Moving Forward

The past few weeks have been very... interesting. I have started a new phase in my life, and I have been working to adapt to it. For the time being, I am not going to go into details, most of which would be boring anyway, but suffice to say I am looking forward to what the future holds.

That being said, I am happy to say that I have been working on and off on a new math/physics post that I would really like to get up soon.  I still need to sit down and clean it up a bit, though.  As of right now, I don't think I have very many (if any) regular readers, which is fine for now, but I don't want to put something out there that is way to complicated for any random visitors, and I could use the experience to work on my scientific communication skills.

That leads me to an interesting point. The purpose of this blog is more personal with the hopes that one day it may grow to a form of outreach to inspire others in math and physics.  It also serves as an outlet for me to get some simple and at times more complicated writing done.  I was fortunate a few years ago to meet with Neil deGrasse Tyson when he spoke at Georgia Tech.  I asked him what he wanted those of us who were future scientists to know about communicating with the public.  His response was very enlightening and educational.  One major point that he made was about writing.  He said that before he speaks with a group of people he has probably written everything he is going to say several times over beforehand in one form or another.  The idea being that the more time you spend writing about science, the easier it will be able to talk about science. That is one reason I started this blog.  It was a way to force myself to write more so I could improve my communication skills with those people around me, in particular with respect to science. I have learned over the years how important it is for us as scientists and science enthusiasts to communicate with those who have less exposure to science. One of my biggest pet peeves is when I would tell people I was studying astrophysics and they would ask why it was important.  They were generally curious as to why we would care at all about exploding stars and other more obscure research that has little if any impact on our day to day lives.  I think this an indication that we as scientists have not done a very good job at expressing the importance of our research to the general public.  Most of us are content to stick to our academic circles and conferences and do as little outreach as required, but I am hopeful that we will begin to find new ways to reach out and teach and inspire those around us with the work we are doing.  Most people who go into science don't do it for the paycheck, but because they truly want to explore the universe and make the world a better place.  I think that point has been lost, especially in the past few years in regards to climate change.  I believe that we can work to make the world a better place by reaching out and sharing who we are and why we do what we do.  Hopefully, this blog will serve as a means to that end for not only myself, but others as well.