space.discussion.Thinking+Interdependantly.

Thinking Interdependantly.
April 28th 2010

Sometimes, you can't do all the work in your own head. This has been a key lesson learned over the past few weeks during our multitude of in-class labs. Traditionally, I've been the sort of student to take instances of group work and transform them into instances of solitary work. That is, I would take up part of the experiment and make it my own, regardless of how the rest of my group was cooperating. For some tasks and goals, this works out just fine. For many others, however, this is not sufficient.

Take for example a recent titration, done in class with my lab partner Chloe. Due to the precise and exact nature of such an experiment, you truly cannot follow your own personal agenda and conduct each step without minding what your partner is see, thinking, and doing. In light of my particularly independant nature, I attempted to conduct the titration without minding my surroundings, thus missing Chloe's cautioning that I was adding too much acid to the solution. Saturating the previously basic solution in an overkill of hydrochloric acid, the whole trial was made inaccurate and unrepresentative (in fact that data was so incredibly off the mark that another trial in compensation was conducted). The obvious lesson when examining this moment, of course, is firstly to simply excercise care and attention when conducting a titration. More importantly and profoundly however, it is important to listen, communicate, and work together with your peers and partners-- not only when attempting titrations, but in almost any instance in life.

While it may be a visceral inclination to seek a superior solitude, it equally a part of our nature to work together for the betterment of a situation. Working together requires more than just the combined strength of a number people, but the combined mental power as well. This is not possible if we do not think interdependantly. I understand how important this skill will be to my future as well- with cooworkers in my career, even with my family. In light of this, I have been trying to improve my ability to work with others in such a manner, and take into account the thoughts of others to more succesfully cope with what is presented in front of us. The effort is a conscious one, but with time, will perhaps become a more natural part of my character.



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