Bio-Nerds discussion
Challenges
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Back to School Challenge Grad School
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1. Science fiction-don't believe everything you read. Read a book from the Science fiction genre as described by goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/genres/scien...
2. Interdisciplinary studies-It ain't all about biology. Read a nonfiction book about a biological interdisciplinary area of study. This can include ecomomical, political, social, psychological, chemical, ethical, etc.,
3. Controversial-many areas of biology are "hot" debate topics that often have social, economical, medical aspects. Read a fiction or nonfiction book about a controversial topic in biology.
4. Expand your horizons-Read a nonfiction book about any biological topic with which you have very little or no experience professionally, personally, or through reading. Again, this can be very broad or narrow.
5. Inspire/Teach-Read a fiction or nonfiction book about a teacher, teaching or someone/something you find inspiring OR start a group discussion in the current events section. Your topic should be biological, and based on research published in the past year.
6. Publish or Perish-Choose any book listed above and share it with the group. You can structure this anyway you want. It can be a summary, review, or a discussion on the topic addressed in the book.
7-9. Dissertation-Choose any biological topic you wish and read at least 3 sources on this topic. All sources should be nonfiction. At least 1 source must be a book, but others can be webpages, journal articles, etc., Present this topic to group. You should include a summary of the topic, why you chose this topic, and any comments/feeling you have on this topic. You should also provide your sources so others can access the information if they wish. For this challenge you can use a book that you have read for another challenge.
10. Free elective-woohoo! You made it! Rest your brain and read any book of your choice!
Masters Level
There are 10 book requirements for this level. Books may be read in any order.
1. Public speaking-an important part of being a scientist is being able to share information with others. Read a biography/autobiography about a scientist or someone who influenced scientific research in some way. For some ideas check out these links: http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/38... and http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/18...
http://www.goodreads.com/genres/scien...
2. Statistics-this makes our work significant. Read a fiction or nonfiction book about statistics, a statistician, has a mathematical phrase in the title (half, quarter, percent, equal, add, subtract, divide, multiply, etc.,), or has a circle or curve on the cover or in the title.
3. Technology-most of what biologists do today would not be possible without the use of technology and tools. Read a fiction or nonfiction book about technology. This can be broadly about technology or a very specific instrument (microscope, computer, etc) Some ideas can be found on this link: http://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8=...
http://www.goodreads.com/genres/techn...
4. Writing-good writing skills are essential for communicating research to other members of the scientific communtity. Read a fiction or nonfiction book about writing or in which the main character is a writer, journalist, etc.
5. Criticism/Problem Solving-we all must overcome challenges and criticism in science. Read a fiction or nonfiction book about someone who has endured criticism or overcome a challenge OR create your own challenge on the group page.
6-9. Thesis-Choose an area of study. Your topic must be biological in nature, although it can include an interdisciplinary area of study (Biochemistry, Agronomy, etc.,) This can be a very broad topic such as Zoology or very narrow such as Batesian mimicry in butterflies. Read 4 nonfiction books on your topic. You may also choose to double major. In this case, you must read 2 books from each area. To fulfill your "thesis" requirement, choose one of these books and write a review on goodreads and share your thoughts about the book/topic with the group by leading a discussion. (If you are unsure how to post this, let me know and I can assist you).
10. Free elective-read any book of your choice!