Seeing as how we all need blog grade boost...

In class, we discussed about the McLeon and Basalla essays and about how science is like/unlike imperialistic takeover of different cultures. For instance, Basalla pointed out that the European science is the ONLY science, and that once the Europeans overtook most of the world with this science, the colonized countries could practice their own; whereas the McLeon essay said that the sciences practiced by the pre-colonist nations are in cooperation with the European sciences. Which do you think is depicting the current situation best? I believe that the science world today is mostly dominated by the non-European scientists’ efforts in terms of medical advances, aerospace engineering, space pioneering, and environmental protection.

Epidemics

Not that we have been talking about this during class.. but i guess it has always been just an extreme fascination for me. Have you guys ever noticed how quickly epidemics spread? I mean they are both physical and emotional epidemics. I knowe I have been personally affected by the Facebook, ugg boots and chai latte epidemic.. but maybe thats because I'm sitting in English... ahah just kidding. But honestly epidemics take over people like it is a evil spirit dwelling in the corners of our world waiting to escape and take over without remorse. This is a serious matter. People are widely scared and threatened by epidemics just because they know that they are powerless against it. They have to give in without choice. What do you guys think about this? It is definately all over the literature that we have been reading and even more so, integrated into our everyday lives. They are everywhere. How did you guys respond to the epidemics in the text? Do you see any in the Lost World or Lingua Franca? Maybe science itself is an epidemic.. its powerful and people believe it with the drop of a hat without thinking about it twice..

The Continuum of Time in The Calcutta Chromosome

In The Calcutta Chromosome, time seems to become irrelevant or almost altered. From the beginning of the novel to the end, each chapter may either be in the past, present (in the context of the novel), or future. Also with the Calcutta chromosome being able to transfer the "personality traits" from body to body eliminates the limitations of time we as humans have. I am slightly puzzled by why Ghosh has set up the novel in such a way as to dismiss time as a factor. I can see some implications as to how science is a continual struggle with possibly no end in sight and how time is almost irrelevant in science since we continually change our knowledge or our understanding since "to know is to change." What do you guys think about this?