Dear social science majors,
The natural laws of the universe are not subject to your interpretation, no matter how important a roomful of people listening to you makes you feel.
Also, telling me to shut up doesn't make what you have to say any less wrong.
Love, the (very) lone real scientist in the class.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Dear social science majors with whom I will be taking my "Human and Social Dimensions of Climate Change" course this semester.
I apologize in advance for any technical jargon I may use when presenting topics this semester. I apologize if the subjects are completely over your heads, and I'll try to bring my level of thinking down to yours. I'll also work on hiding my snooty engineer attitude whenever your topics of research are discussed.
I promise I don't think you're dumb. No, really. I even asked a few of you about your research. And, as an example, one of you is doing a topic for your Ph.D that involves understanding human emotions experienced when people recycle or conserve energy. Which is a legit topic. Totally worth the 6 years you've spent on it. It's not like I could write your dissertation in an hour or anything. And when people call us both "doctor," I won't be bitter about the fact that the classes and work that I did for my Ph.D were actually hard.
Love, your resident lone Mechanical Engineer.
I apologize in advance for any technical jargon I may use when presenting topics this semester. I apologize if the subjects are completely over your heads, and I'll try to bring my level of thinking down to yours. I'll also work on hiding my snooty engineer attitude whenever your topics of research are discussed.
I promise I don't think you're dumb. No, really. I even asked a few of you about your research. And, as an example, one of you is doing a topic for your Ph.D that involves understanding human emotions experienced when people recycle or conserve energy. Which is a legit topic. Totally worth the 6 years you've spent on it. It's not like I could write your dissertation in an hour or anything. And when people call us both "doctor," I won't be bitter about the fact that the classes and work that I did for my Ph.D were actually hard.
Love, your resident lone Mechanical Engineer.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
For the sake of clarity. Because one thing I've learned today, among many, is that I need to work on expressing myself better and more clearly......
When I talk about the "midlife crisis" that I discuss several posts ago, I don't simply mean a passing mood. Or a phase. I don't mean that someone who has experienced what I'm talk about gets up in the morning, invigorated, wanting to achieve more. What I'm talking about isn't a New Years resolution. It's not even a realization. It's not something that just affects how you talk, or act, or see the world.
It's a complete and utter transformation. And it's not something that you can understand entirely, no matter how much you think you do, until you experience it yourself.
There are three steps in the process I'm talking about.
The first step is understanding that there's something missing from your life. Perhaps it's the reason you come home and cry when no one's around. Perhaps it's a dull ache in the back of your heart that never seems to go away. Perhaps it's noticing your own gradual shift towards being a bitter person. Perhaps it's that there is something you see in other people who look happy, truly happy, and you wish that you could experience something that good, even for a moment. Perhaps it's the moment of despair you experience when you deal with something you just can't quite handle, and you wish you had someone there to guide you. Perhaps it's a feeling that you can't quite place, but you know that you could be a better person, stronger, more capable of handling things.
Honestly, it's a big first step. Admitting that something might be lacking from your life is a hard thing to do.
The second step is a moment of awakening. It's a paradigm shift. It's when clarity hits you like lightning, and suddenly the whole world comes into focus. The way you see everything is utterly transformed. Every action you take, every person you interact with, everything you strive for, will also be utterly transformed by this moment of clarity. For me, it was possibly the most beautiful moment of my life.
"I was blind, but now I see."
The third step is perhaps the most difficult. It's realizing that everything discovered in that moment of clarity is now applied to every single action you take for the rest of your life. And it's making that happen. The third step never ends; it's something that will take work. Hard work. And there are no breaks. No places to "escape from your morals." Every thought you have, every person you meet, everything you do will be subject to a reevaluation based on what you've discovered is important, what's truly important to you. Yes, you will slip up. You will stumble. But never again will you feel utterly lost and hopeless. Never again will you wonder what's lacking from your life. Never again will you see others who are happy and wish you had the same thing. Never again will you question what is the "right thing to do." Because you'll know. It'll be clear. Everything will be clear..
