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My date with Ramachandran

Any high school senior can undoubtedly tell you that they have heard this question more times than the dreaded acronym SAT. What a relief to receive that letter:

“Congratulations! I am pleased to offer you admission to Princeton’s Class of 2013!”

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You’ve done it! You’ve made it in! Relief turns into excitement as you await housing details, course information and the chance to sport your new school’s apparel. All questions concerning your future are now a nice orange slice of pumpkin pie … Not so fast.

“What are you planning to major in?

This is the question that currently has me stumped. Every time someone casually throws this little inquiry into the conversation, I am left with a checklist of responses to choose from. The length of my answers is somewhat reminiscent of the economic concept of diminishing marginal utility — the more I am asked, the more my enthusiasm wanes.

“Oh you know how it is, being a freshman and all. I’m just testing everything out!”

“I’m possibly interested in this, but I’m not too sure yet. We’ll see how it goes!”

“I have no idea.”

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Having originally intended to focus in humanities, I find myself basically as far away from this workload as one can be. If English and literature courses were located in Yorkshire, I am probably coasting along the Mediterranean Sea. What am I doing all the way out by Egypt, one might ask? Just testing the waters.

It is with this sentiment in mind that I defend my eclectic selection of classes this fall. By spanning departments such as computer science, economics and psychology, I am taking chances on new subjects and challenging myself to look beyond what I already know. I am hoping that this will allow me to formulate an answer to the perpetual question of what I am going to study.

With this motivation, I found myself in McCosh 50 on the night of Oct. 15. Having heard that V.S. Ramachandran would be giving a lecture on a topic discussed in my neuroscience class, I decided it would be an interesting event to attend. If Princeton attracts the attention of such prominent academic figures, why not take advantage of it? When I entered the room five minutes early, three-quarters of the desks were already occupied. Audience members ranged from University students to senior members of the community, many equipped with notebooks, pens and eager expressions. Within minutes, the lecture hall was filled to capacity.

For those not familiar with his work, Ramachandran is a “neuroscience rock star” (according to my neuroscience preceptor) who is highly acclaimed for his experiments in behavioral neuroscience. He is currently stationed in San Diego as the Director of the Center for Brain and Cognition and professor in the Psychology Department and Neurosciences Program at the University of California. Not only does he write scientific papers and perform award-winning experiments, he can single-handedly gather a huge crowd of Princeton students on a Thursday (did I say party?) night. The man’s got game.

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One of the most noteworthy aspects of the lecture was the laughter that filled the room. Ramachandran proved to have the uncanny ability to transform a potentially dry subject matter into information I would be anxious to report back to my friends post lecture. There was definitely no internet perusing taking place during those 80 minutes, a feat unheard of by most professors.

Who knew that there are more connections in the brain than there are stars in the universe? Or that a neuroscience related syndrome refutes Freud’s idea about suppressed sexual feelings for one’s mother? Or, that an effective mechanism for aiding patients with phantom limbs costs just $3? I certainly didn’t, but I was anxious to learn more. This desire is exactly what I am looking for.

One of the most interesting pieces of advice this scientific guru had to offer was his golden rule: “If someone sounds crazy, usually it means you are not smart enough to figure it out.” With that I say, question everything.

Question why you are taking the courses you are enrolled in, what you think you want to do and what else you could be doing. Now is the time to try it all out. We have until the end of our sophomore years to declare our answers to the “big question” (unless you’re an engineer, of course), so why shouldn’t we dabble in everything while we have the chance? Attend a guest lecture on a topic you’ve never considered exploring. Go to an art exhibition that catches your eye. Keep your possible goal in mind while expanding along the edges. I am going to enjoy Java, the brain, and literature. Hopefully, with these experiences under my belt, I will be able to confidently change my status from “major pending” to that of a bona fide student on a mission.

Samantha Batel is a freshman from Greenvale, N.Y. She can be reached at sbatel@princeton.edu.