It reminds me of looking at random bones vs. looking at a skeleton. You know, you could look at a tibia and a radius and they'd look pretty similar, if they were separate. But when you put them together you realize that actually one is a leg and the other an arm!
This is how I feel about experimental designs.
On a side note, today we went to fix the university vans at the CU Automotive shop. I talked my way out of driving the one without working brakes. Briefly, when that opportunity was *presented* I thought to myself "the tides have turned, and I am now a sacrificial zealot." Nonetheless, good people in authority here let me drive the safe van with brakes. I did not mention I am running a massive fever and have taken much cold medication... thankfully, it was a short drive. :)
You know, this is what bugged for such a long time about my biology classes, as an undergraduate. Admittedly, that material would be much less abstract than random experimental designs, but I remember all my classes had the annoying trait of presenting the material as "here are 10,000 random facts, no of course there's no framework holding all this together, why would you think that, lulz." Granted, in that case, the framework (evolution) is more a qualitative link than a quantitative one...but presenting the material in the absence of the framework just made it frustrating and pointless.
ReplyDeleteOh well, after 4 years of that, I did get to take 1 class in evolutionary biology. Go...dawgs? Or, you know, not.
Driving around with a massive fever FTL! Go to bed! Preferably somewhere that isn't infested with toxic mold that causes you to randomly start bleeding in your sleep. (A good argument to crash at the lake house, perhaps...? Or the infamous Lehotsky cubby...)
I'll be sleeping in the cubs tonight... and tomorrow night, since i won't really be "sleeping" then, either!
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