Each person's journey is different and unique based on who they are; no two people will ever have exactly the same journey. What I described is only what I experienced myself, and the similarities it shared watching a person I love experience it too.
Ask any experienced minister or priest about what I'm talking about. They will know instantly exactly what I mean. There's a term in religion for everything I've described.
It's called "finding God."
Everyone has the ability to achieve what I just described, but so few people ever will. What I just described is more important than who I am, or anything I'll ever do.. and I'll actively work every day to show the people I love all of the things I described. I'll work every day to make every action, every interaction I have with other people, indicative of the strong morals I have. I'll never lose sight of the things that are important to me. Understanding everything I just described is paramount to leading a fulfilling life. Understanding how important it is to me is paramount to understanding me. Understanding my intentions in every situation is paramount to knowing my heart....
When I talk about the "midlife crisis" that I discuss several posts ago, I don't simply mean a passing mood. Or a phase. I don't mean that someone who has experienced what I'm talk about gets up in the morning, invigorated, wanting to achieve more. What I'm talking about isn't a New Years resolution. It's not even a realization. It's not something that just affects how you talk, or act, or see the world.
It's a complete and utter transformation. And it's not something that you can understand entirely, no matter how much you think you do, until you experience it yourself.
There are three steps in the process I'm talking about.
The first step is understanding that there's something missing from your life. Perhaps it's the reason you come home and cry when no one's around. Perhaps it's a dull ache in the back of your heart that never seems to go away. Perhaps it's noticing your own gradual shift towards being a bitter person. Perhaps it's that there is something you see in other people who look happy, truly happy, and you wish that you could experience something that good, even for a moment. Perhaps it's the moment of despair you experience when you deal with something you just can't quite handle, and you wish you had someone there to guide you. Perhaps it's a feeling that you can't quite place, but you know that you could be a better person, stronger, more capable of handling things.
Honestly, it's a big first step. Admitting that something might be lacking from your life is a hard thing to do.
The second step is a moment of awakening. It's a paradigm shift. It's when clarity hits you like lightning, and suddenly the whole world comes into focus. The way you see everything is utterly transformed. Every action you take, every person you interact with, everything you strive for, will also be utterly transformed by this moment of clarity. For me, it was possibly the most beautiful moment of my life.
"I was blind, but now I see."
The third step is perhaps the most difficult. It's realizing that everything discovered in that moment of clarity is now applied to every single action you take for the rest of your life. And it's making that happen. The third step never ends; it's something that will take work. Hard work. And there are no breaks. No places to "escape from your morals." Every thought you have, every person you meet, everything you do will be subject to a reevaluation based on what you've discovered is important, what's truly important to you. Yes, you will slip up. You will stumble. But never again will you feel utterly lost and hopeless. Never again will you wonder what's lacking from your life. Never again will you see others who are happy and wish you had the same thing. Never again will you question what is the "right thing to do." Because you'll know. It'll be clear. Everything will be clear..
Each person's journey is different and unique based on who they are; no two people will ever have exactly the same journey. What I described is only what I experienced myself, and the similarities it shared watching a person I love experience it too.
Ask any experienced minister or priest about what I'm talking about. They will know instantly exactly what I mean. There's a term in religion for everything I've described.
It's called "finding God."
Everyone has the ability to achieve what I just described, but so few people ever will. What I just described is more important than who I am, or anything I'll ever do.. and I'll actively work every day to show the people I love all of the things I described. I'll work every day to make every action, every interaction I have with other people, indicative of the strong morals I have. I'll never lose sight of the things that are important to me. Understanding everything I just described is paramount to leading a fulfilling life. Understanding how important it is to me is paramount to understanding me. Understanding my intentions in every situation is paramount to knowing my heart....
Monday, August 22, 2011
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