Syllabi of Life

 

Today, I have been at home working on syllabi, rubrics, LMS preparation, and other documents for next semester.  The work is primarily a bunch of tedious date changes and examining things for typographical errors.... rather mind numbing. But these are important things in order to get the new semester started off on the right foot.   

Atop of all the syllabi I have made over the decades (below the title of the course, or course), I have always had a quote and (beginning when computer internet accessibility occurred) a photographic image of an historical figure of importance relative to the particular discipline of that course.  I do this in part because I LIKE learning and knowing about historical figures of science.  But, I also do this because I INTEGRATE scientific historical figures, their discoveries into my lectures…..  and I also like to give flavor and nuance.... the socio-political climate of their environs when these discoveries were accomplished.  I do this because I believe it a) helps students better retrain the "more dry" facets of the discoveries themselves, but also b) it helps students see a more temporal and world view of how the scientist's ENVIRONMENT can shape their thoughts, reasoning, and aspects of their discoveries.  Hell, I think in a broader sense, any person's environment does the same.  

On the top of one of my syllabi this upcoming semester is a photographic image of the pipe smoking fellow you see above.  He is Konrad Lorenz, the Austrian physiologist (along with Niko Tinbergen and Karl vonFrisch) who received the 1973 Nobel Prize in Medicine/Physiology for their (all three of them) establishing the framework and underpinnings for a "new" branch of biology formalized as ethology.... the study of the physiology of animal behavior. 

I remember being captivated by this fellow even at a very young age.  I do not remember the exact program, but somehow I saw a bit of footage about him somewhere on some television program and I strove to remember his name, and when my parents were next able to take me to the big public library, I searched the card catalog for one of his books.  The one that was there was "Man Meets Dog" and after I checked it out, I devoured every page.  It is a book on the human and other animal interactions and it fascinated me completely.  

His works, and also the work of Niko Tinbergen, Karl vonFrisch, and (even though he did not share the Nobel Prize (he probably should have) B.F. Skinner.... (who was a psychologist, which likely excluded him from consideration for the Nobel in Medicine/Physiology).... were major influences on me as a child and into high school and college regarding my development of curiosity about science.  

* * * * *

• We are in the midst of a "Wind Advisory" with considerable snow squalls as well.  Winds are constant, with gusts up to 55 mph (~89 kph) are expected through about 10pm tonight.  Expected snowfall (though it is not falling.... it is blowing damn near every direction) is ~2 inches (~5 cm).  
• I am glad I ran at the indoor track close to home this morning.... so it is out of the way.
• Sadly, on Friday, I DID NOT get to go to the Retiree's Cigar Group.  I was just starting to pack up my work at the U and head in that direction.  But, while inside working, freezing rain had started, and I slowly navigated away from the U, I saw three different vehicles that had slid into various ditches, and at one corner came across an accident that blocked traffic while tow trucks attempted to collect and remove the damaged vehicles.  I felt rather annoyed at the weather, and I was still thinking about crawling slowly across to the neighboring town.... until I saw the accident.  That convinced me, with deep regret, that it would be wiser for me to simply head home.  

PipeTobacco