"I will never look at a pot of boiling water the same way again." Reflections of a Chemistry 105 student

 
If you have that kind of reaction after doing a chemistry class then it will not have been in vain. One of the most important reasons for studying chemistry is to learn a little bit more about the way the world functions. Although as humans we are much more than our molecules, yet we are indeed an assemblage of those molecules. And so is everything else. Another reason to study chemistry is to develop a basis for making reasoned and informed decisions about important issues that affect our society and the world in general. Depend no longer on the rantings of a talkshow host or local TV news spot.
 
Perhaps you wonder why I might have become interested in chemistry in the first place. The song you are listening to goes part of the way in explaining. Listen on. But then I am afraid there will be some dreadful copyright infringement so perhaps you better not.
 
You can learn more about me, if you are so moved; but perhaps more importantly, you can learn more about the chemistry classes that I teach here at COD and gain access to useful things like lecture notes - in stunning PowerPoint - and homework exercises for the chemically athletic. I would like to acknowledge my predecessor, Dr. Dan Fuller, for bequeathing to me his collection of problems and exercises that he developed over a number of years. I am happy to provide direct access to them here. Of course, any minor arithmetic errors that might appear in the problems are entirely his responsibility. I cannot stress too strongly the importance of working through problems in improving your skill as a scientist. I also provide links to other websites that I have found particularly useful when searching for scientific information. Feel free to browse through the links on the left panel.