This TED Talk features organic chemist Jacob Magolin recorded live at TEDxU, Idaho, 2017.

I'd like you to ask yourselves, what do you feel when you hear the words organic chemistry?

What comes to mind?

There is a course offered at nearly every university that is called organic chemistry,

and it is a grueling heavy introduction to this subject.

A flood of content that overwhelms students, and you have to ace it if you want to become a doctor

or a dentist or a veterinarian.

And that is why so many students perceive this science like this, as an obstacle in their path.

And they fear it, and they hate it, and they call it a weed out course.

What a cruel thing for a subject to do to young people.

Weed them out.

And this perception spread beyond college campuses long ago.

There is a universal anxiety about these two words.

I happen to love this science,

and I think this position in which we have placed it is inexcusable.

It's not good for science, and it's not good for society.

I don't think it has to be this way.

And I don't mean that this class should be easier.

It shouldn't.

But your perception of these two words

should not be defined by the experiences of pre-med students who, frankly, are going

through a very anxious time of their lives.

...