3.+Listening+to+Others+with+Understanding+and+Empathy

Gender differences spawn different ways of thinking, and often the best teams are between girls and guys. Before I had worked with Leslie this quarter, I do not think I had worked alone with a girl before. The task was to build an apparatus to contain the heat of a chemical reaction, while still allowing the oxygen flow to maintain the flame of an alcohol burner. Difficulties we encountered included instruments not fitting within each other, lack of necessary materials, etc. etc. We decided in the end to build a bomb calorimeter like structure, with two giant beakers within each other, and the lamp below. I bet that if we had worked in seperate groups or not listened to each other, the lab would not have gone as successfully as it did.

I learned both the importance of working with others, working with the other gender, and listening to Leslie, who often was wiser than I in designing the apparatus. Altogether, the experience was enlightening, in that it taught me the true merits of listening to others with understanding and empathy. Next time, I will be less conservative in choosing a partner for a group, in hopes that more people can teach me what they know in chemistry. Attached is a reenactment in our first lab, of me interacting, listening, understanding, and having a good time with Jae Kyun (Figure 3).

Figure 3.