goodSchist

Welcome to my newest and probably most overdue blog, goodSchist. A science themed blog concerned with geology, planetary science and associated disciplines.Who are you?
My name is Chris Town. I’m currently in the thesis year of my MSc in geology at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand. My research topic concentrates on the origins, chemical properties and age of refractory inclusions in carbonaceous chondrites. In layman’s terms, I’m blasting some of the oldest rock in the solar system with lasers to work out what it’s made of and how old it is.

What’s with the name?
Schist is a low grade metamorphic rock, often found in mountain orogenies such as the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Schist displays what is known as schistosity - where its constituant minerals are arranged along a single plain, allowing them to display a uniform cleavage and thus be pretty and shiny. The term “good shit” is one of approval or appreciation in my native New Zealand. Thus the combination of a rock type with a name that sounds similar to “shit” and a local colloquialism seemed appropriate. Besides, hotschist.com had already been taken.

What’s the point of this bull schist?
I’ve long posted items I considered interesting from a scientific point of view, usually those which fell within the broad category of “geology” on my personal blog yorrike.com. After reading an article by another geologist called Chris, I decided it was high time I separated my rock-worrying into its own realm and goodSchist was born. For close to a year before I started this blog, I’ve also had a plan to produce a geology pod cast of some kind, and the podClast finds a platform for launch from goodSchist. And no, the geology puns aren’t as prevalent here as you may think.

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