Mines students are educated, intelligent people. Why, then, should we be irresponsible with our communication? At the risk of sounding like an EPICS mentor, clear written and oral communication is a key to increasing the effectiveness of the next generation of engineers.
A corporate executive might ask, “I don’t care about the miocene, I just care about the kerosene,” said Dr. Art Saller in a lecture about sequence stratigraphy of classic carbonate outcrops. He emphasized that this sort of statement should not impact a geologist. Lackadaisical analysis of an area could result in mislocated, improper, and inefficient drilling, as carbonate deposits are not always immediately apparent.
John Green once said that nerds “…are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff… Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can’t-control-yourself-love it.” One of the most obvious examples of this facet of nerdiness on campus is this week’s geek, a sophomore Computer Science major by the name of Andrew “Thüs” Towe. He is known by many for his great enthusiasm in all parts of life, be it having real-life adventures or reveling in ways to play science and fantasy games.