Journal 1

Brianna N. Samuels Journal 1

Before Reading Stewart

1. When I hear the word mathematics, I instantly think calculations and some sort of problem solving that will require some sort of formulation, equation, or step-by-step pattern to approach the problem at hand.
2. I do not consider myself a mathematician because a mathematician enjoys doing math and although I am proficient in the subject I do not enjoy it.

Before Reading Janovy

1. When I hear the word biology, the first thing that comes to mind is life. Biology is the study of life in every aspect whether it be plant life, human life, bacteria life, viral life, etc.
2. I do not consider myself a biologist just yet. Yes I study biology which is what a biologist does but I am just a grasshopper. I haven't fully mastered the tools I need to consider myself a biologist.

After Reading Stewart and Janovy

2. Something that bothered me about this reading is that it felt like the author was trying to make it seem like you had to be a naturalist to be a biologist. I agree that it should be hand in hand but at the end of the day one shouldn't be categorized into something that I don't feel pertains to me. Yes nature and biology go hand-in-hand, but I don't believe you have to be a naturist to be a biologist. I do believe you have to be a biologist to be a naturist on the other hand. From experience, I like the study of human body as opposed to the study of plants but I still am trying to be a biologist just without the emphasis of nature attached.
3. After reading this, I see that a biologist must be a balance of all life. One can't just discredit or not acknowledge all other forms of life. One can choose to study one specific aspect but to be a great biologist, you must incorporate all aspect of life into your world. I don't consider myself a biologist because I strongly dislike studying nature and plant life which is a form of discrediting and not acknowledging all life.
4. After reading this, I see that a mathematics is the fundamental component of any science and is fully required to be successful in the science fields. A mathematician is someone who analyzes patterns and finds a way to determine how and why the pattern occurred the way it did. One must be able to apply certain concepts to approach a problem. I still don't consider myself a mathematician because although I try to deepen my knowledge of science and truly appreciate how it's like a universal language, I am just not passionate about it enough to consider myself one.
5. A pretty apparent similarity I noticed right away was that there was a reoccurring theme that being a naturalist and being a mathematician is very important in the scientific fields. Something that bothered me that was kind of different was that it seemed like the paper about math was too broad whereas the bio paper seemed to say that in order to be a naturalist one had to be a biologist. the specificity of what each was trying to convey was different even though they both had similar themes.
6. I found that Austin Dias and Leanne mostly had similar thinkings. I especially agreed with Austin when he mentioned it being somewhat ignorant to assume that all biologists have the same agenda because we all know that's not the case.

Acknowledgements

Homework Partner: User:EdwardRyanTalatala

All readings were provided by User:Kam D. Dahlquist

wiki syntax copied from User:Leannekuwahara

looked at references from User:Austindias

• Except for what is noted above, this individual journal entry was completed by me and not copied from another source."

References

Assignment:Week 1 Assignment Page

Stewart, I. (2006) Letters to a Young Mathematician, New York, NY: Basic Books, pp. 1-10, 45-52.

Janovy, J. (1996) On Becoming a Biologist (2nd ed.), Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, pp. 1-33.

Brianna N. Samuels Briannansamuels (talk) 22:21, 23 January 2019 (PST)