Technology Personal Statement Essay, Research Paper
The progression of technology and the effects it has had on civilisation
has always fascinated me, and generated within me a profound interest in the
Sciences. More recently, I have begun to excel more in Biology than Chemistry
or Physics, and this is where I wish to continue my studies. In my opinion,
Biological Technologies are an important resource, and are fast becoming more
important to industry and medicine, as fields like Bio-Materials and Genetics
are developed. I believe that there are still many new and exciting discoveries
waiting to be found, hidden within nature, and of beneficial use to humans and
the environment. I want to be a part of the next discovery. It is possible that the roots of my fascination
with science come from my first trip to the library. As dull and as eccentric as it may seem, the book that I chose in
the five minutes before closing time was one on Fungus of the British Isles.
After that, I read a lot of the Eyewitness Guides series, detailing the
advances in technologies from the Stone Age to the present day. What I enjoy
reading now, in magazines like New Scientist, and on other science websites, is
how new innovations can be put to practical use to solve modern problems. For
example, how genetic fingerprinting can be used for identification purposes, or
how gene technology could be used to incorporate new characteristics into
plants that enable them to grow in damaged salt farmland. Then there is the
possibility that biomass, and other renewable biological fuels could be used to
at least partially replace the fossil fuels that are beginning to run out, and
have been damaging the environment for a long time. Lastly, I find it amazing
how spider silk is stronger than steel cable, weight for weight, and that in
countries like China, bamboo is strong enough to be used for scaffolding that
we in the western world have to use steel for. In facts like this, I believe
lies enormous potential. In nature and in society, where I believe just about
everyone and every thing has a place and function, the possibilities are
endless. I have only had two jobs to date.
I have worked as lead waiter in a small restaurant, and now as a cinema
employee. Other than skills of handling money, or responsibility to do a job
properly, the most important lesson I think I have learned is the importance of
teamwork. The thing I have learned is that every single person has different
abilities, skills, tolerances, likes, and dislikes. The trick is seeing where
they fit, like the pieces to a puzzle. After finishing my education, I have
considered research as a career. It would be a nice dream to make a famous
discovery and go down in history, but I have not made any plans set in concrete
yet. I would rather consider all of my options before I go ahead, as glory will
not put food on the table. Outside of my studies, I don’t read books about
fungi any more, but I socialise with friends and meet new people, I play
computer games, use the internet, and apart from my science reading, I like to
read novels – usually of the medieval and fantasy genre. I also have an
interest in film, and working at a cinema, I am able to watch quite a lot of
movies. The strangest of my interests, is that I take medieval martial arts
lessons with a group called The Exiles. They translate manuscripts from the 15th
Century, and as a group we interpret what they mean, and learn how the
techniques shown actually work. We work with different weapons, like long
sword, dagger, and spear, but as the basis of the system stems from unarmed
combat, there is a lot of body mechanics involved, and I have learned a lot
about the dynamics of body movement. Even though fighting with medieval weapons
might not be the most often used skill in today’s world, it is an interesting
experience nonetheless.