Today i had the first lecture in my course on "History and Philosophy of Science". A lot of people seem to flinch or laugh when i mention the title of that course. I knew it wasn't going to be so bad, and guess what- it wasn't. In fact it was really rather gripping. The first number of lectures are given by a lecturer i had last year for Plant Anatomy. He is a "strange boy" as they say. He has some odd and quirky ways. I was one of very few that liked the man. He was a good lecturer, and i admired his organisational prowess. He tended to get over excited by the subject matter- flowers! He had an interest in the history of science and he included this in the lecture series as a way to intelletually engage the class. In my case it worked. So, i chose this course this year, much to the scorn of some of my friends:-) He got a little over excited by the subject matter- the introduction of experimental methods into science by the likes of Robert Boyle. After the lecture i went to the lecturer to sign my form and officially put me into the unit. He took a look at the form i handed him and said "Ahhhh, you did Botany last year, did you not?" "i did" says i. "Do you mind if i ask a question? Why didnt you take it this year". Well, i explained to him that i chose my course in order to take Psychology with a science background, i thought it would give me a useful perspective. HE went on to state that *I* had done well in the previous years exams, to which i replied that i liked the subject. "Did you know you won a prize?" he asked. Of course i laughed, and asked him what he meant. Apparently i achieved the highest result in the year, and will be awarded a college prize. Man, am i shocked or what??? I thought i did only "okay" in the exams- just ask Chris Marshall, i'm sure he remembers my stress at the time, and all my worry that i wouldn't do well enough to get the course of my choice:-) I'm one happy monkey this evening, to be sure. GARRET
