Blog #2-LakeLyn

       One’s notion of beauty and nature can greatly influence aspects of science. Nature can have a profound influence on our senses and our minds. I believe the first thing to do is to decipher beauty and nature. According to the dictionary, beauty is “a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight.” Nature is “the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations.” One question that pops into my mind when I am thinking about this perception is, “What is one’s thought about beauty and nature?” When I think about beauty and nature, my mind immediately thinks about the beauty in nature, not necessarily two different terms but jointed together. Clear, blue waterways, rugged mountain terrain, the blooming of a flower are all things that many people find beauty in nature. There is more than just the observational aesthetic of beauty and nature. 
        As strange as it may sound, I find corn to be such a beautiful vegetable that grows in nature. Corn stands on a simple stem which is encased in husks to protect the kernels. I find it so fascinating that corn looks the same from the outside; as soon as one peels back the husks, white, yellow, purple, or black kernels are exposed and are all so unique. The beauty of the husks and the texture engraved on the leaves influenced my scientific exploration of the corn and the husk. I put the husk under a microscope and examined the surface and the colors. I was very interested in the magnification of a piece of nature that is at a micro-level. It is so beautiful to see something so small from nature and look at it on a macro scale. It makes you appreciate what nature produces. If it were not for my innate interest in the beauty of the corn, I would have never examined the corn and husk under a microscope.   
       Is science beautiful? Can science even be beautiful? Science is such a fascinating study which allows one to gain knowledge, “about the world only adds to is a beauty” (Orzel, Forbes, 1). Science is beautiful because it is a study that can become interdisciplinary, and the results of a scientific experiment can be communicated differently, depending on the other field of study. Forbes published an article, “Science Can Be As Beautiful As Art,” which thoroughly and thoughtfully explained the beauty in science. The idea of “analytical knowledge of how the universe functions in some way take away from the beauty of the world” (Orzel, forbes.com). It is so beautiful that science, a very complex field of study, and art can communicate in a way that not only includes scientists but other individuals in the community as well. Orzel gave the example of a flower blooming. He explained, “I see much more about the flower than he sees. I could imagine the cells in there, the complicated actions inside, which also have a beauty. I mean it’s not just beauty at this dimension, at one centimeter; there’s also beauty at smaller dimensions, the inner structure, also the processes” (Orzel, forbes.com). The beauty in nature sparks ideas and influence in science. 





I have attached some photos that I took while looking at corn and the husk under a microscope. 







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