The First Day

Today, I began my internship at the Stanford Cognitive Lab. It is actually a “CogNation” (n): a sovereign state devoted to the study of Cognition. Here the grad students and researchers are the citizens, and those abroad are the exiles. Many of the researchers examine language and there is no lack of playful language scattered around the lab. For instance, I took a prerequisite ethics course (so I can run participants in experiments) on the laptop called “Cogmandu.” Every computer has a name of a city formed with ‘cog’; and as it should—this is Cognation. More information on the citizens of Cognation and even their theme song can be found through this link: http://cognation.stanford.edu/index.html. You won’t be disappointed; the site is both interesting and entertaining.

Even before I entered the Cognation and worked on Cogmandu, I knew this internship would start great. I emailed Paul Thibodeau (the grad student I will be working with) Sunday night and asked a few questions about the first day. I asked: what to wear, when to arrive, things I needed to bring. I don’t think I could have dreamed Paul’s response. He replied: “clothes - anything really. no dress code. we are pretty informal. this is cali; needs - nothing i can think of; time - whenever. i wont be getting in until about noon that day. no one comes in before 10.”

Really? Oh yes. A bit different from my internship at a bank last summer when I woke up at 630am and drove 35 minutes to work; and where not having to wear a neck tie was considered a plus. Compare that with today: I woke up at 8 (without an alarm), threw on jeans and a t-shirt, hopped on my bike, rode in the beautiful weather to Stanford’s stunning campus, and arrived at 11 to meet up with Paul and begin the day.

Once at the lab Paul gave me a brief tour. He took me to the main quad of Stanford, outside of a beautiful church. He explained that he has enjoyed his first year so far. The campus is always beautiful, there are always people and tourists visiting speaking many different languages, there is always something interesting going on. In general, a great place to be.

A highlight of the tour was seeing the rooms where the famous Stanford prison experiment was conducted by Phil Zimbardo (http://www.zimbardo.com). In this experiment male college students acted as either prisoners or guards in a mock prison, located in the basement of the Stanford psychology department. The experiment was supposed to last 2 weeks, but only lasted 6 days after it became too real. Guards were acting too much like guards and prisoners too much like prisoners. It shed light on how we certain roles can shape our behavior. And even though we may not expect that simply putting on a prisoner’s jump suit or a guard’s uniform will alter our behavior the fact is that it does. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KXy8CLqgk4&feature=related

After that Paul and I discussed his research on language. We talked about metaphors and their ability to color our interpretations of certain situations. We began to map out research goals and Paul made sure I knew that he wanted me to get as much out of the summer as possible. He explained that we would work together, rather than me being a drone that simply enters data and does the grunt work. He took me to lunch on campus, where I ate a delicious salad. We sat under an archway outside, and while a welcomed breeze passed by, I got the feeling that I am in for a summer of intellectual and personal growth.

I felt this way because every person I met gave me the impression that they are here; researching and studying because they want to, not because they have to. There is so much more energy and life when there is self-motivation rather than obligatory motivation. They have chosen a lifestyle. They have chosen to spend their time learning and creating. And whether or not I decide to attend graduate school and become a professor, I realize that I will choose a profession that I enjoy. After all, time is limited why not take on the attitude of Stanford and California: do something worthwhile, do something you enjoy, and do it well. For me, education abides by this attitude and I will strive to do my best.

Lastly, as the prison experiment demonstrated, we often become the role we enact, so I am glad to have chosen a role in education that can only lead me in a positive direction. I would also like to mention that I envy Amanda, my fellow summer blogger, and her role for TFA. Again another example of how the field of education epitomizes positive growth on a personal and societal level.