Don't Be Afraid to Play

As a newcomer to conducting research, the thought of formulating my own research question and choosing a culture of inquiry in which to conduct the research has been daunting. I stumbled across this amazing TedTalk that has completely changed my perspective. This talk is by Beau Lotto and Amy O'Toole regarding the Blackawton Bee Project and is called "Science is for everyone, kids included".  In the video, Lotto relates science to play and how not to be afraid of asking questions. He makes a profound statement in his opening minutes that summarizes the mini experiment that he runs with the audience as his opener. He states, "Perception is grounded in our experience. The brain takes meaningless info and makes meaning out of it. Which means we never see what's there, we never see information, we only ever see what was useful to see in the past" (Lotto, 2012).

Feeling a little nervous about starting research? I was... but not any more!  I highly recommend watching this video: