Knowledge & Imagination

Albert Einstein said that "imagination is more important than knowledge." So, how true is that? What amount of truth is there in this statement, from who is considered by many the greatest thinker of the 20th century?
There is a lot.
Wikipedia defines knowledge as "awareness and understanding of facts, truths or information gained in the form of experience or learning." In other words, knowledge is that which is known. It is different from imagination and creativity. Far different, in fact. As an example, a domestic cat is born with an interesting array of skills that might be defined as instinctual. As it learns and acts upon these instincts, it gains knowledge that allows it to refine these skills. That knowledge allows it the ability to use them better.
Knowledge is what is known. Imagination and creativity deal with the unknown. While knowledge is very important, we as humans could not have arrived at this level without imagination, and that is one of our most defining characteristics. It was a combination of our insatiable curiosity and our imagination that allowed us to advance. It still allows us to advance, and should even more in the future as our tools improve.
So, we learned and gained knowledge, then we tried new things, acquired a new set of skills. Imagination, creativity adds to our knowledge. In that way, the two are tied together and support each other. Our current level of knowledge would not have been possible without imagination.
Yet we live in a society that seems to fear imagination. Whenever a paradigm shifts, many of us bristle and growl. We look upon creativity with a certain degree of fear and loathing. In fact, many of us discourage it altogether. It's time to get a grip.
People, this is how humanity functions. If we disallow creativity, if we persist in stifling it, we will stagnate. Imagination, creativity, is growth. Growth means there is life. A growing organism is a healthy, thriving entity, and that is what humanity has been for so long. No growth equals stagnation, and like a pond in which the waters have stilled, nothing flowing in or out, the only outcome is a bad one.
This is not the fate that we or our children deserve. Humanity is about pushing outwards. Let us always continue to grow, to dream. Let our imaginations take us and carry us forward.

"The Edifying Thoughts of a Young Writer"

"A pen and paper can serve an awful lot. A pen and paper can declare war or order peace. A pen and paper can unite two in matrimony and equally separate them. A pen and paper can build cities and equally destroy them. We, as writers, could rule the world."
-RL, 14th July 1981
Like many writers, I keep journals. In my case, I began while still a child, and was especially prolific during my teen years. Sadly, only one of these has survived to the present day, what I called "Summerbook 1981"; this was the journal I started after graduating high school. It really wasn't a journal so much as a notebook, a catch-all for all of my ideas. There are poems, songs, sketches and ideas, all crammed into its pages. The covers have long since vanished, and the pages are heavily stained with age. But this is one of the only surviving links to my childhood.
One of the early entries was a little paragraph titled "The Edifying Thoughts of a Young Writer". As I sit here reading it, I find the clarity of purpose amazing, especially at that point in my life. I was fairly sure what direction I wanted to go; I wanted to write.
Not too bad for an 18 year old.
Going over the pages, I find that the idea of writing, for me, was a natural one. I'd been writing fiction since I was thirteen, perhaps earlier. But that little paragraph strikes a chord in me that is at once sad and uplifting. I knew, with certainty, that I was to be a writer. Instead, I kept taking detours. It has taken almost twenty years to get back to what I wanted to do to begin with.
To anyone who reads this, take note.
There is a moral in this. Sometimes, your first instincts are the right ones.

