Jessie Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Well, this is embarrassing, but.... I went to a Christian School and never learned real science. Our science books taught us about Adam and Eve. And, of course, God did everything. I'm going to college now and I'm very afraid to take the required science classes because I don't think I have the necessary background from high school and middle school. Not only that, though, I am interested in how the world really works for my own personal benefit. I just don't know what branch of science to start with since they all seem tied together (this, to me, is the more important of my questions). And I don't know where, as an extreme beginner, I should get my information from. Does anyone have any website or book recommendations for me? Aside from that, all I can think of doing is trying to find some high school textbooks to purchase online. Thanks for any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted December 3, 2011 Super Moderator Share Posted December 3, 2011 Check the local high schools for evening adult classes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overcame Faith Posted December 3, 2011 Share Posted December 3, 2011 Try having a personal conversation with one of your professors (or make an appointment with a science professor) and explain your situation as you explained it above. Then ask him/her to recommend some very basic science material for you to read. Chances are they will love to help you out and make some good recommendations. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skepticalme Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Start with a field that interest you. Physics, chemistry and biology are the foundation of most sciences and you can learn a great deal about one without needing a background in the others. Its no coincidnece that these were the first true sciences. MIT has some free online courses here http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/. These are past lectures and course materials that have been published openly online. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest wester Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Make a list of the various fields of science. Pick what you love first. Then the rest is easy. You can also try a torrent search for "TTC" at http://www.thepiratebay.org or http://btjunkie.org/ TTC stands for The Teaching Company. They have many, many introductory level overview science courses. If you don't know about torrents, first download Bitcomet @ bitcomet.com, install on your computer and use it to get the torrent files (all for free :-) ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser01 Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 go to your local library and pick up some general science books over, physics, biology and chemistry. if you want some more in depth books in biology look up richard dawkins, wonderful author and easy to understand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessie Posted December 4, 2011 Author Share Posted December 4, 2011 Thanks guys for the suggestions!! I appreciate it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdelsolray Posted December 4, 2011 Share Posted December 4, 2011 Well, this is embarrassing, but.... I went to a Christian School and never learned real science. Our science books taught us about Adam and Eve. And, of course, God did everything. I'm going to college now and I'm very afraid to take the required science classes because I don't think I have the necessary background from high school and middle school. Not only that, though, I am interested in how the world really works for my own personal benefit. I just don't know what branch of science to start with since they all seem tied together (this, to me, is the more important of my questions). And I don't know where, as an extreme beginner, I should get my information from. Does anyone have any website or book recommendations for me? Aside from that, all I can think of doing is trying to find some high school textbooks to purchase online. Thanks for any help! Astronomy or geology are possible choices. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sexton Blake Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Religion is easy. Most christians have never read the bible but know everything they need to know about the subject. Science requires study but often not hard work. It's just a matter of working at it and building up a store of knowledge. There are a number of science forums and no need to give your age. Ask any number of science questions and some are quite helpful. But really, go along to a library and start with the simple stuff. Do you know anyone who has a science education and who is willing to spend time with you? In a week of casual conversations, someone could get you upto speed in all the basics. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Positivist Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Hi Jessie I also went to a Christian school. I never learned about evolution, either (except that it's the sinners' conspiracy...LOL). I have a lot of catching up to do also. I met an evolutionary biologist at a party a few months ago. We had a great talk about evolution (he is incredulous that so many fundies are clueless about evolution). He also suggested a few books to me. I am trying to find that list now! I wish you all the best in your studies! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vigile Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Well, this is embarrassing, but.... I went to a Christian School and never learned real science. Our science books taught us about Adam and Eve. And, of course, God did everything. I'm going to college now and I'm very afraid to take the required science classes because I don't think I have the necessary background from high school and middle school. Not only that, though, I am interested in how the world really works for my own personal benefit. I just don't know what branch of science to start with since they all seem tied together (this, to me, is the more important of my questions). And I don't know where, as an extreme beginner, I should get my information from. Does anyone have any website or book recommendations for me? Aside from that, all I can think of doing is trying to find some high school textbooks to purchase online. Thanks for any help! I didn't go to a fundy school, but through the brilliance of the legislators of the state of Idaho, I graduated HS as a qualified ignoramus. Nevertheless, I had no more trouble than anyone else keeping up with science in college. They give you the foundational knowledge you need in the 100 level courses. I've no doubt you will be fine. As for what branch to start with, just go with what seems most interesting to you. I believe you need biology before you can take zoology or botany, but you should be able to go right into the lower level geology, astronomy, etc... courses without a qualifying class. Where I was weak and still haven't played catch up was physics. I just didn't have the mathematics background from HS and since my brain just doesn't learn math easily, I avoided taking this course even though the subject is one of the more interesting fields of science for me today. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betties Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 I had no science experience when I enrolled in a biological anthropology course my second year of college. I didn't know what evolution was because I had never questioned creationism. This course turned out to be a transition from social science to natural science for me, and I learned a lot about evolution and biology. My first "real" science class was a basic chemistry class for students with no prior knowledge. I think chemistry, and also physics, are a good start. After having learned the basics in those subjects, I moved on to taking more classes in biology and physics. Knowing the basics in chemistry is very useful in biology, especially on the molecular level, so it could be good foundation for further studies in biology. I would recommend taking a 100 level class in any field of science that you are interested in. As you said, all sciences are tied together but everybody has to start somewhere and it eventually leads to other fields of science. Don't worry too much about not having a science background, I can assure you that most students in the 100 level classes have forgotten everything they learned in high school anyways. I, too, was afraid of taking my first science classes, but I ended up having lots of fun learning about how nature really works. I never thought in a millions years I would major in biology and chemistry, but that's exactly what I ended up doing. Just enroll in an introductory science class and have fun! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts