What I Have Learned- Gentner Lab 2015

In my internship this summer, I have learned most about how science is exactly done. Every day you hear different statistics and trends on the news and online, but you never see the “behind the scenes” of those numbers. You don’t hear about how those conclusions were made, how scientists know these things to be true. This summer, I had the opportunity to be behind the scenes myself, working with all the different technologies and devices, and going out into the field. It has been really fun and interesting to actually be the one to go out and collect data, then come back to the lab to analyze the data and eventually figure out how to communicate it to the public. When scientists release their findings to the public, the common perception is that they are these far-away, distant beings working on computers all day and coming up with findings that seem separate from our everyday lives. Some people even think that these findings are perfect, or obtained easily and quickly by these infallible researchers. My internship this summer had me go out into New Haven, into our everyday environment, and collect data at an “up close and personal level”, which certainly took much time and effort. It taught me that scientific research really is close to and drawn from our everyday lives.