And so it begins...

This week has been the first of the MSc Quaternary Science course. It has been really enjoyable and interesting, but I sure am tired! It's been really good getting to know the other students on the course and the staff who are teaching us. 

The other students on the course are all lovely, and I think we each have something to contribute, both as student and as friends. As well as seeing everyone during lectures, most of us went to the pub after lectures one day to celebrate one of my housemate's birthday. It's really nice to wind down after a long day of concentrating and working hard, and start to really get to know one another. 

The staff are all brilliant. They are all so enthusiastic about their work and about teaching a new set of masters students. Not only that, but they seem really friendly and willing to engage in 'normal' conversation, i.e. not about Quaternary Science. They all seem really interested to learn about our opinions and to take part in discussions with us, and even just this week that enthusiasm has resulted in myself taking part in discussions I never would have done before now, and not being afraid to voice my opinion on subjects that, thus far, I don't have any specialist knowledge on. 

Now I'm going to throw in a few scientific words. This week is the first half of the module 'Palaeoclimatology'. At first I had no idea what this would involve. But I have found it a brilliant starting point for the course as it is bringing everyone up to the same point where people have come from different universities and some may have been taught more than others. Especially for the way I work I have found it useful, as I like to start from the beginning rather than having someone assume I know something, even if I do. I find the ideas and knowledge become more embedded in my mind that way, and my understanding of the subject increases. 

I have particularly enjoyed learning about the "overdue glaciation hypothesis" and the "Anthropocene hypothesis". They are both concepts I have not come across until now, but have actually stimulated my mind in to really thinking about the for and against arguments for these theories. My housemates, a few others on the course and myself have planned to go to a lecture at UCL later this month, where the speaker is William Ruddiman, who has provided the argument for the "early Anthropocene hypothesis" and the "overdue glaciation hypothesis". I think this will be an invaluable experience and will be one of the things that, for me, really shows the difference between undertaking an undergraduate degree and a postgraduate degree. 

So that's all I have for now. The course is going really well so far and I'm excited for what's to come!