Chemistry is fun No seriously Jordin Metz TEDxTufts

want you all to close your eyes imagine you're standing on the tip of the International Space Station orbiting the planet you take deep breath and you jump hurdling down toward the Earth at break neck speed physics the lack of oxygen the intense cold all don't matter because this is your imagination the wind whips past your face the clouds spiral around you and as you squint against the bright Sun you suddenly see the entire continent of North America laid out in front of you you gasp an amazement at the incredible sight you've only seen in pictures you can make out the Browns green and yellows of the land the deep blue of the ocean off to one side and everything is simultaneously IND discernible and beautiful after it seems like forever and at the same time just few seconds the world appears to rush up toward you you perceive the shapes of fields mountains and rivers as you race toward the Earth tears streaming down your face from the wind your lips chapped and your hands cold you realize you're headed toward large city you see skyscrapers roads factories even little cars that look like ants on their way to collect food you catch sight of large sitco sign and realize you're headed for Boston now as you hurdle toward green patch in the middle of brick and stone buildings you begin to make out faces street signs license plate numbers you flip over in midair tucked your feet for landing crash through the roof of Cohen Auditorium and land in your seat open your eyes look around the ceiling is still intact your clothes haven't burned up due to friction and NASA didn't approve anything for this tedx talk you went from viewing the entire planet to looking at single person standing on stage zooming in by factor of 1 million you can learn lot by viewing the planet from outer space but that's nothing compared with coming down to earth and having conversations with the people that are invisible from space imagine if we could do that here if my hand were the Earth what would we see zooming in million times cells bacteria proteins all working together to keep me alive yet completely invisible from my usual point of view what if we could zoom in even further billion times and see my DNA individual molecules atoms imagine what we could learn the truth is scientists are already doing this using super powerful microscopes and imaging techniques to see cells and even atoms here you see the word toughs written out in individual bromine atoms by researchers in the University's chemistry Department we can visualize some of the smallest bits of matter known to man as well as looking at galaxies thousands of light years away when think about the enormity of the universe or the incredible number of particles perfectly positioned to build my body feel lost how can do something significant with my life when feel so insignificant when look back at the root of that question realize it's my amazement with the world that fueled that inquiry in the first place so why not try and share that amazement with others study chemistry not astronomy so that's where turned in order to share my amazement I'm so enamored with the subject that whenever hear the word chemistry my ears perk up like someone just said my name think chemistry is amazing and can explain the world around us or at least thought knew how chemistry explain the world around me but two years ago when started asking myself tough questions like what's the difference between baking soda and baking powder and as anyone who's ever watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding is wondering does Windex really eliminate pimples Pro tip it doesn't realized didn't know much more than someone who doesn't study chemistry wanted to change that so started investigating what do people know about chemistry do people like chemistry or not quickly became frustrated whenever tell people what study and I'd get the response my God chemistry people seemed instantly turned off by it the could never do that response seemed ubiquitous met nurse recently who reacted the same way after learning what study so asked her you're nurse didn't you have to take lot of chemistry classes too she responded yeah but got through them as quickly as could she studes medicine and tried to force her way through the chemistry why is that conducted survey leading up to this talk to try and answer that question asked people which of these six images do you most associate with chemistry chose images from our lives vodka frying egg Smoke Stacks nylon rope Advil ice there's chemistry in all of these things the biochemistry of how alcohol interacts with our brain and liver the denaturing proteins that cause frying egg to go from clear to white the process of combustion and the greenhouse gas effect the remarkable history and synthesis of nylon leading up to World War II that revolutionized the textiles industry the biochemistry of how Advil blocks pain signals from the spot where it hurts so they're not made and they can't even get to your brain ice melting and the incredible properties of water that allow life to exist my survey participants lean toward Advil and ice in what they most associated with chemistry the diversity of responses speaks to the different backgrounds of the people who took the survey and the plethora of ways in which we interact with the world my