Jane vs. 🌎

In “Hello 2018”, I alluded to some new things—this is one of them! Jane vs. happened more accidentally on purpose, which is a change for me—I usually go at columns purposely, which feels so forceful now. Jane vs. feels more natural and involves what I am most passionate about. It’s convenient, too, since I’ll be learning about these things anyway.

Photo of monarch butterfly on an orange flower

What Jane vs. is

Jane vs. is a column wherein I [mainly] share notes about and discuss science-y stuff I learn. I’m not a scientist, but a rather specific area I’m interested in requires me to know science, and putting what I learn into writing and [perhaps] discussing it helps me absorb that knowledge so it’s committed to memory. I also have a tendency to want to link to things I wish I’d blogged about, but dislike how other people write about them (hence why I wish I’d blogged about them)…

How it originated

The name for the column originally began as Bill Nye vs. the World, as I was watching Bill Nye Saves the World and discussing it in posts, but the more I did each episode, the more I realized Bill Nye may be in a battle against the world, but my posts were less Bill and more my perspective.

I also had to consider the limited number of episodes of BNSTW and the potential for a post column. I’m not too big on starting columns that rely on third parties and don’t leave much room for growth—and who’s to say I won’t watch something equally educational that is from a whole different show, or a movie, or a presentation? So I wanted it flexible.

My own concerns regarding the column

I’m working on teaching myself science. I never had much luck learning it in school, because my science teachers seldom explained much of it to us; they expected us to just get science because they told us something was true. In ninth grade, I had an Integrated Physics and Chemistry (IPC) teacher who legit made us read from her Bible when she got mad at us, regardless of our religion, and treated us like we were her friends to gossip with about the many failed blind dates she went on. (It was public school, and we never learned IPC.)

I’m not a scientist, but in my adulthood, I’m seeing it’s important to help me understand pieces of the world I am interested in. Because of this, I feel a lack of confidence in pursuing this series; on the other hand, I feel like I should test the waters and try to get comfortable talking about these things in order to determine whether this is something I want to pursue for real.

Self-directed learning

So…this is sort of that unschooling (i.e. self-directed learning) I was talking about! There is a whole other branch off of this that is more complicated and too personal for me to explain right now, but this whole column is inline with that. An important part of unschooling is finding a way to continue practicing what is learned through self-directed learning, especially in a way that encourages discussion and feedback.

In the past, I have kept my autodidact practicing hush, but I am more likely to remember learned information included in blog posts. Many of these topics also encourage me to share more personal things about myself, like the upcoming posts on climate change and vaccinations. Even if Bill Nye Saves the World is not my daily cup of tea, Bill makes good points here and there. (And again, I don’t intend for every post in the column to be of BNSTW, it’s just gonna be like that in the beginning because I’m a baby in this subject, okay.)

My faith

I’m a Christian and seldom see Christians sharing their thoughts about hot-button science topics without bashing the entire field. Perhaps it’s pretentious of me, but if everyone’s voice is important, then perhaps mine will be equally so in this department, because I don’t think science and religion should have to cancel each other out.

If possible, I’d also like to help bridge the gap between religion and science. I don’t think a person has to believe in one or the other! I got into this because of my faith. It feel like it sounds really dumb when I put it into words, but anyways. 💁

Ergo, such is the perspective coming into play in this column quite heavily.

The nitty-gritty

One reason I’m confident a series I’m talking about before it goes up will actually happen this time is the fact that the posts are all written and ready through the next year. 😏


So I have nerves, yes. 🙄 And I’m scared, too. 🤦 And I feel quite silly about it. 😒 But I feel like it’s what I need to do, and it’s definitely something I’m passionate about.

So if this column interests you, great! If not, I’m only posting to it biweekly on Wednesdays (unless it interferes with a column or post holding priority). It’s easy to skip.~

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Comments on this post

I like the name of the series 🙌

I would actually be really interested to know how you got into science from your faith. There are many people who think that science cancels religion out – after they have already researched and educated themselves on both sides (all religions included, and also counting the fact that science has a lot of holes). Nick is a heavy believer in science and think that quite a lot of scientific theories and evidence trump religion. I personally don’t believe in God (anymore), after learning about science I believe that no god exists, however, I do believe to a certain extent that one can have some kind of faith (not necessarily believing in a god, though) while still accepting science.

I guess I am saying that I don’t think someone has to believe in one or the other, either, but it would be interesting to read more of your thoughts 🙂

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It sounds promising. I hope everything goes as you planned and we will be reading science-y stuff soon. All the best.

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This sounds quite interesting! I’m also religious (somewhat) and I find it hilarious when people try to tell me that religion and science are mutually exclusive. I look forward to this column!

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That frustrates me so much! My dad’s side of the family is more on the conservative scale, and the science backing facts and legitimate issues is denied in exchange for conjecture. They aren’t against shoving every kind of medicine down their throats to resolve something, however, which…is also…science…

Thanks! 💖

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This sounds like a really interesting series! I used to hate the way science was taught in school, but always found it really interesting when reading books about it or teaching myself. I kind of wish I’d pursued it further, but was always put off by the way it was done. There are so many cool things to learn about – it’s such a shame schools make it so exam-focussed.

I think it’ll be really interesting to hear your perspective as a Christian as well. I’ve not been brought up around religion, and my school wasn’t a religious one, so we never got to discuss how the two are related.

Good luck with the series! I’m sure it will be great!

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Schools tend to separate them. I’ve never known any private Christian school to address much science, either.

I, too, hated the way science was taught in school. I think it’s one of those subjects that can’t properly be taught via textbooks and needs to be more interactive if more people are going to understand it…otherwise they leave a lot of students in the dust. 😕

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