Saturday 21 April 2012

University visits, selfish genes and punting.

As usual, apologies for the delay. Things are as hectic as usual around here. I've just returned from a visit to Cambridge, which was pretty inspiring. I literally can't wait to go to university (I'd love it to be Cambridge, but I know realistically it may not be- wherever I go, the new opportunities are really exciting), if only to be in an environment where you can just feel things happening. In addition, I want to go punting again. Since the visit, I've been ordering prospectuses (although I am waiting for some unntil the Higher education fair in Newcastle next week), and looking at websites with renewed interest- one of the things I have done is made a list of cambridge colleges that I may apply to based on the amount of grass you are allowed to walk on- the one thing that really bugged me about King's(where we were staying) when I visited. It's not as crazy as it seems, especially when you compare it to my friend's method of using brick sizes. Another thing that has got me quite excited about the idea of Uni, is that I recently read Richard Dawkin's "the selfish gene"- and I realise what all the fuss was about. Although the ideas were thought-provoking (and the rather aggressive atheism rather annoying), what really stood out for me was the glimpse it gave of a world in which it is normal to spend your time thinking, and discussing theories with other people. The book seemed, to me, to bring this much closer- and (whether this is realistic or not), gave me a feeling that it could me me doing that one day. I assume this is what one of the reviewers meant when he said that the book "makes you feel like a genius" (I paraphrase- I've lent it to someone so I can't check the exact wording). I am probably around the millionth person to do so, but if you have even a vague interest in science and haven't read it yet, do- it's also pretty easy to understand, so probably suitable for anyone from about 13 up.

No comments:

Post a Comment