By Caroline S.
Newsflash: we’ve just passed the halfway point of SSP 2021. Wow, just wow. I think I speak for all of us when I say that I certainly did not imagine how fast the time would fly by. It was on intro day, I believe, when a much wiser and more seasoned SSP staff member gave us a fair warning: “The days are long, but the weeks are short.” Although I didn’t fully appreciate it at the time, this statement could not be more true, and it really sums up my experience of SSP so far.
During today’s Class Activity block, I learned about enzyme kinetics, including the Michaelis-Menten equation and related parameters, and I (finally) figured out how to properly use Excel for modeling non-linear data. As there is so much to cover about this day, I’ll have to keep my summary of the Class Activity block short, but let me just say that we did hear about the “Blue People of Kentucky,” as pictured below.
This is just one example of the many disorders that can arise from improper enzyme function, highlighting just how important it is for us to study enzymes both so we understand them and so that we can develop treatments when problems do arise!
After a short break in which I indulged in my favorite snack, the snack that smiles back, I hopped into the Campus Block, and admittedly, was a bit disappointed to hear that we would be listening to a TA lecture instead of our typical routine of playing games. But, boy, was I in for a surprise.
As Rachel introduced her topic for the day, I was instantly fascinated and secretly wondered if she had somehow written her presentation directly for me. Her lecture was structured to summarize and present key takeaways from a class she had taken in 2019 called “The Study of Public Advocacy: Science, Communication, and the Public.” (A wonderful title for a communication class, if I do say so myself…)
She asked us a couple of seemingly simple yet actually deeply thought-provoking questions:
- “What is Truth?” (truth with a capital T, like a fact that is 100% totally infallible). I had actually thought about this question myself not too long ago, and seeing it reflected in her presentation caught me speechless.
- She even asked: “Does science produce truth?” And I was startled to hear her answer of “yes and no, it depends.”
But let me make it clear, Rachel definitely believes in science. And science is definitely real and definitely can produce truth. But what it can’t produce is Truth, because Truth with a capital T is something different for each person, as I learned. She also went into the cycle of doubt, scientific skepticism, and how all these things impact society.
Honestly, her presentation was so interesting that I wished I could have spent this summer taking the class she was summarizing instead of participating in SSP. (I’m definitely joking, but I just wanted to show how interesting I found it).
The Q&A chat after the presentation certainly produced its own share of interesting revelations in which Rachel described her experience studying abroad in Copenhagen, expressed her current excitement about attending med school at WashU this fall, and admitted to repeatedly launching soccer balls at the heads of chronic Cannabis users.
With such intriguing events taking place earlier in the day, TA block certainly had its work cut out if it was going to live up to everything else that was today. Luckily, it did not disappoint as TA Kevin had come up with a great activity: rap battle. We were given just a few minutes to compose a rap, and for inspiration Kevin suggested topics such as our upcoming Fourth of July plans or even the foods we had eaten for lunch.
My rap lyrics were… how shall I say… nothing that requires documentation here.
But many other participants proved to be more talented than I (as per usual), and they veered from the directed theme into rapping at and about each other, calling up inside jokes and throwing shade in every direction in a hilarious way. I think it suffices to say that everyone was thoroughly entertained.
We then moved into breakout rooms with our teams to finish up Week 2 of our research project. I heartily agreed when Judy said that the rap battle was a lot more fun to watch than to participate in. Having thus summed up our two opinions on the battle, I think it’s pretty clear that Devin was referring to our third teammate, Aaron, when he came and told our group that we were collectively the best at rapping. True story. Sorry, Devin, if I just exposed you.
Although the battle took place at the beginning of TA block, Jang was accidentally skipped and so the final minutes at the end of the block were given to him to perform his rap, which he had had sufficient time to perfect into a rhyming roast that made Devin regret reflect on many of his life choices.
And on that note, let me just finish this by saying that SSP has been a wild ride so far and that I am so excited for everything left in store. We’re halfway through, but I bet the next couple of weeks will match and even exceed the excitement we’ve had thus far. I’m looking forward to it, and I’m sure everyone else is too 🙂
