On Sep 17, 2008, at 8:21 PM, Engin Ozkan wrote:
As a grad student we had access to stereo, I did not use it much. I have to say I do not know why new students would be swayed just by them. As a young grad student, I was amazed by chemistry in action (and I still am), and did not need stereo to think about charge, coordination, pi-pi packing and hydrogen bonding, and not the cool 3D (I see the attraction to middle or high school students). Rotating models with depth cues was sufficient.
One thing I have learned in 11 years of teaching chemistry is that no one approach works for everyone. When it comes to spatial visualization, this is especially the case, which is why, for example, organic chemistry is so difficult to teach effectively (and often to learn). Hence I think having as few limitations in place as possible is a good thing, and having stereo hardware available to those (young or old) who could benefit is crucial.
For me, I tend to think very abstractly, so it was quantum mechanics and group theory that really sunk the hook into me. But my first introduction to group theory was in my first year of college. I had just learned organic chemistry and was fascinated by the Woodward- Hoffmann rules and how with simply the symmetry of the orbitals alone, one could predict with almost metaphysical certitude the outcome of a complicated pericyclic reaction for which solving the Schrödinger equation accurately would be completely hopeless. So I spent a very long night in the library with a friend of mine going through every group theory book that she and I could find. One of these had stereo glasses in the back (along with those ubiquitous character tables) that made it possible for me, for the first time, to really see in 3D the stereographic projections of various point groups. It was an absolutely stunning revelation, and probably had a lot to do with me later pursuing crystallography. We were completely transfixed by this for hours, (which admittedly may have had something to do with dropping acid earlier that day), but nonetheless it was far better than simply rotating models with depth cueing (which I since learned to do in my mind's eye).
Hardware stereo isn't for everyone, but I certainly think everyone benefits from having it as an option on as many platforms as possible. So keep it legal.
