This article, while not terribly original in concept, does eloquently address a very real and dramatic shift in the American public.  I find the change in attitude towards science very disheartening.  Why people would think of science as a highly esteemed field of work one decade, and then switch so rapidly to the opposite is confusing to me.  While research in specific fields such as medicine is very valuable, I think research in fundamental and abstract science can help to answer some of the fundamental questions that Americans are answering by turning their back on science.  The poll on teaching evolution especially worries me.  Evolution is very basic.  Though I don’t think people should be told what or what not to believe, removing science from the classroom is the equivalent of enforcing state religion.  I don’t really know how we could unite science and religion, but I do think that both should be acceptable in school. 

I also think that the government should increase their funding toward research.  As Adam Smith said, it is the job of the government to invest in things that the private sector cannot.  The private sector will not invest in basic research because there is no obvious way to make a profit, however, this research should still be done.  The government could move funding from health research, after all the private sector already spends billions on it.  Though the research that the government funds may not be profitable, it will, indirectly or directly better the lives of everyone.  It is because we don’t know what we will find that we should research it; deeper understanding of life and the universe will lead to better lives for all people.

If we do discover more about our place in the universe, and where we come from, that may be able to fill some of the cold void people see in science.  Though if what we have discovered thus far is an indicator, we will simply have to get used to uncertainty and unanswered questions. 

My name is Gareth Hardwick and was born in Seattle, Washington in March of 1995.   My mom is a lawyer and my dad worked at Boeing.  He had a small telescope that we would use to look at other stars, planets and galaxies at night.  When I was around 12 he bought a much larger telescope to use at our cabin.  With the new telescope we could see much further into space, usually I would just spend my time panning endlessly between stars and planets in no particular order. My uncle collected rocks, especially meteorites, and he even gave a small fragment of one to me when I was 10.  In addition to stargazing and looking at rocks, I spent many hours building model rockets and airplanes, usually crashing them spectacularly.  This served as my introduction to physics and astronomy. 

My first formal education in astronomy occurred in my freshman year of high school when I took both physics and astronomy both semesters.  While my physics class was less than challenging, my astronomy class was very difficult; I was the only freshman and the only student who had not taken calculus.  Fortunately my teacher spent lots of time outside of class helping me so that I did not fall behind.  Finally I took an advanced physics class my senior year (I went to a private school so we had no AP or honors classes, they were all supposed to be taught at around that level) which challenged my much more.  Because we got through our textbook so fast we spent nearly a quarter with no schedule, on a sort of independent study, I chose a topic involving astronomy, in particular the formation of planets, stars and solar systems.

            Aside from academics I spent my middle school and high school years as a nationally ranked cross-country skier and biathlete.  Mountain biking, mountaineering, backcountry and downhill skiing take up the majority of my time away from school, though I also hike, trail run, backpack and do many other outdoor activities.  When I am not doing any of the above I usually draw or paint.

            I still have not decided on a major, one of the reasons I selected this class was to see if I would want to major in a field similar to astrobiology.  Aside from astronomy my other interests are physics, math (especially calculus), drawing, and painting.

            I hope that by the end of this class I will have a better understanding of astrobiology, but mainly, a better understanding and clearer idea for what I want to major in.  Right now I am very divided between what seems like to possible routes, math and physics, or art.  Which ever I choose to major in I will probably minor in a subject of the other field.  Hopefully this class will start to show me which of these two options I will take, though I cant even say that this with much certainty.

            It is hard to choose one part of astronomy over another, but what interests me most is the space travel.  Possible this is because of my exposure to flight and rockets at a very young age, but whatever the reason, I am fascinated with it.  Travelling though space is the coolest thing I can think of doing.  I spent the later half of my astronomy class researching space travel and even got into a bit of special relativity, though I barely scratched the surface of that field.