By Haebin Liew | Blogger | SQ Online (2013-14)
No blog is complete without a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy reference, no? Well it has been a great time for me becoming one of the first bloggers for Saltman Quarterly and learning on the way new things about myself and the world. Even though I wish I would have put more effort than I did to make this blog even better, I have come out of this experience with a new perspective on life. In the same vein, we are all merely vessels of knowledge and circumstances we have endured and accumulated through life. That said I would like to share a few of my favorite biology/science related compilations that may interest my readers, some of these being books or movies that I hoped to review in a future date but was not able to get to:
Oliver Sacks’ Bibliography
A world renowned neurologist, Dr. Sacks is not only a brilliant physician but an excellent storyteller. His works include collections of case studies of people who suffer from rare and fascinating neurological disorders. Among them I have enjoyed The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Musicophilia.
NHU (BBC Natural History Unit) Filmography
A breathtaking look at the wonders of the natural world, NHU does a fantastic job of captivating the audience with its in depth coverage of ecosystems and biological interactions to the nuances of life that we may never personally experience in our own lifetimes. Their most well known documentary Planet Earth fleshes the biomes of Earth but a couple of my favorites that are lesser known are The Blue Planet and Life of Mammals (both narrated by my hero David Attenborough, of course)
“Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don’t.” as Bill Nye once said; as human beings we must keep an open mind and a generous heart to spread and gain knowledge. Regardless of where you may end up, even if it is not in a career in biology, the most crucial thing about what you do is that you love what you do and do what you love. Without our drive and motivation to learn more about the world than we already do, we lose sight of our purpose in life and our minds dwindle on simple things. We were gifted with intellect (or perhaps not) and so it is our duty to be curious and to move forward.
My final advice to everyone who reads my blog, the UCSD biology community, and the general public would be to find your passion in life. These opportunities that pass you by are not by chance and you should take them every chance you get. Who knows what great things will come from the choices you make in life, like blogging for the school research journal for one.
One more Neil deGrasse Tyson video for good measure…