final survey question was what's your best worst most interesting experience with chemistry received range of responses from the droning College cam is boring to the dramatic my friend set the room on fire with the bunson burner the school had to evacuate and the teacher was fired this literally happened there were many negative responses associated with chemistry my 10th grade teacher telling me would never be good enough no matter how hard tried to study even with tutor still failed every test and here are two of my favorites in high school chemistry class my friend and burned happy face in the lab desk with hot Crucible but every time for the next three years went to that classroom saw it and it was great it's basically just long sequence of me burning myself stabbing myself with needles and inhaling weird organic acids and bases what do these survey responses tell us about why some people fear chemistry are try and force their way through people have memories good and bad associated with chemistry many of the negative survey responses were related to bad chemistry teacher or thinking that chemistry is too abstract too mathy too small to comprehend wanted to address these negative feelings the fear of chemistry and the lack of seeing chemistry in the world around us maybe those two are related chicken and egg sort of problem we're afraid of chemistry and thus don't see chemistry in the world around us or we don't see chemistry in the world around us and thus are kind of intimidated by it regardless decided wanted to learn how chemistry surrounds us and use my excitement to share that information last year taught course here at tus titled chemistry in everyday life taught about food chemistry household chemistry environmental chemistry and biochemistry four different aspects of Our Lives for this course decided to flip the pedagogy on its head instead of diving right into the molecular started each class with something familiar frying egg household bleach fertilizer Tylenol instant familiarity instant engagement we then picked it apart asking questions about why it works and exploring key chemistry Concepts through the lens of the everyday our eyes see the world around us we don't often understand what's happening we know the how but not the why we know how to bake cookies but not why they rise we know how to clean stain but not why it disappears we know how to take pill but not why it works what's the point why learn any of this chemistry stuff because chemistry is not just subject in high school it runs through the fabric of everything we do with the power of the internet you can teach yourself anything even something that seems as insurmountable as chemistry often does want you to see the chemistry relevant in your life want you to see how useful chemistry is Imagine The 8-year-old who loves chocolate chip cookies with just few tweaks to the ingredients different sugars baking powder or baking soda the chemistry is different so the cookies are different chemistry will help you become better Baker imagine the athlete who knows not to drink the night before workout because not only has her coach told her but she also understands the biochemistry of muscle building and performance and is empowered to tell her teammates that alcohol impedes protein synthesis and slows Muscle Recovery chemistry will help you become better athlete imagine the mother who really needs those green bananas to ripen so she can get her picky child to eat fruit some overripe fruits like apples and bananas release excess ethylene gas ripening signal that causes faster ripening knowing this she can place those green bananas in bag with an overripe one and have yellow bananas the next day chemistry will help you become better at life hacks imagine the awkward 13-year-old who actually learns how acne creams work so she can more effectively treat her face both before and during breakout salicylic acid treatments including crushing up an aspirin are great at preventing breakouts by clearing pores of dead skin cells but you should use an antibacterial like benzo peroxide to effectively kill the bacteria that cause acne and clear away those pimples chemistry will help you take control of your health imagine the college student who doesn't get transported to the hospital because he knows not to take Tylenol after night of heavy drinking Tylenol also known as acetaminophen interferes with levels of antioxidants in your liver in normal doses it's safe but alcohol has similar negative effect on your liver taking too much Tylenol drinking too much alcohol or combining the two is extremely dangerous chemistry will help you become both better doctor and patient just imagine you in your everyday life have the potential to be any one of those people and we've all been that awkward 13-year-old seek out the answers to your problems find the chemistry that's relevant to your life search for the knowledge that wasn't previously visible zooming in by factor of 1 million you have the power to learn about the World Around You by opening your mind and experiencing in the chemistry that exists everywhere you look you will save money save time be safer and more satisfied if you see equations numbers chemistry don't be intimidated think of it as challenge look at the whole picture from way up in outer space then find the courage within yourself to jump thank you yeah