display. A few people asked how I was going to connect my research  and project to the greater “So what?” issue, which is a perfectly reasonable question. Granted,  that is a question that I decided to forgo for a period while I researched and narrowed down my topic of interest to hurricanes. As I continue to work on my project though that will certainly be a question I will work on addressing, as the “So What?” component is a vital part of the final project.

My inspiration and nerdy, scientific obsession at the moment