Comments on Maria Write Now: How blogging is like learning to fly

You are quite right. Sounds like you speak from ex...

2008-12-07T23:49:45.845-08:00

You are quite right. Sounds like you speak from experience. ;) Truth is that I know quite a few scientists who become rather like automatons, but I also know a lot of people who wander about without methodology nor heart! lol And there are plenty of scientists with amazing methodology and heart. I personally like this quote as I'm not working in the science arena right now (and it was a tough good-bye). And the point is not to get too absorbed in the nitpicky details when one does science, but also remember one's humanity and the general human experience. When one can do that, I think one's science becomes better too. :)

A really interesting response, Maria. I agree scie...

2008-12-07T11:09:00.000-08:00

A really interesting response, Maria. I agree science has limits, but in this case, there's a contradiction that isn't readily apparent. Using a method based on what we've learned from science doesn't mean we can't "wander with human heart throughout the world." Not at all! It's the opposite: Having a method to guide us through our lives frees us up to invite and experience those rich stories. Otherwise, obstacles like fear, getting it right the first time, and not wanting to make mistakes hamper our journey. For example, the risk of "abandoning exact science" is that we'll throw out tools for learning from the experiences.

Thoughts?

Ah, life as an experiement? Yes, I do see life as ...

2008-12-05T20:18:44.912-08:00

Ah, life as an experiement? Yes, I do see life as an experiement, a work in progress, a tapestry and a grand adventure. I think science training does give you a few extra analytical tools with which to check your life (and I've taken some to a bizarre max), but in many ways I think there is only so much we can gain from science. Carl Jung says it best:

"Anyone who wants to know the human psyche will learn next to nothing from experimental psychology. He would be better advised to abandon exact science, put away his scholar's gown, bid farewell to his study, and wander with human heart throughout the world. There in the horrors of prisons, lunatic asylums and hospitals, in drab suburban pubs, in brothels and gambling-hells, in the salons of the elegant, the Stock Exchanges, socialist meetings, churches, revivalist gatherings and ecstatic sects, through love and hate, through the experience of passion in every form in his own body, he would reap richer stores of knowledge than text-books a foot thick could give him, and he will know how to doctor the sick with a real knowledge of the human soul."
-- Carl Jung

And I guess that's partially why I like twitter, it contains both the beauty and chaos of the human experience.

A hearty congratulations on your launch, and early...

2008-12-03T07:13:27.292-08:00

A hearty congratulations on your launch, and early success. Starting with Twitter then moving to blogging is novel to me. I'm doing the opposite, with the jury still out on Twitter.

Regarding making the jump, there's a whole lot going on personally to get to that point, to do it, then to evaluate results and re-direct/quit/etc. For me, treating everything in life as a scientific experiment makes the process much more enjoyable - it takes the fear out (AMAP) and provides a framework for working with yourself and the world/environment. It's the subject of my book project. Initial post here, FYI: How Do You Treat Life As An Experiment?

Question for Maria: Given your science background, do you look at living as an experiment?

Cheers!