Learning+Continuously

Learning Continuously

Insanity is continuing to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results -Albert Einstine   Learning continuously is a habit of mind that first struck me when sitting and listening in Chemistry Class. The reason for this is because I have been learning chemistry multiple times in almost all different grade levels. However, each year I learn a little more and more about certain aspects of Chemistry. Starting from middle school, Chemistry was introduced as an area of science dealing with "chemicals," or so i thought after watching my teacher mix baking soda and vinegar. However, little did I know Chemistry was a progressive topic that I had yet to learn from. After multiple years of learning about the basic parts of Chemistry such as atoms, sub atomic particles, and the periodic table, this year, I learned continously by applying my past knowledge of these parts to discover more about these atoms, and what exactly they look like. For instance, all throughout high school I was told that atoms look this specific way and no other way, and depending on the amount of protons, the atom can only vary slightly due to the amount of electrons that make up the orbitals. But Mrs. Knowles introduced to us that there is a difference between a model concept and the actual concept and we shouldn't always trust our books to describe what exactly an atom looks like. This was really interesting, because for once I questioned what an atom looked like, since it is too small to actually visual see. But in order for me to do this, I had to apply my past knowledge on Chemistry and on atoms, in order to learn more about this topic. I had to first understand what an atom was, what it is made of, and what its purpose is, before I could learn anymore and make any assumptions on my own. In this case of learning about atoms, I had to apply my previous years of Chemistry to learn more about atoms and their genetic make up, because each year the information given to you is much more specific, much more in depth and much more significant. It was interesting to be told that these Chemistry books that create these atom models may not necessarily be the absolute truth, but these model concepts are useful and reasonable as we can learn what the atom is made up of and what its parts are. Chemistry is an ongoing topic and a progressive one too, and in order to learn more you have to learn continuously and always apply your past knowledge of what you already know.