Networking, networking, networking

One of the coolest things about this blog assignment is the opportunity to have a glimpse of what is going on in everyone else's heads during the semester. It is fascinating to be able to track patterns such as areas that we are all weak in, or common sentiments, and also to see the contrast in the different ways that people view the same scenarios. There are so many different styles of writing and different ways of thinking in even the very small sample size of our classroom! A lot of people have brought up how networking is awesome because it opens up doors and opportunities for you (and I agree with that), but I think that the most impressive thing about networking or interacting with other people in general is the exchange of ideas that can occur. I am currently reading a book about polio virus in the U.S. and the over 50 year process to develop a vaccine. For the first 40 years or so of research, very little progress was made towards developing a vaccine or learning much about the virus at all. However, one man in particular united the efforts of all the top specialists in the country and the resulting exchange of knowledge quickly led to a safe and effective vaccine. Although it is not very likely that if you network you will save thousands of lives, it is likely that if you network effectively you will dramatically increase your opportunities and capabilities.