Author: Kaila McKiernan

In my first blog post, I wrote about how as I biology student I learned that there is a right and a wrong way of interpreting something.  I explained how even though in a research setting curiosity is encouraged, in terms of studying for test we must learn the way the professors teach the subject or it is wrong.  I have usually been apprehensive when it comes to sharing my ideas in an English class because I am afraid of sharing an incorrect interpretation. However, I have learned throughout this class that books belong to their readers and that no two readers could possibly read the same book, because they are able to make their own personal connections to the text and are able to associate their own experiences with what they are reading.  I have seen this while working in groups. Even though we all read the same passages, everyone has something different they can contribute. The ability for every reader to have a different experience reading the novel gives them a sense of ownership.  To the reader, their own interpretation will likely be the one that it most important to them because it is the one they can relate to the most. I have learned that it is essential for students to have their own interpretations of the text. By bringing their own experiences, the reader is able to form a deeper connection with the book they are reading.  As a person who likes to have a clear answer, it can sometimes make me feel overwhelmed with how many connections someone can make when reading a text. Initially coming into this class, I was unsure if I would be able to match the level of complexity of the interpretations of some of my peers. However by learning how to connect the works with outside sources that I found interesting, whether it be with other texts, in class, group work, different fields, or personal experiences, I was able to form a deeper connection with the texts.

Continue reading “Making These Books Belong to Me: My Final Reflection”

As I was reading the section of Reflective Writing, “Reflection for Career Planning,” I began reflecting on my own time here at Geneseo.  Right now I am approaching the end of my fall semester as a senior, and I genuinely cannot believe it.  I feel like that my time here has happened so much faster than I was expecting, and yet at the same time sometimes it’s hard to remember what my life was like before Geneseo.  I am a completely different person than who I was when I first came to this school; I didn’t know any of the people that have defined my time here at Geneseo, and I didn’t realize how my future goals would change.

Continue reading “A Reflection on My Time at Geneseo”

In my evolutionary biology class last week, we listened to a Radiolab podcast about Lonesome George (Lonesome George starts around 32:30).  Lonesome George was the last Galapagos Pinta Island Tortoise, a species that was thought to have gone extinct about 100 years ago due to over hunting.  He was discovered on Pinta in the 80’s, and scientists attempted to breed him with other female tortoises on the island. This breeding efforts were unsuccessful, resulting in infertile offspring, and the species ultimately went extinct when Lonesome George died on June 24th, 2012.  The podcast brought up the point that there is not part one species on Earth that is not affected by humans. Whether it be climate change or overhunting, species are going extinct at an unprecedented rate. One scientist states, “We’re God — we might as well get good at it,” meaning that at this point in history, humans have almost complete control over the world’s ecosystems and which species live or die, and at this point we need to learn how to fix the environment to the best of our ability.

Continue reading “We Are God”

In mathematics, a function is used to measure how the a certain change in a quantity affects a different quantity.  f(x), or “the function of x” is used to describe how the argument, x, affects the value or function of the output, y.  The value of the function will always depend on the variable that is input. The members of a set, or the input, are usually put inside a pair of parenthesis.  Anything can be a part of a set to describe the function, as long as it affects the outcome of the function. f(x) is read as the function of “x”, f(3) is read as the function of “three”, or f(apple) is read as the function of “apple”.

Continue reading “f(re: f(gesture))”

““Then what is your name?” [Robert] asked.

“My name is Not Sidney,” I said.

“Not is a part of Not Sidney’s name,” Maggie said

“Knot, with a k?” he asked.

“Not with a k,” I said.

“That’s what I said,” he said.

“N-O-T,” Maggie said.

“Sidney?”

“Not my name is not Sidney. My name is Not Sidney. Call me Not Sidney.’”

                                                    I Am Not Sidney Poitier, page 139-140

 

My name, “Kaila,” is a little unusual.  Used once out of every 185 letters, the letter “K” is the fifth least used letter in the English language.  My name also replaces the “y” in the common spelling of “Kayla” with an “i,” which tends to throw people off.  Technically, my name is pronounced slightly differently than “Kayla” — my name is “kale-a” as opposed to “kay-la” — but honestly I usually can’t tell the difference.  According to babynamescience.com, currently one out of every 9,059 babies born are named “Kaila,” making it a “very unique name.”

Continue reading “The Importance of a Name”

Sometimes I wonder what it’s like to have something published for anyone to read.  I can only imagine the amount of stress and anxiety that goes into the months or possibly years of writing something that was once only a figment of the author’s imagination, and then meticulously writing and rewriting it for only their eyes to see.  Then, one day, it’s finished and sent out into the world, and author has absolutely no control over who reads it or how they interpret it. Once something is published it no longer belongs to the author, but to the reader, because the author has no control over how their reader will interpret the text.  

Continue reading “Books Belong To Their Readers”

**Trigger Warning: This post discusses eugenics, forced sterilizations, and the Holocaust

While reading the chapter, “Science, Space and Nature,” in Interdisciplinarity, one topic I found interesting was the idea of social Darwinism.  Charles Darwin used his Four Postulates to explain the concept of evolution.  In order for a population to evolve, there must be variation between individuals in the environment, these variations are heritable, there must be more offspring produced than can survive to reproduce, and the individuals that do reproduce have the most fit genes to survive.  Evolution is almost unanimously accepted by the scientific community as true. In the late 19th century, scholars began applying these concepts to human society, calling it Social Darwinism. Theoretically, the individuals most fit to survive will be the ones to reproduce, meaning they will pass on their “superior” genes.  Although Darwin did not want to apply natural selection to humans, many people did anyway. They argued that groups of people are subject to the same laws of natural selection as plants or animals. They used this logic to justify imperialism, political conservatism, and the domination of “savage” peoples.

Continue reading “Social Darwinism and Eugenics”

The descriptions Percival Everett uses in his poems, “The Dura Mater,” and “The Weight of the Encephalon,” are some of the most accurate descriptions I have read to describe migraines.  I have been suffering from migraines since I was about about 11 years old, and sometimes they can be incredibly debilitating. When I get migraines, it’s as if someone turned up the volume on all of my senses — everything I see is too bright and saturated, every noise grates against my ears, and anything I try to eat makes me incredibly nauseous — all I can focus on is the pain and dizziness. Continue reading “My Head Hurts the Way it Hurts”

The metric system was conceived in 17th century by philosopher John Wilkens, who wanted to standardize the way things were measured.  At the time, almost every country in Europe used its own measuring system. Sometimes, even different regions of the country would use different forms of measurement.  However the metric system was not accepted until the late 18th Century in France, where scientists were becoming frustrated with the lack of consistency in measurement.  Also, because this was during the time of the French Revolution, adaption of the metric system was used as a way to rebel against the traditional way of thinking. As said by Ken Alder, the metric system was intended to be, “for all people, for all time.” By the end of the 19th Century the metric system became widely accepted and was standard in practically all of Europe and is now the scientific standard of how things are measured.  Physical examples of the units of measurement like the meter and kilogram were kept in Paris and used as the standard — a platinum rod exactly the length of one meter and a platinum-iridium metal cylinder that weighed a kilogram were made and protected in Paris. However, scientists knew that using physical objects could be problematic — that these measurements could be destroyed or damaged.  Even when objects are sitting untouched, they will chemically decompose.  This means that even though they are changing their size, they are still defined as either one kilogram or one meter because they set the standard.

Continue reading “Systems of Measurement”