Why have I succumbed to blogging fever?

With a lot of hard work and a lot of luck, I hope to have my Ph.D. in Physics in about a year -- which means that I have about a year to figure out what direction to steer myself in for the next phase of my life. ( Is it too literary to say chapter, and will only physicists and chemists understand my reluctance to use phase, and thus reference my phase transition?) Since I have always found it much more pleasant to fret over the more distant future instead of my immediate present, I have put a lot of time into thinking about what kind of life I want to lead and what type of person I want to be. And these are thoughts that need to be engaged, argued over and contemplated. Unfortunately, they are also not things that come up often in conversation over a few beers/or if they do, my drinking companions do not seem prepared to invest these discussions with the importance I want them to have.

The Assumptions

There is such a thing as a good person, and there is such a thing as success. But there are really multiple definitions of these things, and we have to figure out them out for ourselves..... and yet they are not entirely subjective. It is worth treating life like what we do matters. I am almost tempted to read Alan Alda's book on these same questions that has been touted on NPR for the last week.

Beyond the Depths

Now while I attempt to puzzle out, for lack of a better phrase, the meaning of life, there will be alot of inanity along the way. This blog will also be my chance to discuss all the New York Times articles I could ever want to discuss (and protect my co-workers from their constant mention), discuss politics, arts and literature, and just maybe, a little bit of physics.