An Apple, a Bathtub, a Pretty Blond in a Bar ,And a Dancing Homeless Wise Man
Today’s Daily Barometer editorial ( Oregon State University’s newspaper) was titled Science! That’s how we spell it. Science! with a capital S and an exclamation mark. They proved the point that Science! should be nurtured and celebrated across the whole spectrum of a society. Having pride in OSU’s scientific discoveries is unescapable from someone who sees how our research is producing Science! that is enhancing quality of lives. I’m content about seeing non-science majored editorials finding a new way to define this fascinating thing: ‘Science!’. It is beyond what you study in school or observe in a textbook, it is all what nurture your curiosity, excites your passion to understand nature and technology. It is wherever you learn something that enables you to live an honorable life that adds a value to you and your society.
My own version of defining Science! … Crispy Science
Four years ago, I decided to focus my engineering skills that I learned in a formal engineering school into informal learning of science and technology as a business that helps kids and youth to nurture their curiosity . My dear friend Samar Hamdan helped me to give it a great name. We called it Crispy Science ! With the help of excited and highly motivated college and high school colleagues who worked at my startup, we reached out to more than 100,000 curious in Saudi Arabia alone in just 3 years. We called our end users curious because they are, our products or services doesn’t work unless you are a curious person. Today, Crispy Science is based in Corvallis, Oregon as well as in Al-Khubar, Saudi. Our purpose is to make Crispy Science aka. ‘Science!’ empowering our schools, teachers, companies to help the public understand knowledge, develop wisdom and be critical and productive in their lives.
I’ve been asked lately, “What is your aim in this life ?” my aim is to have efficient and productive quality of life for populations that my products, services or teams interact with. It is a tough and never-ending vision. But that what should keep me going everyday with my work. And that is not really an easy straight foreword job. While leading the Crispy Science team, I’ve been challenged by my ability to understand my teammates needs and capacity to grow. I’ve been told: Sami don’t expect everyone to think or behave like you, what works for you doesn’t work for others ! it is fallibility that I aim to reduce, We all need to understand others needs and personalities before we put them onboard. In order to help populations, well let’s say my team members for now! , to be more efficient and productive I better understand their ethical system, motivation, perceptions over their environments to be able to serve them and lead them toward a common goal. It is a tough job, yet I just found a starting point to work on ! A special kind of sabbatical !
A sabbatical .. in college !
Lately, aside from my startup work, I’ve been focusing in my Master’s research on an evolving theory that attempts to understand peoples response to disasters and emergencies. Usually I’m pretty good in philosophical arguments. But necessity of life and engineering education led me to focus on products and services that put the bread over the table. But my first steps in the philosophical and theoretical journey gave me something much more valuable than a bread on a table; openly observant wisdom !
What could openly observant wisdom give you ?
Openly Observant Wisdom is the ability to derive a theory from an apple, a bathtub, a pretty blond in a bar ,or a dancing homeless wise man. You surely might be aware of the prejudices that our society carry. Our government awards many research grants to be led by those who proved that they can do almost just because the PhD associated with their names (Well, assuming all PhD’s can develop a sound grant proposal). The society would listen to certain people, text and media and filter out other ones just because they regarded the formers as holy, credible, and trust worthy. But nothing is trust worthy enough to make you regard it as more trust worthy than your own judgement and ability to question things. Even, sacred scriptures encourage its followers to be ready to be challenged in their faith in the same scriptures. I’ve been always excited in such stories that breaks such prejudices and assumptions. Newtons Apple, Archimedes bathtub, and John Nash’s blond in the bar were great in expanding what we regard as potential source of wisdom. Not to stick to the books, textbooks or peer reviewed journals. I recently had a kind of similar experience ! (Spoiler about next paragraph : I didn’t reach the Eureka moment .. yet. so don’t be excited about Sami’s law of gravity … laws of gravity still hold true … well … with some quantum mechanics and relativity theories that makes it little bit more complicated .. but don’t worry I am not intending to go there !)
Dancing Homeless Wise Man
Last night I was working at a coffee shop on an evolving theory. It was a little a while since I ran into that coffee shop for work, but I felt the sense of need to go there. I had the feeling that I had to order their a cardamon and honey tea latte. So that was one thing that drove me to that coffee shop. But probably I was unconsciously driven for another reason!
I got asked by couple of college students acquaintances about what I’m doing. Typical 30 seconds pitch with encouraging comments before they move on to get their coffee. And then I got asked by ‘ Dancing Mike’. Mike started asking me about what I was doing. Rather the simple answer “I’m working!”. I triggered his curiosity with couple more words “I’m working on an evolving theory”. He asked what is it about and so I did my 30 seconds pitch. He returned the favor by triggering my curiosity with what he got in mind about it. Mike and I spent over an hour talking about challenges in the theory ! He challenged several assumptions I had, provided several factors that were not salient to me. he’s an assurance that wisdom can be revealed to those humble enough to accept it from wherever it is. He definitely got me several examples that expanded my understanding. Great enough that he stopped me as I was writing to my advisor to ask for his advice about a definition that is under dispute in the academic literature. Mike got to me before I hit the send button. After I heard his thoughts, I got some answers and deeper questions to talk about with my advisor.
Learning from the dance floor
Our Discussion was like dancing to music. You feel the rhythm of the thoughts bouncing back and forth between two minds. Mike inspired me in how he created an appreciation and respect to himself. He never minded what people think about him. Those +21’s Corvallisers who are regulars at The Peacock and Impulse know what I mean. He would dance in the dancing floor like no one is watching, while everyone is actually watching. Very skilled in maintaining his smile and cheerful attitude despite challenging life ( that we ‘all’ nag about from time to time). I learned one thing from him for sure, if you want to live a cheerful life that worths exploring, never settle down, and dance to any music that can give you a good rhythm, well, he is really good at that too.
Before ending my blog, I should observe the golden rule, am I writing about this gentleman in the same way I expect to read what might be written about me ? I did my best in doing so. I’m looking foreword to talk to him as my research journey evolves. Indeed I owe this gentleman as many of local young college students owe him the good time he gave them at the dance floor ;).
A key to the abundance of wisdom
If there is something in life I admire, it is the vast abundance of wisdom in the universe that gets scarce due to our limited senses and confined brains. Not accepting our prejudices and nurturing our natural curiosity might be a good step into that abundance of wisdom.
Sami
