Plan B

Thursday, September 3, 2009
The University called this morning - the Business Computer Applications class I was registered for has been canceled due to low enrollment. So I had to find another class to take. At first I thought I'd suck it up and take my last Communication Arts required course ("Discovering Creative Energies" ::snort::), but that class was full.

So instead I'm treating myself to another class in the Science and Technology catalog called "Breakthroughs in Science." Here's the description:
The last fifty years in science have produced amazing new discoveries and reorganized thinking in several basic fields. What are some of the most important scientific breakthroughs in recent times and what is the state of knowledge in those areas? This course provides opportunities to reflect on the future of scientific research. What are the most likely scientific discoveries in the next 25 to 50 years? What conceptual breakthroughs and new technologies will be needed to take scientific understanding and technological applications to the next level in selected fields? What are the likely implications for life in the years ahead? This course also addresses the issue of "Scientific taboo" - what science should or should not study and whether scientific and technological inquiry can be slowed down or stopped.

I was kind of saving this class as a reward for when I completed all the mandatory "common learning experiences" in my program, but it was the only class offered this semester in my degree plan that had room for me. As you can imagine, I'm really looking forward to it, as the course description implies an interesting and thought provoking curriculum. I'm really hoping we discuss nanotechnology, cyborgs and our new robotic overlords.

Of course, now I have to return my $198.23 textbook, since there's no guarantee the professor who ends up teaching the section of the Business Applications course will want that text. That's annoying, of course, but I'll get a full refund since the school canceled the class and I'll be returning it due to no fault of my own.

And in a complete non sequitur, here's a bug:

10 comments:

John the Scientist said...

That sounds like an awesome class.

mom in northern said...

OOOOO
Fun.
Take good notes so you can share with other inquiring minds.

Thordr said...

bugs are cool

Nathan said...

bzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

(On, and what John said.)

XD

Eric said...

How to have fun on the first day: if the professor asks what lines, if any, of scientific inquiry should be stopped, raise your hand and say, "Evolution and birth control, because they make baby Jesus cry."

What?

John the Scientist said...

Eric, no, no, no.

The answer to that question involves Area 51, butt probes and flying wing aviation designs.

What?

Janiece said...

If I was to honestly suggest such a thing I'm quite sure I would spontaneously combust on the spot.

And that's just messy.

neurondoc said...

Janiece says in her first day of class "Evolution and birth control, because they make baby Jesus cry."

::blam::

That class sounds like it is made of awesome.

neurondoc said...

And TPT says she wants to be either an archaeologist or a "bugologist" when she grows up.

Random Michelle K said...

Natalie,

I've known entomologists. They're a strange lot. 100x magnified pictures of mites hanging on their walls.