What I Live For

I am an independent research scientist. That is what I pursued in grad school. I have no laboratory, no budget, and no-one to answer to but myself. That means when I investigate an issue, I follow the best evidence I can find, analyze it, synthesize it, and evaluate it before reaching limited conclusions about it that are accurate, reliable, and useful. I use models, data, procedures, and AI sources built and maintained by others in reaching limited conclusions about narrowly defined issues. I try to leave no footprint that I was ever here except for a laugh, or a smile, or a nod of approval.

I am answerable to God first, then myself and then to humanity. I don’t ask for favors, nor do I expect any. I spend very little money. I manage my own assets, and I am content to live at a “Living Wage” level as determined by the authors of the Living Wage Scales at MIT. That movable range of incomes is between $65,000 and $125,000 annually depending on the economic conditions in each of the 3,600 counties in the US. I distribute what talent I have via articles, essays, and poems.

Part of my moral compass consists of drawing from the wisdom of the ages. For example, Socrates was a very wise person who enjoined his followers that the “unexamined life is not worth living.” That pursuit is as close to the unchangeable truth as I ever hope to get. Galileo, another brilliant scientist proclaimed,. “I cannot believe that the same God who endowed us with senses, reason, and intellect intended us to forgo their use.” It reflects his belief in the importance of using human reason and observation to help us understand the universe. The shorter version is simply:. “God gave us a brain, and he [she] expects us to use it.” And then along came Horace Mann, the noted educator, who challenged all of us and himself to achieve at our best when he proclaimed, “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.”

Holding those three wise men as guides, I also hold three good reasons for living: accountability for what I say and do; the need to be modest and objective in my findings; and keep those statements alive by Thomas Jefferson now cradled in our Constitution: “We hold these [truths] to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” I am uncomfortable with the word “truth” as it relates to happiness, and offer Patrick Henry’s shorter statement with some reverence: “I know not what course others may take, but as for me give me liberty or give me death.”

Another part of a viable guiding sentiment is found in these incredibly wise words: “The richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least” (author unknown). Very few scientists are also wealthy, so I keep good company.

Contrary to common beliefs, science is not involved in the search for truth. Science seeks only good answers to difficult issues—answers that derive from facts, not from authority figures, or intuition. “Truth” is a troublesome term. It is often described as “searching for a black cat, in a dark room...that isn’t there.” Nevertheless it is used often in law, in religion, and in everyday conversation as if we all have the same notions of truth bouncing around in our heads. We do not. I simply ignore the musings by teachers, preachers, politicians, and those who like to be paid for making faulty conclusions from equally faulty assertions while calling that wobbly foundation “the truth.”

I stay in good enough shape to know when to fight and when to get the hell out of someone’s way. I know why some people are overpaid; and why greed is often a sign of weakness; but I haven’t a clue about why some are strong, some are weak, some are smart, and others are stupid. If I had three wishes they would be: 1) stay young (the search for knowledge ages me); 2) tap into the talent pool of a good musician (I have no musical talent); and 3) I wish I could dance much better (I am a lousy dancer). And so, I am an introvert who likes his privacy; I’m trustworthy, but nobody’s fool; and thankful for my family, and for my best friends (all five of them!).

Finally, the preceding narrative was inspired from a poem I wrote a few years ago by the same name. I think it’s one of my best. Cheers!

What I Live for

I live to choose what’s right for me
To maximize my will
To find the things that I can do
Beyond a moment’s thrill:
To touch a heart
To bend a mind
Away from evil’s reach
To educate and cultivate
And soothe but never preach.
This world is full of challenges
Along every lonely ridge
When outward troubles dim my eye
I try to build a bridge
Above the flames of dark and night
So all the world can see
There’s so much more
From shore to shore
On which we can agree.
Still I am impatient
And cannot wait
For time to tear down wrongs
The hungry and the weak require
I break away from throngs—
And boldly take that daring step
That others say is wrong
And find my footing
What e‘er the cost
That’s right where I belong.
The devil has his due they say
There’s good in every one
Judge not my sins
Forget my wins
Until the race is won.
And when that day at last is here
I will not look for praise
May we both arrive
At the mountain’s top
Although in different ways.