I’m not a scientist.

However, should I achieve a dramatic break from tradition and actually complete a higher education course, I will be. Or, at the very least, have a BSc in Zoology. One of the biological sciences, anyway (the course is flexible and I’m easily distracted).

A mercifully short bit of background: I’m 28. When I was 18 I studied computer science at university for just over a year and then quit. During the last ten years I studied CIMA for a bit before packing that in too. Despite the empirical evidence that suggested otherwise, I retained a touching belief in my ability to get through more than 18 months of non-mandatory education and spent many a long night agonising over whether to study journalism or graphic design. Finally I kicked both subjects into touch, applying my mum’s “if you can’t decide then you don’t want either” philosophy. Everything from that point on is a bit of a blur, but I think what happened is that my girlfriend noted how enthusiastically I wibbled on about evolution and animal behaviour whenever her guard was down, bought me this and gave me a smack round the head and a few weeks later I was speaking to the degree co-ordinator about would he be so kind as to let me on his course please. Oddly enough he said ok and I start in October.

The idea is to write about the course, student life and sciencey stuff but be warned – my last blog started with the intention of providing fresh and insightful comment on “religion, science and politics”, and ended with me reviewing Gremlins and mumbling about email spam.