We lived by a small patch of woods at night. A new ERG student helped Gang and I set up our tent. He held a fancy LED flashlight, whose light was downy but bright. Then I heard him talking to his classmate about the power and design of his flashlight. I'm sure if there were a blank chart aside, he would be delighted to draw the structure. This was not the end. Gang was obviously inspired by the application of LED that he further explained to me how much energy could be saved by using this LED flashlight to produce the same brightness.
When it got dark, people surrounded the fired, playing games and chatting. Gang and I looked at the sky, and found stars extremely bright, spreading across the night sky. Then an ERG fellow came and held an Android in his hand.
"You guys should check this out!" He said.
We looked at his cell. He was using an App called "Google Sky" which presents a stellar map based on your location and the direction of the phone screen. Therefore you can find the name of each star high in the sky and figure out how it makes up constellations with its neighbors. We exclaimed at the technology as more people gathered and watched the tiny Android screen instead of appreciating real stars. I remember camping twice with Woody-woos. What did we do at night? We lay our back on the grass and said :" Look at the stars, so beautiful!" And that was it.
Later I met a colleague of Gang's. They work in the same group and share the same office, which locates in a smart building. After him complaining about how the claimed "smartness" was actually stupidness, I got interested in the lighting system there and asked him if the building was open to visitors. My intention was to figure out whether I'd be able to see the control board of lighting system in his office, but he provided a much more comprehensive answer to my questions:
"I think the XX and XX floors are open to visitors, but the XX and XX floors are not, though you may probably access them on weekends. The Y space and Z offices on XX floors are open too, but you can't visit room XX and XX..."
He continued for a few minutes until he made sure that all the details had been clearly provided. I stunned at him, having no idea about how to respond.
"You know a lot!" I said in the end.
The most scaring question was to ask Gang's friends "what's your focus?" Sometimes (if lucky enough) I met master students who just started the program, and all they had were ideas but not knowledge or terminologies. We ended up talking about future plans. But if I asked someone with a few years of relevant research experiences, the conversation could turn into a scientific seminar, in which I did not understand a single word. The conversation always ended with me saying "That sounds awesome!"
Anyway, I like these science nerds, and my husband is one of them.
(Standing by my tent in the chilly morning)
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