Beyond my garden fence last week, I was treated to an amazing light show each evening at dusk. I don’t remember seeing this many fireflies in many, many years. A few nights ago, the neighbour kids were out trying to catch them in jars, just as I did as a child.
When I was in Costa Rica a couple of years ago, we experienced bioluminescence in the water. Motion caused it there, so the more we moved our kayak paddles at night, the more the phytoplankton glowed, forming magical patterns in the water.
The science behind the light is bioluminescence. When oxygen combines with calcium, adenosine triphosphate and the chemical luciferin in the presence of luciferase, a bioluminescent enzyme, light is produced. Which is kind of cool!
When I was a kid, I hated science and math. And my grades reflected it. I was all about English, creative writing, drama and music. I slogged my way through a grade 13 physics course, but the fact that I passed was largely due to the efforts of my Dad, and the best teacher ever, who spent hours with me, knowing full well I would never take another science course in my life. I intentionally chose a university degree – journalism – that would let me tell stories.
But somehow, I got dragged back in to the world of science. It amuses me greatly that the vast majority of my professional career has been with companies where science was not only important, but at their very heart. From chemical companies to oil & gas and from nuclear to engineering, I have plied my trade helping these companies tell their stories.
I often joke that part of my day involves translating Engineering-ese into English, but more realistically these days, it’s in helping to break down complex concepts into bite-sized chunks of information that can be readily digested by the intended audience. I tell the people I’m working with to imagine they have to explain their idea to their neighbour’s teenager across the fence.
Flirting with the world of science stretches my mind. It keeps me learning. But I admit that in my off hours, and my thoughts and actions lean away from the periodic table of elements. Until nature and its wonders pulls me back once again.
So back to my little lightning bugs. I’ve tried taking little video snips of them to no avail. So I did my best to live in the moment and watch the nightly light show of their short season. We’re half way through summer and I know fall is coming soon. And this week, the cicadas started singing.
