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After unsuccessfully trying to get into the Boot Camp of Penn’s Center for Neuroscience and Society (CNS), I was reminded of Rainer Maria Rilke’s wise lines when I received Martha Farah’s notice that I have been accepted to CNS’s SCAN certificate program a few days ago:Man muss nie verzweifeln, wenn einem etwas verloren geht, ein Mensch oder eine Freude oder ein Glück; es kommt alles noch herrlicher wieder. ((An English translation can hardly give you an idea of the depth and beauty of these words, but I guess it’s better than nothing: “One must never despair if something is lost to one, a person or a joy or a happiness; everything comes back again more gloriously.”))I am delighted to be given the opportunity to enhance my neuroscientific knowledge significantly over the next year as a SCAN student: I will take four classes at the Department of Psychology and in The Biological Basis of Behavior Program at Penn, and have them count as credit for my PhD program. Isn’t it fabulous?! If you’re a grad student at Penn, consider applying next spring (I’m in the second cohort, and hopefully many more are to follow). If you aren’t, you might be more lucky than I was with the Boot Camp, so try to get in there. It’s certainly both fun and illuminating, but I bet SCAN knowledge will last longer. If you’re unwilling or unable to do either of them, just keep following this weblog. I promise I will share my knowledge!