International Darwin Day 2022 (updated)

Happy #internationaldarwinday!

Today is about Darwin's achievements and developing a fascination for science across the board: biology (human; neurobiology; zoology; botany) physics, astrophysics, nuclear physics, chemistry, metallurgy, biochemistry, geology, space science, medical sciences, environmental science, polar science, earth sciences, nutritional science, sports science, computer science, and the broad umbrella of social sciences which includes, for example, political science, philosophy, psychology and sociology. But the sciences also need people with creative minds! So the arts support STEM but that's not as true the other way around. 

As you can see from the above list, which I'm sure is not an exhaustive one, science is a very broad discipline. So maybe schools should broaden out when they teach science and make teenagers aware that they are not stuck with the core sciences of physics, chemistry, biology (and medicine). There are many other science subjects that could be more to their liking and are just as important. 

I know that when I was doing GCSEs the fashion was to combine the three main sciences into one GCSE. However, I think this is not a great idea because you cannot cover enough depth to then go on to A Level and degree level. I did the three as separate sciences all the way through to GCSE certificates and then did physics for an AS Level certificate, and continued with chemistry, human biology, nutrition, sport science, space science, geology thereafter. I'm still doing many online science courses in these branches of science and more, including IT. 

I also took public exams in Social Sciences at A Level in the shape of gaining AS qualifications in Psychology and Sociology. I wanted to take A2 in these subjects but they were difficult to do because they involved compulsory coursework designed for school teachers and pupils. So that really annoyed me! I think all public exams should be unseen exams only, no coursework. 

I gained an AS Level certificate in Philosophy which held me in good stead for my philosophy degree because there was an almost complete overlap between the two. Little did I know! But I'm not grumbling! 🙂 On discovering I wouldn't be able to take an A2 Level philosophy exam because finding an exam centre for it would be nigh on impossible since one of the papers was a strange paper that no other subject had, which would be computer-based and school teacher based. Nevertheless, I carried on studying it anyway. Since I was home educated nothing ever stopped me from studying anything I chose. And because I had already decided I wanted to study Philosophy at uni by that stage I thought I might as well take other subjects that I wasn't keen on studying at uni such as languages. French and Spanish are valuable as A Level qualifications in themselves because they are desirable skills. I also started German A Level with a tutor. I'd even chosen my geographical region for an A2 module, was enjoying the politics topic for A2 and had started on German Literature! But I couldn't find a centre for taking the exam so, disappointed, I followed the A Level course content rather than take it as an exam. German doesn't seem a popular language in England. But languages are a pain to study because you need constant conversation practice which, for me, meant tutors on a casual basis. This costs money. 

While having a midnight snack just now, I suddenly remembered two things so updated this post:

One, I studied politics in three languages, French, Spanish and German for A Level (or A Level standard in German). Thus, I learnt about different political systems in France; Spain and South America; Germany.

Two, I chose science for half of my A Level oral exams in French and Spanish. My oral topic in science was Nuclear Physics. 

However, languages would be useful for scientists so that they don't have a language barrier should they want to collaborate on international projects or go to a country to work on a project eg the hadron collider project at CERN in Switzerland, where French and German are the official languages. 

Science is more accessible these days. There are virtual labs on the internet which means endless lab time! And now it's easier than in my A Level days to gain lab time. So had I had these opportunities in my teens, I would have chosen to study Physics and Music at Imperial/Royal College of Music (the two colleges were working together to offer a combined degree in those days). Why? Because I wanted to specialise in Sound for music recording. I was always obsessed with music studios and music production! This is why I enjoy the sound engineering part of recording songs that I sing which I then release on SoundCloud. 

The instruments I wanted to study at the RCM were the cello and voice. I've always been interested in Physics, much to my mother's horror😱 because it's the one science she doesn't particularly like 🥱 or understand! 😂🤷 When I was little, one of the things I wanted to be was an inventor so I could invent things that would improve people's quality of life. I fancied being an astronaut when a child, possibly because I had an astronaut suit for kids 👩‍🚀. However, once I decided on being a cellist, my interest in physics narrowed down to the physics of sound so I was super excited when I found (together with my mother) this combined degree in Physics and Music which I ended up never applying for because I hadn't had the opportunity to take the A Level exam in Physics which would be expected as an entrance requirement. Whereas an A Level in Philosophy was not an entrance requirement at universities for studying a degree in it. Indeed, I was as good as anybody who had taken the A Level Philosophy course so it was win-win. And, furthermore, I studied a pure philosophy A Level, both for the certificate and as home education. No Religion in sight! 

My mother taught Philosophy A Level at a school without doing any religious module options, even though the girls she taught did take a philosophy module involving religion (New Testament I think) but that was taught by a different (RE) teacher. She noted the girls preferred her Philosophy paper to the Religion Paper with one exception, but she came from a more religious background. Hence, my mother stuck with pure Philosophy when it came to me not least because my knowledge of religion was non-existent unless I did the Old Testament but that wouldn't help me in a Philosophy degree! Or so I thought! But then Spinoza's TTP came along in the first year! Plenty of Old Testament there!

