#dark stem

[darkstem]

Today, I woke up to snow. The air is crisp and the flakes are big. I took my dog out in the snow, I think it's the first time he's seen snow. He played and chased and watched the snow fall. We ran around together, slipping and sliding, our breath making little clouds. He pushed his snout into the snow to find the ground. We came inside and shook our coats off. Today, life is alright. 💕

[manicpixiess]

Okay but earth science is such an inherently romantic subject?? We have been sleeping on its dark academia potential, and I’m procrastinating reading a paper on upper ocean mixing (it’s fun! I do not know why I procrastinate doing fun things!) so it’s Time To Romanticise Earth Sci (speaking of literally romanticising earth sci, if anyone could tell me where I might find the movie Ammonite online, I would be forever indebted to you)

~ rocky shores and the pursuit of fossils at sunset; for a moment, time blurs, and old, gone things become more than just memories (what more than being remembered by the earth, though?); ancient trails forged by creatures long-dead that lead you deeper into untouched forests, where the trees wear their history on their bark, like badges or scars; the hallowed silence of sleeping bones in a museum

~complex modelling software and sheet after sheet of data collected painstakingly over decades come together, whispering of howling storms and withering droughts and change bearing down, still, you are triumphant, because it feels like you share a language with the seas and the skies, a language of numbers and time with which they tell you beautiful and terrible things

~ stories buried in ice cores and deep sea sediments, in smooth river rocks and the curve of a mountain just so, there are stories everywhere, and together they unfold a tale so grand in scale that fitting it within your skull sometimes feels impossible; how could you, after all? It is a story spanning millions of years, of oceans as deep as mountains are high and all that came before them, of whole continents that split apart and found one another all over again, of life, and all it did-

~ entire playlists dedicated to whalesong echoing through the sea, you think that if you listen to it often enough, you just might understand what they’re saying; leatherbound journals filled with blurry photographs of mushrooms and insects, and all the interesting habits of theirs you’ve observed; thick, dusty volumes with whimsical diagrams of birds and tides and everything in between, walls papered with old botanical posters and photo-prints of erupting volcanoes

~ fitted corduroys and loose shirts, bulky jackets with many pockets for collecting curious things, green tea left to cool on all available surfaces, waking up early to watch the sunrise and sleeping late anyway

~ witnessing the world’s (and particularly the government’s) response to climate change and wanton environmental destruction has filled you with a desperation that makes you throw yourself heedlessly into your research, it leaves you exhausted and sometimes hopeless, but this is how you would have the earth remember you, as someone who gave more than they took

[theatomsinme]

Little STEM things I miss

Late night chemistry labs. Student dozing off over Bunsen burners, waiting for reactions to happen, with their partner keeping watch over both

Lab debates dragging over into the next class. No internet, just logic and defense; what will increase the efficiency of solar panels? Lemon juice, spinach, strawberries, graphene or salt water? Mumbled replies and tilted notebooks, absurd reasoning and mystified intrigue that will eventually bring the teachers into the debate too.

Disbelief when an experiment fails, and pure bewilderment when it fails for not 1 or 2 but most if not all of the groups. Excited whispers, jokes about the illiteracy of engineers, confused TAs and even more confused professors when they fail the experiment too.

The thrill in the air when we learn how to use a new machine in the labs. Craning necks, precarious balance to get the best view, with a jolt of uniform panic as we're called up to use it

The smell of a cold, recently cleaned chemistry lab

Hearing nothing but my footsteps and the rattling of my pencil case as I walk the empty science building, alone, but still feeling at home among the empty lecture halls

Always knowing when someone is using the old industrial elevator because of its loud mechanisms

The smell of sawdust and engine oil as I walk through the halls where other engineering majors work on their end of year projects- while the go Kart race always has good prizes, there was more pride in being fast with the least amount of items on and in your cart. More than once people have tried to automate their karts.

[razorwingedbutterfly]

There was heavy rain today, along with thunderstorms. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. Also, my med exam is on Sept 12th and I can't find any motivation to study. I've been procrastinating on studies a lot from past few days and my imposter syndrome is getting the best of me so, I decided to rewatch kill your darlings and even made a quick portrait of Dane Dehaan as Lucien Carr.

I am thinking of doing the #100daysofproductivity thing but I don't know if I have it in me to keep up with that.

[metastablephysicist]

some pictures from my walk to the lab today. it was a beautiful autumn day and I felt genuinely happy to be alive, despite the state of the world. also included: a book I’m reading to better understand the theory behind my research project. it’s a slow go but it finally feels like I’m making progress. 

[romanticpeaches]

Safe to say, I have gotten back into the habit of excessive reading to escape reality of being in a country I hate and just in general to feel less lonely

[laurels-corner]

Edinburgh, surgeons hall museum

[scienceliscious]

Gentle reminder than your notes don't have to be pretty or aesthetically pleasing for you to be considered a studyblr. Sometimes you just don't feel like making pretty notes and that's fine. Sometimes your notes don't have to be pretty. The most important thing is that they help you learn.