I felt like Dr. Alber’s talk was a proper cap on the movie we watched over the weekend. I enjoyed the more in-depth lecture of, not only Pasteur’s experiences but his life as a whole. Learning about his life outside of science can help us feel like we’re getting to know him; it makes him more personable. I also think he became more personable when we learned how his research was not for his benefit but instead to aide his country. Over the past week, my appreciation for and interest in Pasteur has increased significantly.
Within the class discussion, I also enjoyed it when Dr. Alber explained how determined Pasteur was for each of his experiments. It’s impressive to think about his fermentation experiments with 10^100 dilutions; it seems unfathomable to me. It’s as though Pasteur knew he was right and waited for the results of testing to prove that.
It s nice to hear your appreciation has grown for Pasteur. I say that because I think visiting his home and laboratory will be even more meaningful. I am really looking forward to visiting Arbois for the first time and hope the students are too. It sounds like it will be a nice contrast to the hustle and bustle of London and Paris.