Eukaryotic

you•ka•ree•o•tic (noun)
organisms whose cells are characterized by a membrane bound nucleus, membrane bound organelles, and linear DNA (as opposed to Prokaryotic organisms, whose cells are characterized by the absence of membrane bound internal organelles and circular DNA)
Orgin: Greek (eu = true, karyo = nut - i.e. the nucleus; eukaryotic = having a true nut/nucleus)

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All organisms on earth are split into two categories: Eukaryotic and Prokaryotic. I now realize that during the course of the Vonerdculary, I've been using these terms without realizing that you may not completely understand their definitions. This leads to today's topic: Science and the importance of definitions.

Science can be described as the art of precision, be it the precision of the measurements one takes in the laboratory (which, I assure you, is of utmost importance; whole fields of science and whole lives are dedicated to understanding the accuracy and precision of scientific measurements, and whole fields of science are dedicated to calculating the certainty of the error involved in measurement, but that's another topic for another post =P) or the precision of the definitions one uses when describing natural phenomena.

The two main "branches" of science, Practical and Theoretical, both require precision: on the practical side, measurements must be as precise as possible (this is self-explanatory); on the theoretical side, definitions must be as precise as possible in order to clearly communicate the description of what is being studied.

For example, in thermodynamics, the equation E = q + w describes the relationship between Energy, Work, and Heat. But knowing this equation is useless unless you understand what the variables mean. E = the internal energy of the system, w = work done on the system by the surroundings, and q = the amount of heat given off by the system that is absorbed by the surroundings.

But even this is difficult to understand until we properly define what "system" and "surroundings" mean. intrinsically, one may have a general idea of what these terms mean, but in a scientific sense, these words are useless until properly defined. So, in thermodynamics, a System is defined as the part of the universe which one is interested in for scientific purposes, and the Surroundings is defined by the rest of the universe that is not included in the system. Practically, this means that the system  is usually separated from the surroundings by a barrier, but it doesn't have to be. Examples of systems inculde: the contents of a beaker, the contents of a flask, the air in a room, the part of the atmosphere defined by coordinates in space, etc.

Another example: Popular media is always outraged when a member of an extinct species in found alive, and the newspapers are all "OH THE SCIENTISTS ARE WRONG! THIS SPECIES IS NOT EXTINCT YET! TAKE THAT SCIENCE!" But this is due to a misunderstanding of the scientific definition of "extinct." Biologists define Extinction as the state of a species where the population of the species that remains alive does not have enough genetic diversity for the future generations to have a successful chance of surviving. Basically, it means that a species is deemed extinct when there are so few individuals that future generations will be so genetically weak that they will have almost a zero chance of surviving. If the population of a species of dolphins consists of only one individual, then that species is technically extinct. I think people associate "extinct" with "no more individuals left" because of the discussion in paleontology, where all of the species are extinct because there are no living individuals today.

Indeed, the science of definition has a discreet pulchritude to it.

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I remember the word pulchritude from watching a movie about the US National Spelling Bee; it was the word with which the heroine won the conpetition =)

In response to your sentiments about commercialism, I do agree that it does have a large effect on people, especially children, who are so easily impacted, but even without the media, I think people get much of their sense of beauty from their elders and family members. It is true that many times people are too much swayed by outer beauty and not often enough look at inner beauty; I am glad that I'm friends with people who understand the value of inner beauty.

On a more personal note, UG I totally didn't realize how much chemistry I had this tem until going through the first week; TOO MUCH CHEMISTRY! This totally reaffirms my suspicions that, although I enjoy chemistry, i would not be able to tolerate a major in chemistry, and also reaffirms my love for biology, both microbiology and macrobiology; I think going into physiology is the right choice for me. (Side note: I find it funny that the study of biology is often looked down upon by people be it the general population or other scientists compared to chemistry or physics, but medicine, which is essentially the application of biology to humans, is highly regarded by people.)

Anyways, I hope you had a good start to the new semester!
Chat soon,
~Tim~