asking for trouble

spring term starts next week - the department opens tomorrow. i'm thinking about taking this guy's course on quantum dots. lots of people in my group use quantum dots and i don't really understand what the big deal is, so i think it'll be useful if not directly applicable to my research.

so lately i have been spending a lot of time on yahoo! answers (my user name: natelipkowitz), which is a site like ask metafilter where users can post questions or answer others' questions. it's a fun place for know-it-alls like me to go and get that narcissistic warm and fuzzy feeling of having your answer chosen as the best - affirmation for those who need it, i guess. it's addictive, and i think the deeper (or maybe just better-sounding) reason is that it helps me gel me thinking on certain topics. i like to answer questions in the science and politics categories. usually when i answer a question i do some research to support my answer, and in forming the response i'm forced to synthesize what i know with what i've learned. it is definitely true what they say - the best way to learn something is to teach it.