State of Fools

American's are a gullible lot, it seems. In a time when reporters can be bought by the Whitehouse or any political party, you'd think that we'd be a bit more skeptical. We're not, of course. Which leads to some interesting beliefs amongst the masses, the majority of which may be adding to the "cultural divide", that ever widening schism between the left and right.
These are reactionary times, and in order to maximize political gain, both sides put out information that is misleading. Note, I said both sides; the Democrats are just as guilty. Here's an example - during the initial phase of Operation Iraqi Freedom, forces on the ground found a "Scud" missile, hiding in a hanger. The eager officer traveling with the press corps showed off the find, and it made the news in a number of quarters in no time. Problem was, it wasn't a Scud at all; it was an air launched missile, an anti-shipping weapon. Keep in mind that most of the Iraqi air force was destroyed during the 1991 Gulf War; there was little chance that the weapon could even be used. That little fact went unnoticed by most American's. No doubt, many papers that are practicing partisan politics buried their retractions deep within the classifieds, page 47, bottom, small typeface.
It is in the interest of both parties to keep the disinformation going. Problem is, and trust me, they know this, Americans just don't follow up with the facts. We don't want to, we're loathe to. Americans would rather just accept the information that our leaders give to us then to take the time and follow up on their own.
There may be an even more insidious reason why Americans don't want to know the facts, though, and the thought of it makes my skin crawl. Since the initial Gulf War, many of our fellow citizens have had this notion that we've needed to take care of Saddam Hussein once and for all. Don't get me wrong, the man was a tyrant and his departure would be a good thing. Forget the fact that Iraq was a completely encapsulated country for most of the 90's. Americans, it seems, wanted blood, no matter the cost. This before the events of 9/11. After that dreadful day, the blood lust grew, and regardless of the facts, for many Americans, Iraq had to be involved. In the past three years, we've been steadily growing a severe "us vs. them" mentality. Many amongst us see no difference between a Saudi, an Iraqi or an Afghani. Worse, many seem to think that anyone whose genetic origins can be traced from the western extent of North Africa to the eastern edge of the Indian subcontinent is the same ethnic group, "Arabs". Of course, they are not. But in a country where many can't even find all fifty states on a map, it is little pause for wonder. For these people, they (meaning the large, amorphous "them") are all guilty.
September 11, 2001 was a galvanizing moment in this country. After the initial wave of patriotism died down, and cooler heads urged jurisprudence, we now are a nation at odds with ourselves. More than willing parties amongst our politicos are happy to take advantage of this for their own aims, not the nation's. Therefore, it is now more than anytime in our nation's history that we proceed not with arrogance but with awareness that these difficult times require logic and reason before action. This is not to say that defensive measures be ignored; it is to say that we must know the enemy, or even more rampant xenophobia will set in. There is an old saying "fool me once, shame on thee, fool me twice, shame on me". We should not allow ourselves to be fooled by those who we know most intimately, ourselves.

Of Mice, Men & Me

Sometimes we have personally revelations that have resounding repercussions. This happens with me quite a bit; my personality is the type that makes it easy to go overboard, and in the process I wreak havoc. Sound obsessive? You betcha.
Since this personal problem first manifested itself years ago, I've tried to rein it in. Sometimes, I'm successful. Other times, barely. Enthusiasm for certain things is something I have plenty, and trying to hide it, especially over those things that really, really make me happy, borders on impossible. There are too many examples in my life of that behavior. Controlling it is the problem, and as I mentioned earlier in this paragraph, it's hard.
Why do it at all? Why should I just smile and be happy when I can immerse myself in the river of the experience and let it completely overwhelm me? There's the crux of the problem, right there, second to last word, previous sentence; overwhelm. It's not me that my enthusiasm overwhelms. It's everyone else. Somehow, sometimes, my being happy is hazardous to some. I'm not saying this to be derogatory. It's just the truth. Little things that make me happy become obsessions; big things that make me happy become big obsessions.
In all things moderation, we're told again and again. My luck is not the greatest, and my childhood was rife with problems. Those two reasons are more than likely the reasons why I tend to go overboard. But, I also have a big personality. When I love something, I'm 200% into it. There are times I need to throttle back and not kill the things I love. I suppose in a way I'm like Lennie from Steinbeck's "Of Mice & Men". Though I ain't that strong. Or simple minded.

Tramping The High Seas

Growing up on a healthy diet of old movies has left a mark on me. To no one's surprise, I'm a romantic. This shows through in many things I do, and at many times has been an impediment in my life. But true it is, and I guess it's just my cross to bear.
One of the most enduring images in my mind has to be the primary form of long haul transportation for much of the past two hundred years; ships. I used to love the movies that took place on those great ocean liners of the 1930's; even a few of the more adventurous movies, where the action takes place on smaller vessels. Adventure and romance on the high seas didn't have to take place in the days of sail. As a result, I wanted to be on the water (even though I'm a lousy swimmer). Since my family couldn't afford a boat (or perhaps it's just that some members would have preferred that we didn't have one...), I had to settle on the miniature form. It was always a full sized one that I desired, though. Models just didn't cut it.
So, I have dreams of building a boat. Not a big one, mind you, just something to scoot about the coast and nose in and out of the various inlets that run along Florida's shores. I always pictured a flat-bottomed boat; bad for far offshore work, good for the shallows. Simple rig, either a simplified schooner or sloop, something that could take singlehanded sailing. Sturdy, easy to run ashore, not too difficult to put back out to sea.
And that's where the dream ends. I no more have the funds to build a sailboat then I have to buy a house. For now, the boat has to remain a dream.
There are other ways to spend time on the water, though, that aren't as costly, and in 1983, I began scheming a way to do that; a freighter cruise.
No doubt many of us have heard the old term "tramp steamer". My plan, in spring of 1983, was to take a tramp freighter to England. At that time, it cost around a low $450 USD one way... that was damned cheap! There were issues that needed to be squared away before I was to do this, such as passports, work visas, et cetera. To my twenty year old brain, though, it was a rock solid plan.
Pity fate intervened. Or perhaps that was love... I was dating at the time and the two girls who were in my lives at that time weren't so understanding. As with the sailboat, that dream was never realized.
Today, though, it turns out that the cost to do this is not all that different. I just discovered that a single one way ticket to Dublin, Ireland from Baton Rouge, LA would run $800 USD, including food. Deep inside of me, that twenty year old is saying "all right!" Of course, the married forty two year old is saying "can't happen". Still, it's a wonderful idea. Perhaps for those who still have the means, who are still free enough to travel unencumbered, the romantic notion of traveling the high seas in something other than a hotel on the water is a worthy goal. For me, though, it's satisfaction enough to know that that way of travel is still with us.

