A Philosophical Conversation With A New Friend
It was a good one, so it deserves to be saved here. Mostly it's about why two people choose to do what they do.
...
Me: Yeah, the things people can do when they put their minds to it never ceases to amaze me. You might also like this one I saw today about making potatoes more nutritious:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1313712/Scientists-invent-genetically-modified-superspud-help-fight-hunger-Third-World.html
I know GM foods are controversial. Improving the flavor, healthiness, and environmental impact of our food supply are all really important goals . . . but I think avoiding mass starvation and malnutrition is the #1 most important ethical concern.
RT: Oh man! They gotta do this with rice too! I know some of the very fast growing rice lines they created and used in parts of Africa has had trouble with nutrient density. Lots of people hate GM food, but I've started to see responsible genetic modification as tool we are almost obligated to use to help combat starvation worldwide.
Me: And here I thought you were more on the human/medical side of biology!
RT: I can't help it. I actually ended up taking more time to get my nursing so I could finish out my biology. I am enchanted by life. Science makes my heart beat faster, but I'm also in love with Nature. But I care about people too. Medicine, particularly nursing, is one way to combine the science and biology with "the human condition." For me, healthcare links helping, healing, and humanity. In nursing you work with the person, their physical/psychological/spiritual needs, their environment, provide education, give support and caring at a presumably difficult time, and use science/biology to the solve problems of the miraculous human body. Humans are beautiful, even the ones who are a bit broken. What better way to spend my time than helping to patch them up a little?
Me: Oooh, somebody else who's willing to use the term "the human condition" to describe why they do what they do!
For me, the idea of studying medicine (but not biology) felt too much like running on a treadmill, constantly fixing people who are broken, but not directly improving the chances of future people. That's what I love about engineering: identifying people's problems and solving them so that bit by bit the human condition gets a little more bearable.
I did have a bit of a crisis of faith once about aerospace engineering, though: space ships don't have the most direct effect on people's lives. A friend of mine solved that at a bar one night by telling me "Yeah, but we need people to build dreams too." It also helps that I spend a lot of my time writing support tools that let other engineers do their job faster and better.
RT: I was really hoping that I'd get to hear your side! Both my grandparents were engineers and one of them actually started a company that does a ton of aerospace machining! For most of high school I wanted to be an "aeronautical engineer."
I'm actually a little worried about the treadmill situation you describe. Many people in this country are overweight or obese, eat poorly, and might be unaware of things they can do to improve their own health. To make it even harder, every last one of 'em is going to die! We try to work ourselves out of a job, knowing full well how insane that is. Nursing especially focuses on health maintenance, but we still (unfortunately) have great job security. I think nursing appeals to me because it tends to focus on preventative rather than curative measures whenever possible; you keep the patient healthy so you don't have to fix them later. Patient education is huge. I'm considering working in Primary Care as a Nurse Practitioner. I don't want to go crazy when new problems quickly replace the ones I just tried to address. Then there are times where you can't actually "fix" much of anything. For me, those people have been some of the coolest people I've ever met. You gotta focus on the positive things in life.
I can see where your crisis came from and love how it was solved! My dad is a banker and has talked about the impact something like a loan might have in someone's life. Engineering makes people's lives better, "solving problems bit by bit!" I guess "the human condition" has been a pretty big motivator in my life. Not just in my vocation though, care and love for fellow humans can pervade more than just your professional life. Healthcare work makes it easy to feel like you doing good, but what you do when you go home for the day is just as important. You might never directly see what your work did, but you can be safe to guess it probably helped someone go home and support their family or fueled the dreams of a young person.
ps. Sorry to write so much! I'm thinking we might be like minded about some things.
Me: That's really cool! Is the company still independent, or did it get eaten up in the giant aerospace industry consolidations?
Aside from being raised by two programmers and inhaling science fiction, one of the single greatest inspirations for me to be an engineer was a TV show called Connections:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burke's_Connections
It does a good job of showing how life has gotten definitively better because of so many people acting individually to solve the problems around them, which gives me hope that it will continue to do so, and that I can be a part of it.
I think that "be a part of it" is the key to getting off the treadmill. The chances of any one of us saving the world single-handedly are pretty much zero. Yet, after getting two degrees from some of the best engineering schools around, I know I had some pretty unrealistic expectations of myself. It took working myself into the ground a couple of times before I gained enough perspective to really be content doing my part in the context of an entire world full of people; to not define myself by succeeding at being a superhero. What's the point of fixing the human condition if I'm not going to live it?
12 years of amateur theater and the dancing really helped with that process. I shudder to think what would have happened to me if I hadn't had their different way of thinking to fall back on.
I don't mind you writing at all; we do seem to be like minded about a lot! No better way to keep up with long distance friends. Plus, any time I write about my own thoughts I wind up understanding them better, which is something I value.
RT: Nope, still independent! http://www.worldaerospace.com/
Grandpa pretty much has the classic, idealized American success story. He went to night school to earn his degree while working to provide for his four kids. He ended up starting his own company and then growing to buy another one. Grandpa spends a lot of time on his farm out in Kentucky now and my uncle runs the company now.
I never saw Connections, but it looks like I would have loved it!
You can totally save the world! Then you only need some glasses to disguise yourself completely. I'm glad dancing (and theater!) helps you be balanced enough to be a human and a hero at the same time.
Talking with you really helped me to write a paper about my "Philosophy of Nursing." I'm the same way- I love to talk through my thoughts, preferably with an intelligent someone, to understand and explore my thoughts while gaining insight from whoever is willing to talk with me.
Me: *Bows and sweeps hat* Glad my pensive rambling could be of service, sir. Sounds like it must have become a pretty interesting essay.
Your Grandpa sounds like a Horatio Alger novel! I'll have to check out the link tomorrow when I'm more rested. You do have an hour's advantage on me.
