Rain Online

Mad Science

The world of eccentric or evil scientists is a constant plot in novels, TV and movies. The subject of mad science leads to dramatic consequences and can provide interesting characters. These stories often reflect the preoccupations of the times they are written in.

One of the first examples of a scientific experiment gone wrong is the novel, Frankenstein. Mary Shelley did not know that she was starting a trend when she came up with the tale after a night of sharing ghost stories. The story of Victor Frankenstein and his creation expresses the debate about religion versus science, so prominent in 1818, when the book was published. It could be interpreted as a warning against mad science and playing God or an indictment of the villagers who condemn Frankenstein’s Monster out of hand.

H.G. Wells was another author who explored science fiction to discuss human nature and its frailties. Mad science is apparent again in The Invisible Man and The Island of Dr Moreau. The Moreau character, who experiments in genetic engineering with disastrous results, has modern reverberations today. Sometimes, futuristic plots were criticized for being far fetched but were actually windows on the future. Jules Verne wrote about sending rockets to the moon, an absurd notion to most people at the time.

The mad scientist is often portrayed as a man with wild hair, bent on an obsession and secretive about his work. He spends most of his time in his laboratory, mixing chemicals in test tubes and making electrical circuits and weird potions. Sometimes, an incompetent assistant is present. This stereotype was hilariously sent up in Mel Brooks’ film, Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder in the lead role.

The nuclear age has had its share of satirical parody, as in Dr Strangelove, directed by Stanley Kubrick. Peter Sellers is superb in this story that portrays the atom bomb as mad science, just waiting for human error or evil intentions to unleash its fury. Comic books too are full of scientists who develop fiendish, often radioactive, weapons and death rays.

The human race has long dreamed of teleportation, a routine exercise in Star Trek stories. In The Fly, Dr Seth Brundle transforms theory into practice but he unfortunately mixes his genetic material with that of a fly. Dr David Banner has his own accident in the laboratory and is transformed into The Incredible Hulk. One of the most endearing eccentrics is Doc Brown, the scientist in the Back to the Future movie trilogy. He achieves time travel and demonstrates that his brand of mad science can lead to some unexpected encounters in the past and the future.

While children should have fun in today’s increasingly stressful world, focus on education and schoolwork remains equally important. How can you balance playtime with learning? Purchase educational science toys and put your mind at ease. These science toys balance entertainment with education, yet the child only cares about the fact that he or she is having a load of fun.

Some of my children’s favorite science toys were easy to find at a few of our local toy stores. They tend to be very reasonably priced and their educational value is immense. They are definitely geared towards fun, so the child does not know that they are learning while they play. These science toys create a win-win situation.

One of my favorite science toys is a replica ATM. The child deposits money into the bank and the calculator keeps a running total of the money that is deposited. Money can also be withdrawn, and the balance in the ATM is reduced as that happens. Not only does this teach math skills, but it also teaches children a little about computers and how they work. There are many benefits to this handy toy, but every child I know who owns one loves acting like an adult while they take responsibility for their money. That makes it extra special.

With crime shows still topping the television ratings, the fascination with crime scene investigation has not decreased. Children can now get in on the action with their own fingerprinting lab. For under $30, these fantastic science toys teach children all about fingerprints. The kit includes fingerprinting powder, a black light, transfer paper, a duster, and more. Children can learn how fingerprints are studied, and how no two fingerprints are identical. These highly rated science toys are all the rage.

Insects are always fascinating to children. Children of all ages love watching ants at work. Ant homes can make wonderful science toys. These self-contained habitats provide all the ants need to live for a long time. Ladybug habitats are also popular science toys. Children can watch a ladybug progress from an egg to a full-grown beetle. Butterfly hatching kits are also popular. My children love watching Monarch caterpillars turn into butterflies every fall.

Regardless of a child’s age, there is a wide array of science toys on the market. Items can require adult supervision or allow children to independently play. Books, games, kits, and craft projects are only a sampling of what is available. Head to your local toy store and you will be certain to find something appealing.

Man the Internet has given us some benefits

Growing up in the middle of New York City, animal science is the last career that I imagine myself ending up in. I figure that I would be in something higher pressure and fast-paced. I had relatives who are lawyers, doctors, investment bankers, policemen, firemen, cabbies - you name it. If it was high pressure and high stakes, whether the pay was high or low I knew someone involved in it. Animal sciences, needless to say, don’t qualify.

Nonetheless, as I grew up, I found myself becoming more and more interested in animals and the natural world. When people think about global warming and changing environmental conditions, they usually think about plants. Animals, however, are every bit as important an issue. They spread diseases, they are part of our food supply, and most importantly they are part of the web of life that sustains the whole planet. Animal science is not a matter of just working as a veterinarian, or helping farmers raise livestock. There are careers in animal science that spread the globe and involves some very interesting environmental work.

I started off my career in something a little bit more practical than that. Originally, I was in animal reproduction science. This is also known as animal husbandry. Basically, it is the field of animal science that deals with livestock. In that career, you get to make decisions about buying and selling animals. Not only can you help make wise decisions about animals for sale, but you can also handle every aspect of feeding, caring for, and ultimately consuming livestock.

It wasn’t a bad career, but after a while it wasn’t enough. After all, I didn’t want to spend my life pushing buttons and filling our charts. If I was going to go into something as earthy of animal science, I figured I should make a difference. That is why I got involved with a nonprofit organization.

Basically, we ran a nonprofit animal wildlife Center. We would use it to teach kids about the local ecosystem, and about broader environmental issues in the world as a whole. I know that I’m not going to change the world myself, but I feel like I am making a small difference in the community through the work I do. Every year, teachers lead volunteer classes from the local school on field trips to our center. Through this work, we help educate the next generation to be stewards of the land. It is nice to be able to feel good about what I do for a living.

Have you ever stopped to think about how expensive it is to live? There are so many things that we need to spend money on each day. My husband and I tried to come up with a new budget for the household now that we have our oldest child starting college. Our son did receive a scholarship, but we are trying to help him out so he will not have large student loans to repay. He has worked part time in high school and is planning on keeping a job when he starts college, but we will still need to help him pay for credits and books. He is going to live at home for the first semester and commute the thirty minutes to campus. We told him that if he feels too disconnected to the other students he can move to the campus.

He was very excited when he came home from class registration. He was able to get all the general education courses he wanted and would be done with classes by noon that gives him three hours to study before he needs to be at his job. He asked me for a ride to campus to pick up his books. I dropped him at the university book store while I went to run errands. When I went to pick him up he was stunned at the prices of the books. His earth science book was over a hundred dollars. He was told that most of the science books were expensive. He is going to have many science classes for his major so he knows now that his book fees are going to be very high. He said there was a used earth science book available, but it had a great deal of underlining in it and he was concerned that this may hinder his studying. I told him that he should take good care of his books, especially those that he knew he did not want to keep so that he could sell them. I also suggested that any books for his major, like the earth science book, should be new so if he needed them in the future for research, they will be in good shape.

So far he is able to keep up with his studies as well as his part-time job. He tells us he likes staying at home because he concentrates more on his studies. He has made some friends on campus and has been invited to a few parties. I am glad he is being practical about his approach to school otherwise we would be spending a great deal of our savings.