Musing

I've been watching a lot of TED talks recently and having been thinking about how I can make a difference in the world. Today I watched a talk given by Liz Coleman, president of Bennington Collage. In her talk she discussed the need for a liberal education and I am once again grateful to be expanding my education beyond engineering. One quote struck me as particularly powerful:
"The is no such thing as a viable democracy made up of experts, zealots, politicians and spectators." Perhaps this is what I enjoy most about the area in which I have sought to become and "expert." Materials science is hugely multidisciplinary. It touches every field of engineering and cannot be confined within the borders of it's own discipline.

Coleman also said that we have made even literature arcane, a fact I can attest to in the various English and Literature classes I've taken both here and at University of Michigan. The idea of literary theory while a useful tool for approaching and understanding literature, in my opinion takes away from the awe and the beauty of great works. While it is helpful to understand the author's background in order to comprehend the setting and references within the book I think that it can be just as rewarding to read a book cold and get your own impression of it outside a theoretical framework. This is why I am relishing the time I have to digest great works outside of a formal classroom setting for these weeks between my programs.

I am also thinking about the ways I can expand my own "liberal arts" education. Which direction to I want to go? I want to learn and solidify my knowledge of a second language. My time traveling in Europe has fired my desire to improve my Spanish and learn German. I want to continue to read the classics, and I think I need to develop a better knowledge of ancient mythology. I would like to write more and improve my communication skill. I would also like to learn more about history, in particular the history of the last 300 years or so - the events that shape politics and policy today, throughout the world. I have basic knowledge from high school but that is all. When I return to Delaware I will be taking public policy, environmental and sustainable systems courses as a part of my IGERT award and this will also contribute to my fully well rounded education - I hope I can fit in a foreign language course or two. Recent events have also piqued my curiosity about economics. I also want to explore ways in which we can understand the validity of the information we recieve. Information is everywhere? How do you decide what is true? How do you know who is being neutral and who is biased and who is flat out lying? This is not a simple question and I don't believe anyone has a good answer to it, but I feel that it is incredibly important in this modern society.