-
Obvious is Not
When Isaac Newton was 23, he wrote down his observation that apples fall. Sure, he’s right — objects don’t start moving unless there is a force acting on them. But was this brilliant, or was he just stating the obvious? I stay on top of the latest science, always looking for breaking discoveries or methods…
-
Cells are People
Biologists love anthropomorphisms. Anthropomorphisms are a cute human-centric type of metaphor that is surprisingly common during informal scientific discussion. Meanwhile, many scientists consider them inappropriate in science discourse, arguing that we work in a field that is based in objectivity and precision. Indeed, there can be some serious misunderstandings when anthropomorphizing biophysical or biochemical events;…
-
Data is Deep
Over the last few years, I’ve learned a lot about Data. Every scientist is aware that Data is, in its plainest form, numbers and statistics. How to take these a step further, to use Data as a bank for innovation and discovery, is a lot trickier. Here are some lessons that I’ve learned for data…
-
ChatGPT is a research assistant
From Black Mirror to The Matrix, warnings about the danger of AI taking over the world have overwhelmed popular culture. Especially since the release of ChatGPT, a large language model, we’ve seen several warnings about the potential threat of AI stealing human jobs. This principle reminds me of the introduction of Google before it was…
-
Science is Hard
Science has an infamous reputation for being difficult. Science was detested in grade school by most of my friends, and sometimes, also by myself. Science is a massive discipline that takes a combination of theory, practice, logic, and memorization to be considered a master. Certainly, this contributes to the intimidation factor that keep people out…
-
Starting a postdoc. In a new discipline. In a new country.
I identify as an interdisciplinary scientist because I am hooked on learning in every context. There exists a stereotype that scientists are super-specialized, knowing too much about a very small topic that appeals to a select few individuals. This is best illustrated by one of my favorite statistics: that the readership of a peer-reviewed scientific…
-
Hello World: Does anyone blog anymore?
In my adult life, I’ve barely managed an annual post on social media. Some people admire this quality because this also means I am also not captive to hours of doom-scrolling, or sadness from daily reading about tragic disasters across the globe, or compulsive online shopping. But I have also avoided posting on social media…
Kaitlin P. McCreery, Ph.D. 