Here we go

This is it, the beginning.  Everything starts somewhere, we're at the start of whatever this will end up being.  I've liked the idea of blogging for a while, who doesn't want to have a forum to talk about whatever they feel like, but that self doubt about the audience always comes in.  Who really wants to hear what I have to say, there's nothing that special about my point of view.  If anything, it's pretty generic, pretty privileged.  After all, I'm creating this as part of a doctoral class assignment.    

That said, I believe there is value in putting meaningful content into the world.  I believe in the value of shared ideas and inspiration because I have garnered so much personal value from the ideas of others.  So maybe it's self serving and self centered to think I can add back into the pool that has fed me but it's worth a shot.  Maybe there's an idea or thought bouncing around inside this melon that can help someone.  

This blog begins in CS 875, Futuring and Innovation, which is as good a place as any.  The class demands a wide thought aperture.  Correlating different ideas, pulling together different trends, looking at the world through a more inclusive lense.  It's easy to think that maybe everyone could do this, could guess at the future and see if they're right but I don't think that's entirely accurate.  In order to make reasonable predictions or present ideas that have merit, there has to be a foundation of deep understanding that only comes with years of education, study and experience.  Like a house, what we see are the shiney fixtures, the neat ideas, but what makes that possible is the foundation, the dirty concrete that took a lot of work to get just right.  While it may seem like 20 years of work experience in two degrees isn't a prerequisite for this kind of thing, and who knows, maybe it really isn't, I think that's the concrete foundation that worthwhile ideas sit on.  

This blog will be a Joycean stream of consciousness.  In some cases, we'll look at technology and applications of technology. In others, we might delve into what it means to be a good citizen or how morality develops.  What this blog is really about then is what it means to be a human being.  As humans, we strive, we look forward, we dream.  That's the innovation piece that this class is asking me to do.  But being human is also knowing where we are and what gives us joy and value in the present.  That should be a part of the discussion as well.  So I will do my best to offer both sides.