Chatrooms, Telescopes & Egos

No matter what the vocation, people are people. We want to think that those involved in fields that are noble and worthwhile don't stoop to the petty politics that the rest of us face. While they may be more professional, they still tend to be human. And that's the way it is in amateur astronomy.
If you're brave, you can, on any night, venture into the "Beyond Earth" chatrooms in Yahoo Messenger. The number of people who inhabit these rooms can range from three to fifty on most nights, even more on weekends. While "Beyond Earth" isn't limited strictly to amateur astronomers, many who haunt that digital domain are. I figured that this would be a nice enough room to enter one night a couple of years ago. My initial moments went like this -

Welcome to Beyond Earth II...
Rob: Hello
Other Person: Hi...
Rob: What's the topic this evening?
Other Person: It says in your profile that you're an astronomy educator...
Rob: Well, yes
Other Person: Define blackbody radiation
Rob: What?
Other Person: Thought so

Of course, I could have defined blackbody radiation. Instead, I left the room. It angered me that the first thing I encountered was a "prove it" mentality. If I was aware the chatroom had a test requirement, then surely I would have boned up. That incident was pretty much standard fare whenever I tried to go into these rooms and say anything. As for discussions, most of them bordered on pseudo and junk science. The few amateur astronomers I knew there eventually left them as well. Chances are great that the perpetuators of this angst are good people, and I have to admit that I'm still a bit of a neophyte in the newer chatrooms and am not accustomed to the mores within this latest generation of cyberculture. Still, civil discourse in those rooms was muffled by the flame wars.
Not that some amateur astronomers behave any better in person. Just like any other human endeavor, there are people in it bent on trying to impress everyone with their skills and equipment. Forget actually trying to help anyone; for them, it's all about the toys and the knowledge they possess. This is particularly sad when it comes to public viewings. Initially, some of these amateurs seem fairly pleasant, but soon, their talk turns to how much you should spend and what sort of mental acrobatics you need to be a "fair" amateur astronomer. Even amongst themselves there exist a certain degree of derision.
The biggest problem that some amateur astronomers have is "aperture fever". For them, it's not the type of telescope, it's the size of the optics, obviously the bigger the better. Anything less than 254mm (10 inches) is a "toy". One can't help but feel that they're making up for other aspects of their lives (beyond the innuendo).
Still, it is human to do these things. We all want the biggest, fastest, greatest of anything. In doing so, though, we may be pushing others away from those interest that we hold so dear. In astronomy and the sciences, that's a particularly troubling aspect. If ever there was a time for the general public to have an interest in science, this is it, since it effects so many parts of our lives. In trying to reach others, we must not let our egos get in the way.

It's Not Like There Are Other Problems In The World...

This morning, I read that the state of Texas is considering legislation that will prohibit sexually suggestive routines from being performed by school cheerleaders. Hip hip hooray... but I mean, think about it, what goes together more than a violent sport and sex? It's American! They do have a point, though; teens are becoming more sexually active, and at earlier ages, and there is a strong correlation between their behavior on the field and their pervasive thoughts elsewhere. But passing legislation? Come on.
With so many other problems in the world, and in Texas, this seems almost inane. We live in a country that has a healthcare crisis, rising prices for resources, crime, environmental concerns, I could go on. Instead, we decide that this particular aspect of being a teenager is worthy of devouring state time. Not to sound cliche, but in my time, this sort of thing was left to the individual school districts.
More than anything else, though, this smacks of state involvement in something that used to be the exclusive domain of family and church; morality. This day and age, the moralists among us want morality to be legislated. That is not the place for it. Morality begins at home. It is our society's failure there that brought about this problem. Our music, television, most forms of mass media project these images. Passing legislation will not change things. A change in heart, a change at home, will.
There are bigger problems in the world that our legislators need to be tackling. Scantily clad teenagers should not be one of them.