Oh the Humanities!
        
            By Kevin Boehnke, 
                Science
             | 03. 06. 2015
        
                    
                                    
                    
                                                                                                                                    
                                                                            
                              
    
  
  
    
  
          
  
      
    
             
  Untitled Document 
  
Throughout my science education, I have dutifully memorized   facts: the stages of photosynthesis, the enzymes involved in the                       Krebs cycle, how to balance equations in chemical   reactions. In contrast, the focus of my ancient history classes was on   answering                       big, open-ended questions: Why did historical   figures act in certain ways? How did the assassination of Julius Caesar   affect                       the Roman Empire? Would our world be different had   he not been murdered? There were other questions, too, related not just                       to historical events but to the nature of   knowledge, to what we know and how we know it. What's the evidence? How   reliable                       is it? Does the conventional explanation account   for all the available information (including competing ideas) and the   broader                       context? 
 
  Eventually, I tried applying a similar thought process to my scientific interests. I found that approach to science much more                       appealing—and also useful. I took it with me as I became a scientist. 
 
  Brushes with waterborne illness and professional experiences with water filtration inspired me to pursue a Ph.D. in public                       health, focusing on the waterborne transmission...
 
 
  
 
    
    
  
   
                        
                                                                                
                 
                                                    
                            
                                  
    
  
  
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