...
Me: Yeah, the things people can do when they put their minds to it never ceases to amaze me. You might also like this one I saw today about making potatoes more nutritious:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1313712/Scientists-invent-genetically-modified-superspud-help-fight-hunger-Third-World.html
I know GM foods are controversial. Improving the flavor, healthiness, and environmental impact of our food supply are all really important goals . . . but I think avoiding mass starvation and malnutrition is the #1 most important ethical concern.
RT: Oh man! They gotta do this with rice too! I know some of the very fast growing rice lines they created and used in parts of Africa has had trouble with nutrient density. Lots of people hate GM food, but I've started to see responsible genetic modification as tool we are almost obligated to use to help combat starvation worldwide.
Me: And here I thought you were more on the human/medical side of biology!
RT: I can't help it. I actually ended up taking more time to get my nursing so I could finish out my biology. I am enchanted by life. Science makes my heart beat faster, but I'm also in love with Nature. But I care about people too. Medicine, particularly nursing, is one way to combine the science and biology with "the human condition." For me, healthcare links helping, healing, and humanity. In nursing you work with the person, their physical/psychological/spiritual needs, their environment, provide education, give support and caring at a presumably difficult time, and use science/biology to the solve problems of the miraculous human body. Humans are beautiful, even the ones who are a bit broken. What better way to spend my time than helping to patch them up a little?
Me: Oooh, somebody else who's willing to use the term "the human condition" to describe why they do what they do!
For me, the idea of studying medicine (but not biology) felt too much like running on a treadmill, constantly fixing people who are broken, but not directly improving the chances of future people. That's what I love about engineering: identifying people's problems and solving them so that bit by bit the human condition gets a little more bearable.
I did have a bit of a crisis of faith once about aerospace engineering, though: space ships don't have the most direct effect on people's lives. A friend of mine solved that at a bar one night by telling me "Yeah, but we need people to build dreams too." It also helps that I spend a lot of my time writing support tools that let other engineers do their job faster and better.
RT: I was really hoping that I'd get to hear your side! Both my grandparents were engineers and one of them actually started a company that does a ton of aerospace machining! For most of high school I wanted to be an "aeronautical engineer."
I'm actually a little worried about the treadmill situation you describe. Many people in this country are overweight or obese, eat poorly, and might be unaware of things they can do to improve their own health. To make it even harder, every last one of 'em is going to die! We try to work ourselves out of a job, knowing full well how insane that is. Nursing especially focuses on health maintenance, but we still (unfortunately) have great job security. I think nursing appeals to me because it tends to focus on preventative rather than curative measures whenever possible; you keep the patient healthy so you don't have to fix them later. Patient education is huge. I'm considering working in Primary Care as a Nurse Practitioner. I don't want to go crazy when new problems quickly replace the ones I just tried to address. Then there are times where you can't actually "fix" much of anything. For me, those people have been some of the coolest people I've ever met. You gotta focus on the positive things in life.
I can see where your crisis came from and love how it was solved! My dad is a banker and has talked about the impact something like a loan might have in someone's life. Engineering makes people's lives better, "solving problems bit by bit!" I guess "the human condition" has been a pretty big motivator in my life. Not just in my vocation though, care and love for fellow humans can pervade more than just your professional life. Healthcare work makes it easy to feel like you doing good, but what you do when you go home for the day is just as important. You might never directly see what your work did, but you can be safe to guess it probably helped someone go home and support their family or fueled the dreams of a young person.
ps. Sorry to write so much! I'm thinking we might be like minded about some things.
Me: That's really cool! Is the company still independent, or did it get eaten up in the giant aerospace industry consolidations?
Aside from being raised by two programmers and inhaling science fiction, one of the single greatest inspirations for me to be an engineer was a TV show called Connections:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Burke's_Connections
It does a good job of showing how life has gotten definitively better because of so many people acting individually to solve the problems around them, which gives me hope that it will continue to do so, and that I can be a part of it.
I think that "be a part of it" is the key to getting off the treadmill. The chances of any one of us saving the world single-handedly are pretty much zero. Yet, after getting two degrees from some of the best engineering schools around, I know I had some pretty unrealistic expectations of myself. It took working myself into the ground a couple of times before I gained enough perspective to really be content doing my part in the context of an entire world full of people; to not define myself by succeeding at being a superhero. What's the point of fixing the human condition if I'm not going to live it?
12 years of amateur theater and the dancing really helped with that process. I shudder to think what would have happened to me if I hadn't had their different way of thinking to fall back on.
I don't mind you writing at all; we do seem to be like minded about a lot! No better way to keep up with long distance friends. Plus, any time I write about my own thoughts I wind up understanding them better, which is something I value.
RT: Nope, still independent! http://www.worldaerospace.com/
Grandpa pretty much has the classic, idealized American success story. He went to night school to earn his degree while working to provide for his four kids. He ended up starting his own company and then growing to buy another one. Grandpa spends a lot of time on his farm out in Kentucky now and my uncle runs the company now.
I never saw Connections, but it looks like I would have loved it!
You can totally save the world! Then you only need some glasses to disguise yourself completely. I'm glad dancing (and theater!) helps you be balanced enough to be a human and a hero at the same time.
Talking with you really helped me to write a paper about my "Philosophy of Nursing." I'm the same way- I love to talk through my thoughts, preferably with an intelligent someone, to understand and explore my thoughts while gaining insight from whoever is willing to talk with me.
Me: *Bows and sweeps hat* Glad my pensive rambling could be of service, sir. Sounds like it must have become a pretty interesting essay.
Your Grandpa sounds like a Horatio Alger novel! I'll have to check out the link tomorrow when I'm more rested. You do have an hour's advantage on me.