hope floats...and guess what else?

I have just suddenly realized that I am losing my ability to think creatively.

Picture this: a small flat, curved bone lies on a piece of Styrofoam in a pot full of water, concealed in a paper bag. “Identify this!” was written on the questionnaire. The answer is obvious. I write, RIB. Then came the follow-up question, for two points: “Why the ‘name’?” I stared at the paper stupidly. What could be so special about the rib’s name? Nothing came to mind. Goodbye two points.

I ended up losing three points on that part of the laboratory exam. The correct answer, folks, is that it’s a FLOATING RIB, so-called because it’s not attached to the vertebrae, unlike all the others. The rib is floating in a pot of water. Duh. I feel so stupid, and “uncreative”. Well, how should I know that the professor didn’t put that together so the others wouldn’t be able to peek? Anyway, some of the others got it; I think I would’ve gotten it correctly had I not been so damn…exact? Uptight? Dimwitted? Dense?

And perhaps I’ve also lost my knack for looking—in a deep sense—or searching for detail. I also wasn’t able to see that (in another question) the skeleton in front of me (“Charlie”) had two left legs—set-up by my professor, of course. Tsk. I’m slipping, slipping.

Urgh. Good thing I still have another chance to redeem my stupid self—the bio-ethical issue paper. My classmate Richard and I will be tackling the Genographic Project of the National Geographic (with IBM and the Waitt Family Foundation). It sounds really interesting. From the website:

“National Geographic and IBM are embarking on a landmark five-year study that will assemble the world's largest collection of DNA samples to map how humankind populated the planet. The Genographic Project will use sophisticated computer analysis of DNA contributed by hundreds of thousands of people—including indigenous populations and the general public—to reveal man's migratory history and to better understand the connections and differences that make up the human race.”

Ooooh. Retracing footsteps. Knowing your roots. Neat. And all it costs is $99.95 (plus shipping, handling, and tax if applicable). Anyway, for those interested to find out more, just check out the website: http://www5.nationalgeographic.com/genographic.

Okay, that’s all for now. Gotta take out one of my damn floating ribs and feed it to the dogs. The other one maybe I’ll keep. Or see if it floats in the toilet. Yay, experiment!