Deremensis wrote:Now I'm almost scared, with what I have to live up to.
Only a lowly undergrad am I. I'm gonna have to reference my textbooks every time I make a post from now on, just to be sure I don't embarrass myself with all of the people here who might be able to correct me, lol
Don't be scared or embarrassed. The simple fact is that we learn far more from our mistakes. You can learn a great deal here, but you'll learn more when you get it wrong than when you get it right. All of us have been corrected here at some point, and that's good, because it leads to greater understanding.
One of the beauties of a place like this, as opposed to text books, is that you can really test your understanding. A text book can't challenge your interpretation of the text, but discussing with others can provide different perspectives on the text, and find different ways of explaining the text to ensure better understanding. I've learned far more in discussion with people on this forum and its predecessor in 6 years than I learned in more than 20 years beforehand reading everything I could get my hands on, and it's precisely because my shortcomings in interpreting the text have been addressed in discussion with people who really know what they're talking about.
Oh, and since nobody else has included him, it should be noted that
Calilasseia's posts are a particular feature generally here, and I know of people who don't even post here but who look for his weapons-grade demolitions of bad thinking. I feel honoured to be mentioned in his list above, but he's the real star here, and his presentations of the primary literature in exposing creationist canards for the drivel they are are a sight to behold.
Here's a little taster selection for you, including a couple of notable posts by others:
hackenslash @ Calilasseia: Information in DNA Drivelhttp://www.rational-skepticism.org/crea ... tml#p64200http://www.rational-skepticism.org/crea ... tml#p64201http://www.rationalskepticism.org/creat ... ml#p614376Paleontology Comments RevisitedCalilasseia @ Frequently Occuring FallaciesCalilasseia @ Frequently Occuring Fallacieshttp://www.rationalskepticism.org/creat ... tml#p63910hackenslash @ Theropod: Early Dinosaur Evolutionhttp://www.rationalskepticism.org/chemi ... tml#p47054hackenslash @ Calilasseia: AiG Carbon Dating Drivel Debunkedhackenslash @ Calilasseia: Radiometric Dating is Rigoroushttp://www.rationalskepticism.org/gener ... tml#p41476http://www.rationalskepticism.org/creat ... ml#p347627http://www.rationalskepticism.org/creat ... ml#p926120That should give you some idea of the flavour. Enjoy!
Incidentally, if you need access to any papers, shout out. I'm sure you'll have institutional access for pretty much whatever you need, but
Cali has an extensive library, and others also have access and/or know where to find useful info for citation purposes.
I have a feeling you're going to find the forum extremely useful in your studies. Best of luck, and again, welcome!
Why don't you introduce yourself here? 
by 
Scarlett. I breathed a sigh of relief as well. I know a little about a few things, one of them is definitely not mathematics. 
