Try Not to Die, Monday, December 4, 2023

[sith_happened]

Anakin's hair was covered in a fine dusting of powdered sugar, which was probably why Anakin's face looked so pinched.

"So it's December," he said with an eye roll, "along with its constant reminders to remain flexible. So today we'll discuss what sort of situations you find most difficult to adapt to."

Practical Folklore, Monday 2nd period

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon nodded to the students as they filed in.

"Today we'll be discussing the fae. If you're primarily acquainted with them as 'fairies' in Disney movies and children's stories, you're probably best throwing all of that out. Now, they're fictional in my world, but I know a few of you are familiar with them, so I'd appreciate whatever you have to add.

"The primary thing to know about the fae is that they have rules. Pay attention to the rules." He turned around to write on the blackboard, because apparently this was last century. "Never eat their food or drink. Never get in their debt, or even make it appear you are - this means no thanking them or saying you owe them. Try to avoid making any deals with them, and if you absolutely must, look things over with a microscope for loopholes and issues. They will try to get the better of you. Think of them as the most unscrupulous lawyers ever. Oh, and never tell them your name; that gives them power over you."

He looked at the students who had mentioned knowing them before. "Anything to add to that or change?"

Evolutionary Science for Beginners - Monday, 1st Period

[itsananomaly]

Connor stood at the front of the classroom that morning, his typical coffee clutched in his hands as tried to focus on the class. They had been back in Fandom for a few days and it was still hard to believe they were back. With a glance a the clock and a nod to Cutter to show it was time he cleared his throat to begin.

“Today we will be taking a look a the research side of evolutionary science and how scientists, archeologists, palentologists, and others come to the theories and discoveries that they do. The first step in most biological studies is fieldwork — to collect needed specimens or fossils from field localities. For bivalves, collecting takes many forms — from simple collecting by hand, to shovel-and-sieving in sand or mud, snorkeling or scuba diving on reefs, or bottom sampling from large ships. Once collected, the specimens are preserved in whatever fluid is best for how they will be analyzed in the laboratory — alcohol or a special salt solution for molecular work, formaldehyde-based fixatives for dissection and histology, or glutaraldehyde for electron microscopy.

There’s also a research method known as Phylogenetic analysis, which provides an in-depth understanding of how species evolve through genetic changes. Using phylogenetics, scientists can evaluate the path that connects a present-day organism with its ancestral origin, as well as can predict the genetic divergence that may occur in the future. Phylogenetics has many applications in medical and biological fields, including forensic science, conservation biology, epidemiology, drug discovery and drug design, prediction of protein structure and function, and gene function prediction.”

Connor nodded to Cutter as he finished and indicated he was good to start his part of the lecture if he was ready.

“The next research method is the design of experiments,” Cutter continued the lecture with a small smile at Connor, clutching his coffee tightly as he did, “this is a task is designed to describe and explain the variation of information that under conditions that are hypothesized to reflect the information, an experiment aims at predicting the outcome by introducing a change of the of the preconditions, which is represented by one or more independent variables. The change in one or more independent variables is generally hypothesized to result in a change in one or more dependent variables The experimental design may also identify control variables that must be held constant to prevent external factors from affecting the results.

Experimental design involves not only the selection of suitable independent, dependent, and control variables, but planning the delivery of the experiment under statistically optimal conditions given the constraints of available resources. There are multiple approaches for determining the set of design points (unique combinations of the settings of the independent variables) to be used in the experiment.” he explained, “another research method that can be quite universal to evolutionary science is the case study method an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context. A case study does not necessarily have to be one observation but may include many observations of one or multiple individuals and entities across multiple time periods, all within the same case study” he finished his portion of the lecture and nodded at Connor that he could finish up the lecture.

“For the rest of the class today we will go over the worksheets I am handing out” Connor said as he passed the papers out. “We’ll discuss some more specific examples of these research methods and how they could be applied to various aspects of evolutionary science. And as always, Professor Cutter and myself are here if you have any questions or need us for anything else.”