Whitespace

Have you ever looked at a blank page laid-out before you and thought, "This is better than anything that I could ever hope to add"? -- I have.

I think that this is going to be quite an unusual post. Firstly (and perhaps fore-mostly), I want to relate my experience of building an over-sized whiteboard for my bedroom (/lab). But secondly, I also wish to share some of my philosophical ideas regarding the concepts of white-space, emptiness, as well as their roles in the task of creation. In my eyes, these two disparate subjects are inseparably linked: the philosophical ideas were the protagonists that eventually convinced me to build my whiteboard, and in turn, the whiteboard exists as the only physical evidence of my mental struggle with these ideas over the past weeks. But unusual is good right? So let's see how this goes.

Dim Flickers of Progress

I think I have always been more of a 'thinker' than a 'do-er', and I would suspect that anyone who knows me well enough would say the same. Whether out of pure laziness, or perhaps just a general disinterest, many of the things that I dream-up never get to see the light of day.

On the Glowing of Bulbs

An incandescent light bulb is one of those rare examples of object that has an intrinsic gravity about it, far in excess of that which is expected of such an ordinary thing. More significant than its form, or function, or any other definable attribute belonging to it, this gravity has the ability to grab hold of my mind, and trap it deeply within the confines the globe's transparent hull. The effect remains whether the bulb is new or spent; and I must admit that throughout my life, many of the bulbs that should have been destined for the trash, managed to linger for far too long on the edge of a shelf, or the back of a draw.

The Interdisciplinary World of Specialization

I can remember, at the age of 5 or 6 years old, worrying about what I was going to 'be' when I grew up. Every child seems to ask themselves this question at some point, and their answer is usually so resolute, so devoid of hesitation, that we (young) adults cannot help but be envious of their conviction. I, on the other hand, was not one of those fortunate children. Try as I might, I could not settle on a decision. Each day was something new; a magician, a doctor, a lawyer, a scientist. And each time I managed to select something new, everything else instantly seemed so much more appealing.

Prologue to a Blog

How does one start a blog? It seems fashionable these days to start with a short, quirky greeting (which, as I have been lead to believe, is commonly referred to as a 'shout-out'). But this is my first post, and at the time of writing I have precisely zero readers. So then, to whom would such a greeting be directed?