Another STEM subject I seriously considered as a uni degree was IT and then thought a degree would be too theoretical, based on looking at GCSE, A Level and uni syllabi. So I opted for carrying on with professional development, skills-based courses. Which is why this blog includes technology although up to this point I haven't blogged about it yet although I keep meaning to!

I think schools need to provide more breadth in the field of science they offer. And make sure they that don't streamline their timetable so pupils are left unable to choose a combination of humanities and science. My mother is forever moaning 😩 that she wasn't allowed to do botany at A Level despite the fact that her biology teacher was a specialist in it and would have loved to have taught it. But since she was the only one who wanted to study it, she wasn't allowed to do that subject and was told to do French instead, which was the last subject she wanted to do but she had no choice about it. The closest option was Zoology, which she didn't want to do because she didn't want to study Zoology at uni. She would have settled for Biology A Level but they didn't offer it, even though she did Biology O'Level. So you'd think they'd offer it at A Level! But no! (However, she did study Human Biology in Lower 6, today's year 12.) Then she was told she had to do History A Level as well as French which she also didn't want to do. So she was only left with one A Level she actually wanted to do (English Literature). It ruined her life! That and the fact she couldn't do music A Level at school either. But I'll let her talk about it on her education blog. Hence she and I are advocates of teaching music in schools (including at GCSE and A Level) and not restricting academic pathways! 

I was lucky in that I was allowed to chose whatever subjects I wanted to do at GCSE level and beyond, including at uni, ie. there were no restrictions at all, no subjects were crossed off. I was even able to choose subjects at primary school age, even though my home education timetable was already brimming full so there wasn't any available time for additional subjects. Indeed, I got it into my head I wanted to learn Japanese so my mother and I did, tape and book in hand! But my mother, armed with her MA in Educational Management, found space for it anyway! 🙂 

However, I think all science students should do at least one creative subject such as art, art and design, music, dance, drama, even if the creative subject is not examinable. Why? Because as I have argued in my Spinoza blog post for today, Einstein is a wonderful example of how creative pursuits enhance scientific thinking. He credits his scientific genius to his creative genius. In his case, he was a brilliant violinist.

Lastly, just because you don't go into science, it doesn't mean you can't go into the science community and participate in it. For instance, like me, you can:

Be a citizen scientist. This means you help scientists with tasks on their projects eg identifying stars in images or collect your own data for scientists to make use of eg nature observations. 

Be a science blogger. I did a course on science writing which is why I started this science and tech blog because the course emphasised that there is a need for non-scientists to decode scientific language and research to make it accessible to all. 

Be a collector. I collect fossils, rocks, gems and insects. Well, the insects are properly sealed, I didn't just go into my garden and pick up a couple of insects and pop them into my match box! 😂 

You can incorporate science into whatever you do. For instance, I incorporate physics into my sound engineering and production when recording myself or even just when I do DIY. I draw on sports psychology, sports science (including injury prevention and management) and nutrition (within biology and medicine, especially useful during this pandemic!) as a sportswoman, dancer and generally in my daily life for wellbeing. As for chemistry, I enjoy learning about the chemistry behind daily living, such as chemical reactions and chemical composition of household and beauty products eg make-up 💄💅 I also incorporate the IT that I continue to learn into my daily online profiles and activities: social media content management, web design, security, UX design, coding, blogging, blog design and management, computer logic.

Or you can just take an interest in, for instance, polar science, virtual labs, science magazines, space (eg NASA) and follow them on social media. 

You can follow environmental and wildlife organizations and be an active part of their community by supporting their campaigns and signing their petitions, as I do.

There are endless science courses available online, many are free to study too! And you have a community of tutors and learners to chat to and discuss the topics with as well! They are all very positive and encouraging. The tutors respond quickly with an answer to your question and are very supportive. 🙂 They never make you feel stupid so go for it! 💪

And don't forget that Patrick Moore was a famous Astronomer who was home educated, never went to uni but was well-respected in his field and had a permanent slot on the BBC. I went to one of his talks - I was totally spellbound. His knowledge was vast, awesome and his enthusiasm and passion was inspiring! And he was relatable, he didn't talk over your head. I could keep up with his thinking and I was pretty young at the time.

So don't think you can't do science or be a scientist if you want to, 🙂 just because you haven't specialised in it and got a string of qualifications in it. After all, it's impractical to have qualifications in everything you're interested in and a lot depends on opportunity too! 

My hope is that days like this inspire kids and young people to consider science, in its broader sense, as a career, interest or hobby. But whichever it is I'd love them to become part of the wider scientific community. However, if Science doesn't grab you at least you know you've made an informed decision and the door is always open should you change your mind. You also understand the world around you if you've studied science in some form or other. And of course, climate change is a pressing issue we should all be involved in.