What is with all the homework question in the chem forum?

[gravenewworld]

it seems like most of the posts in this forum get moved to hw. come on now, can't we have any good chem topics that don't have to do with hw?

 

[The P-manator]

People just don't realize that there is a homework forum so they assume that the chemistry forum is for chemistry homework questions. I think people should scan the website better before choosing where to post.

 

[chem_tr]

The new forum policy is acceptable, I think the moderators and administrators are seeking more scientific topics discussed right here, other general and strictly homework-related topics are wanted to be posted in another parts of this forum.

 

[Gokul43201]

If the forum had enough regulars, something periodic, like a journal club thread discussing new developments might provoke interesting discussion.

As of now, there's not more than 7 or 8 members that are active in Chemistry on a fairly regular basis.

 

[The P-manator]

Wow, how come so little?

 

[Gokul43201]

Maybe I'll use this opportunity to get a feeler for who here would be interested in having a journal club type discussion on recent research topics or developments in the field.

Maybe we could have a less formal version of the journal club thread in the Mind & Brain forum ? Something like the current discussion on organosilanes, perhaps...but with the OP putting in some extra effort to introduce/summarize the topic in a paragraph or two.

Anyone interested ?

 

[ShawnD]

Wow, how come so little?

It's because most people have a fairly good grasp of chemistry. It rarely boggles the mind or provokes thought until you get into the complicated parts, but when you're at that level, the internet is not where you'll find the answer.
Physics is different. The simplest parts, like F = ma, will always confuse people. There will always be a lot of people asking about physics.

 

[gravenewworld]

Maybe I'll use this opportunity to get a feeler for who here would be interested in having a journal club type discussion on recent research topics or developments in the field.

Maybe we could have a less formal version of the journal club thread in the Mind & Brain forum ? Something like the current discussion on organosilanes, perhaps...but with the OP putting in some extra effort to introduce/summarize the topic in a paragraph or two.

Anyone interested ?

sounds good

 

[Gokul43201]

sounds good

As a trial, let me kick this off. Sometime next week, I'll write up an introduction to a topic of interest or curiosity. First though, I'm going to send out PMs to people that I think might have an interest in the same field. If I get at least 5 positive responses, I'll go ahead and start up the discussion...and maybe get a mentor to sticky it.

If that works out well, we could have different members offer to start up discussions every fortnight or so.

Edit : I think I've got a topic for the first discussion : Matrix Isolation Spectroscopy - it's something I've been curious about and wanted to do some reading up on anyway. It might be of interest to anyone who cares about analytical chemistry, organometallics or solid state spectroscopy. If interested in participating in this discussion, reply here. If I get 5 people in, I'll get this rolling.

 

[GCT]

I would say that most people have a worse understanding of chemistry than physics. People can catch on to physics, it's direct application of math to physics theory. Some people may feel that they have a good understanding of chemistry, while in truth they may be completely inadequate. One has to be pretty adept to engage in a discussion on important chemistry topics; mathematically, as well as adept in the general scientific sense. That's why there are so few chemistry enthusiast, because most people don't know where to start (not trying to elevate myself here, I would say that I have an adequate chemistry savvy).

Matrix Isolation Spectroscopy sounds interesting, I wouldn't mind exploring the subject. As for the scheduled journal club, I feel that it wouldn't work on a regular basis, although I wouldn't mind occasional discussions, such as the one Gokul proposed.

 

[gravenewworld]

Another thing to keep in mind is that most of us, I believe, in this forum don't have phd's in chemistry, so you might want to keep it on a level everyone can understand so that all can contribute.

 

[Gokul43201]

Heck, I don't have a college degree in chemistry.

I'm hardly much more informed on the subject than the average science enthusiast. I'm hoping some of the chemists and spectroscopists out here (there's a couple that lurk in the physics sections - I'll PM them) can shed more light on the matter (no pun intended).

 

[The P-manator]

About the discussion thing, it sounds cool. Should be fun. Good topic, too.