ABSTRACT
I think I should have known that I was headed for a career in scientific research on that cold winter night when I was 6 years old and someone mentioned that every snowflake was unique. I decided to put this assertion to a test later that night as the snow started to fall in the chilly Michigan air. I ran out with a piece of cardboard to catch snowflakes, taking along a flashlight and a magnifying glass, to see if I could spot any two that looked alike. I knew that this procedure would fail to completely test the idea that there had never been two snowflakes in the history of Earth that were identical, but I felt that if I surveyed a few hundred and found two that pretty much resembled each other, that this would be a major scientific discovery that was within the grasp of a 6-year-old. Alas, after about an hour, I abandoned my quest without any prominent scientific news to report. Cold, hungry, and a little bored, I returned indoors after finding that, indeed, simple six-pointed snowflakes could come in a wide variety of aesthetics.
