Tellurium

Yesterday's post talked about the connotations we have for the word "scientist." Being a scientist myself, it got me wondering if there was a difference between what might be seen if I did an image search just for "science." Here are some of the images:

Already a better picture - normal looking people collaborating or possibly mentoring. Love it!

The integration of sciences - we see atoms (chemistry), rockets (physics), books, etc.

Looking at the interconnectedness of objects - on the fourth row from the bottom are ways to measure from low technology (a watch) to high technology (a microscope).

Being a scientist? You have to be mad or old. Participating in science? An event for the family.

Explore the possibilities.

This is crazy, huh? What a drastic change from "scientist." Somehow science is perceived as having more accessibility for everyone, but being a scientist is daunting and hard. But I tell you this: we are all scientists. I don't want this to come off lame, so let me qualify. Your knowledge of relationships that exist between different things, your questioning about the things around you - that's what a scientist does. Welcome to that fact.


Fun Fact: The rewritable layer of DVD and Blu-ray disks is composed of tellurium suboxide. Its reflectivity allows the discs to be rewritten by switching back and forth between two states by laser heating.