Blog Post #2 - Spring 2022

There is an old philosophical question which asks whether we innately inherit certain beliefs or if we instead develop our perceptions and understanding of the world from our experiences. Personally, I tend to agree with the latter in most cases, but there may exist some form of seemingly cogent neuroscientific argument in favor of the former. My belief, at least, is that from birth we may not be necessarily a "clean slate," as someone who may adhere more closely to the philosophical paradigm mentioned second might believe. More precisely, I believe that as we age we develop in synchronicity with our surroundings and therefore cultivate our identities by similar means as well. Things such as mindset might also be developed along side any of the aforementioned processes. Consequently, my general belief is that because of my family, culture, rural/urban upbringing, I have become who I am today - with the mindset that I have today. 

Despite my current sense of belonging in STEM, in the past I was not encouraged to pursue a STEM degree. Because of my performance in grade school, it was a huge shock to many of my relatives when they found out that I would be pursuing a degree in mathematics. Prior to my deciding on pursing a degree in mathematics, my original goal was to receive a degree in psychology. I recall during this time period that I was ridiculed by one of my relatives for not getting "a real degree"; which is disappointing. This person, in particular, displayed the most amount of surprise when they found out that I was pursuing a degree in mathematics. I cannot say that this is the reason that I decided to change my course of direction, but it is interesting to me to see peoples' perceptions on what is considered a "real degree" and what is not. 

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