Week 3: Considering Instruments
When people think of scientific research, they may tend to think of the literal experiments. What theory or idea is being questioned and tested? What is the procedure or protocol? What are the results? Rarely do we marvel at the instruments that allow us to perform these experiments and obtain accurate results. When looking at a scale, we watch the numbers rise and fall, not considering how much effort and impact the ability to measure to a certain decimal place has been to conducting experiments. The instruments and tools we use are often taken for granted, though they are crucial for the development of science and allow new discoveries to be made. As a person studying science and performing experiments, I naturally define instruments as a tool for recording, measuring or controlling factors.
In the past, I have also taken scientific instruments for granted and considered them insignificant compared to other areas of science I could pursue. However, after reading research papers and looking for research labs, I have found instrumentation to be an important and exciting field for the development of science. When looking at major concentrations available in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, I neglected the 'diagnostics and therapeutic instruments' concentration. At the time, developing instruments seemed less exciting than creating artificial organs through the 'cells, tissues, and systems' concentration. A search for a lab that interested me within the other concentration areas was unsuccessful. Yes, the topics were important and pertinent, but they did not follow my interest of study: neurologic disorders and diseases (or more generally, the nervous system). I revisited the instruments concentration and found labs studying the nervous systems and synaptogenesis. Why were these topics found in this concentration?
In the past, I have also taken scientific instruments for granted and considered them insignificant compared to other areas of science I could pursue. However, after reading research papers and looking for research labs, I have found instrumentation to be an important and exciting field for the development of science. When looking at major concentrations available in the bioengineering department at the University of Washington, I neglected the 'diagnostics and therapeutic instruments' concentration. At the time, developing instruments seemed less exciting than creating artificial organs through the 'cells, tissues, and systems' concentration. A search for a lab that interested me within the other concentration areas was unsuccessful. Yes, the topics were important and pertinent, but they did not follow my interest of study: neurologic disorders and diseases (or more generally, the nervous system). I revisited the instruments concentration and found labs studying the nervous systems and synaptogenesis. Why were these topics found in this concentration?
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Our knowledge on the nervous system is still immature and constantly growing. There are still many things to discover and learn about the brain. Thus, a proper method to observe neurons and synapses or brain activity is needed. That is, we need more advanced instruments to allow us to study the small neurons, preferably in a non-invasive manner. Recently, the development of non-invasive neuroimaging methods have allowed in vivo studies, increasing the possibilities of study in psychology and neuroscience, tracking changes in brain activity. In scientific research, instruments are incredibly important as they allow people to better understand the world around us and peer into the worlds of the living things around us. Without them, we could only observe the world at a surface level. |
However, I have discovered that the definition of instruments is much larger in scope. This week's reading challenged my previous narrow concept of instruments. More generally, instruments are "tools that are used to fashion things and ideas" (Gouk, 258). In this sense, communities or places of gathering (e.g. taverns, colleges, churches) could be considered as an instrument, bringing a variety of social groups together to exchange ideas (Gouk). This fascinated me. The places we have visited while in London and Oxford, under this definition, were instruments, rather than simply places of congregation and relaxation. They are facilities that people could use to share and develop ideas. The many parks, coffee houses, pubs, and colleges we see are instruments, bringing together distinct people from different fields, providing a point of intersection for communication and creativity. For example, after the King's surrender in the 17th century and the closing of choral foundations, many musicians in Oxford were moved to taverns to practice and perform. New commercial music meetings were developed, and music-making became more public. Music with multiple parts came into being, as people played in groups. This led to the development of skills and qualities of music being developed. It now demanded more concentration and constant adjustment to play with each other (Gouk). It lead to more collaborations, experimentations, and trials to achieve the desired results (i.e. sound and music).
Comments/Feedback
Rob Corser: Hi Yun Jung. Great post about instruments! I now understand more about your interest in neuro-science, and appreciate how the readings and the prompt got you considering aspects of your own field. I was left with one thing to ponder: Can the brain itself be considered an instrument? Or is it something else entirely....?
Your blog is really well organized and it looks great.The only thing I couldn't figure out was how to post this comment to you there and not by email.
Cheers, R. (17 August 2014, 7:59 AM)
Your blog is really well organized and it looks great.The only thing I couldn't figure out was how to post this comment to you there and not by email.
Cheers, R. (17 August 2014, 7:59 AM)