Question: What do you find interesting about what you do instead of other science which you don't do?

Hazel Gibson answered on 16 Mar 2018:

Hahah great question. I, in fact, have a hard time with this, because I find -so many- kinds of science interesting. My sister says I am like a puppy chasing a butterfly when it comes to interesting ideas!
But geology and talking with people about geothermal power is definitely my favourite for two reasons. I love geology because I love to be outdoors and get to experience new places. I also love it because geology is what they call an applied science – that means that it has real relevance to everyone living on the planet, we go out and observe the world in the way that it -is- not so much by creating a model or artificial experiment of it (though there are definitely some geologists that work with simulations). This makes our job a lot harder, and often geologists wish they could create a second Earth to run experiments on, but that’s just not possible!! Instead we spend a lot of our time observing the way things are and trying to find patterns. My work now with geothermal power is basically the same, I observe and look for patterns in a real world environment and I get to go and see new places and meet new people. The only difference is that I see humans as a part of the geological system of our planet, not separate from it.
Having said all that, I do really, really enjoy pretty much every other science! I’m trying to think of one now I don’t find interesting and I can’t do it!!