So, here I am in the second week of the summer semester, and it’s really picking up, I have to write a lab report every week. On top of that, I am learning all the different ways that we develop and the ways in which parents get it wrong.

Now it makes complete sense to me why university students get mad and blame their parents, however, there is a cognitive test outlined in the textbook that depicts an interview between the clinician and the child. The question goes like this.

“A persons tell you the wrong information, is that person a liar?”

The child responds yes.

“Why did you say that person would be a liar”

The child states because the person had told them the wrong information.

The clinician now changes the question, “What if this person didn’t know that the information is wrong, what are they now?”

The child says that this person is still a liar.

To me that person would not be a liar, and this is because they honestly didn’t know that the information was incorrect. There are various ways of lying, or deception and manipulation where there is no harm that is actually done to the “patient”, but this is an art and it requires a great deal of knowledge and experience. Most people are just fucking idiots, they think they can be therapists without ever studying psychology at the university level and obtaining a degree.

This is the bare minimum as well, this opens the door to figuring out what kind of psychology you will study. An organizational behavioural psychologist would do poorly at clinical psychology, specializing in Schizophrenia (I have some stories, that’s for another post). Well, that’s my rant for the week, lets get into what I have been up to:

The Lab

So, when I first started chemistry labs, I almost did the entire lab by myself. I just didn’t finish the last step before lab was over. Then, throughout my time in Chemistry, it was always inferred that biologists aren’t precise, or at least as precise as chemists. Also, because I have a brain injury, these fucking kids used to mock me, and I am an older student so I can’t retaliate.

Then, in my analytical chemistry course, I decided to do the lab entirely by my self. I finished the fucking lab, got my data all within an acceptable range of error (it’s not like I am in the lab everyday, I get a little rusty) and there was only error between the first 2. Because of my parkinsonian-like tremor on my right hand, I use adaptive equipment for the transfer pipette tasks..

On my first three trials, I got 4.88mL, 4.90mL and 4.88mL. Boo-yah.

Next was the micropipette, something that as a biologist I am more familiar with. We had to collect 5 1000uL samples, in chemistry they are called aliquots, because chemists are fancy.

I.00mL, 1.90mL, 2.89mL 3.88mL, 4.88mL

The first sample and the second sample differed by 100uL, probably due to my technique. Then after that I was golden, I should have done one more sample collection and then weighing, but the TA and PI were all just there waiting, not like rudely they were talking and stuff, but I was the last one left in the lab. The last student other than myself left 20 minutes ago.

Ecology Lab

This lab was really easy, we just went out as a group and counted cars. We had to note the make, and colour. We needed 50 readings, so I said lets be smart and just take 25 cars and collect the data from there.

If you think about it, each car has a colour and a make. So why are we counting an additional 25 cars? That to me would screw with the numbers and you don’t get a true representation of the cars.

You’re getting half of the colours and half of the cars in the population, but since we were a group of researchers that doesn’t really matter as much, as we are all going to sample different cars anyway, but it’s the principle.

Soil Science

I actually didn’t have a lecture this week, and I am just reading the textbook so nothing really to report here, I actually have to get going on acquiring some new soil for myself.

My indoor plants aren’t 100% healthy, and I am going to find out why. My mom planted seeds, but I don’t think she takes care of the plants. Like she says she waters them, but I never see her do it, and she works as a RPN at a retirement facility, so she leaves in the morning, and comes back late at night.

Developmental Psychology

Same thing with Developmental Psychology, I am just learning the stuff right now, and it’s pretty dense. I now know why students in university do end up going home and blaming their parents for raising them like crap.

I actually had a little debate with a professor at another university over LinkedIn. She claims that psychology is a science, and I think it’s more of an art. Her reasoning is that they use the scientific method in research, and whilst that may be true, it’s not exactly the same as a “hard” science.

Sure, neuroscience can tell you things like what part of the brain lights up, but everyone’s brain is different, and the reasons are also different. Like you can say this part of the brain lights up when in love, but then can you replicate that same response in someone else with the same person with 100% accuracy?

Cinema/TIFF

I didn’t get to see any movies yet, I am writing this journal entry as we speak inside the Film Reference Library. So, perhaps I will go up to the Varda Cafe later and get a sandwich and a coffee [update, did not happen]. I actually had to fart real bad because I am trying to up my protein, and this wet sounding fart just burst out when I stood.

I don’t think the staff was too impressed, haha.

The Week Ahead

Well Monday is a holiday here in Canada, and I need to make the most of it! The last thing I want to do is fall behind in my studies because it is so hard to catch back up. At least in the upper year courses, like there is very little room for forgiveness. Especially chemistry.

I also like to cook once in a while, because of chemistry. The only problem is that I treat this like an experiment and when I get my parents help, well I just don’t really ask for their help anymore.

I selected my courses for the final year of my studies, I am fairly sure that I need to move up out of undergrad now that I have put myself through some this fucked up regimen of courses.

I have a whole whack of courses selected for my final year, I may have to take these 3 courses, Physics I and II and Calculus for Biological Sciences. I also may have to take Organic Chemistry II in the summer of next year. I am planning on taking A history of drugs course, a film course on reading films which leads into a documentary course, and I am torn between a course in Fungal Biology and Pathogenesis or Practical Approaches to Immunity and Infections. I think I am going to take the third year Immunity and Infections course called Looking Inside the Cell (it’s kind of cheesy), but the fourth year Fungal Biology and Pathogenesis. I also want to take a third year conservation biology before I leave, like I don’t want to dive deep, maybe conservation biology and winter ecology? I wonder if I could be a TA though, like if I could TA that Experimental Animal Behaviour course that is rumoured to be in partnership with the Toronto Zoo. Depending on how I like my courses this summer, I may be taking Environmental Toxicology.

We’ll see what unfolds throughout the summer though, man I am such a fucking nerd.