by Marty Coleman | Apr 4, 2014 | Marston Bates, Research - 2014 |
This may boomerang on me, but today it’s #5 in my Research series!
True But
I think this is true but incomplete. I think it must be added that it’s not always the alley that is blind, it’s the person in the alley who is.
Blind Alley, Blind Person
A researcher can contribute their own blindness or shortsightedness to the process of going down an investigative alley. At least I know this holds true in art. If I am not paying attention to everything around me I can think a place is devoid of creative potential. But the truth is there is probably a great deal of creative opportunities anywhere, if I am paying attention. I would think the same is true in research. Yes, you have something specific you are looking for, but you can not be blind to what else the alley offers.
Recognize, Then Edit
As you go on your research journey, no matter the field, keep your mind and senses open to what presents itself, even if it’s not completely on topic. That doesn’t mean you have to grab it and indulge in it. It’s just saying you know what it is that is in front of you and are open to what it might mean. Recognizing something and deciding to leave it behind is much better than never recognizing it in the first place.
See the rest of the Research series here. If you are interested in having them as posters or framed prints for your school or company, let me know!
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Marston Bates, 1906-1974, American zoologist
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“Research is the process of going up alleys to see if they are blind. “
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 3, 2014 | Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, Research - 2014 |
Do you see? Today is #4 in the Research series!
My Daughter Led the Way
One of the things I love about having a daughter who is a scientist is how it’s turned my attention to science as well. I read up on it as best I can and I like to watch shows on it. I don’t pretend to know much, but it’s an amazing path to follow, never ending in it’s ability to surprise.
Art and Science
I also find more and more how similar being a scientist is to being an artist. Yes, science has a certain rigor and a much more detailed protocol for everything that creating artwork usually doesn’t have, but the essence of discovery comes from the same spot in our minds. That spot is an open, non-judgmental space that tells us we are free to explore. Both scientists and artists believe that the joy of exploration is it’s own reward. But we also know another truth and that is that when you do explore with freedom, lack of fear and judgment, moral or otherwise, you are very likely to discover things of importance.
See the rest of the Research Series here. Scroll down to see them all.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, 1893-1986, Hungarian physiologist. Discoverer of Vitamin C and winner of the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1937.
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by Marty Coleman | Apr 1, 2014 | Bill Watterson, Research - 2014 |
I hope you don’t think I am a jerk to tell you… today is day 3 in the Research series!
What would this field of research be in, anyway? What would the disease even be called? Do you think the government would give a grant for it?
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Drawing and questions by Marty Coleman
Quote by Bill Watterson, 1958 – not dead yet, American cartoonist, author of Calvin and Hobbes.
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 31, 2014 | Research - 2014 |
I researched it, and today is the perfect day for #2 in my Research series!
People often think science is all about facts and figures. That it is dry and boring. Don’t tell that to a scientist. Scientists won’t get mad at you about that claim, don’t worry. They will just look at you with a completely quizzical expression and say, “Are you crazy? Science is all about NOT knowing facts and figures. It’s about the excitement of investigating what it is we don’t know. That is what makes it exhilarating, not boring.”
Scientific research is walking a tightrope with the ‘Sea of Unknowing’ on one side and the canyon of ‘Can’t Be’ on the other. You try not to fall off. Then you DO fall off. Then, just as you think you are lost, you find the answer you thought was at the end of the tightrope way down in the canyon or sea!
Science research is very much like creating art.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Wernher von Braun, 1912-1977, German born rocket scientist
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by Marty Coleman | Mar 27, 2014 | Nora Neale Hurston, Research - 2014 |
Purposeful
Recently I gave a lecture about Photography to PHOTOG, a group I help lead here in Tulsa. The title of my talk was ‘What’s Inside Your Camera?’ and it was an explanation of the workings of the camera. Of course to talk intelligently about it I thought it might be wise for me to research exactly what DOES happen in a camera. I mean, I know…but I don’t KNOW.
Curious
So, I went about researching. My research was driven by what I was curious about. How does that image get on the screen in the back anyway? I knew how it worked in old film cameras, but I didn’t know the details of how it worked in a digital camera. My curiosity went in that purposeful direction.
I did that a number of different times; exploring this history, that part of the camera, this function. Whatever piqued my curiosity, I went looking into it. I followed threads of images, forums, essays, lessons, in whatever direction I wanted to know more about. I didn’t try to have it all make sense before I started. I explored first and it was only after I had done that for many hours that I started to see how it all worked in detail.
Purposeful Again
I then organized the talk with a certain logic; starting at the lens, where the light enters the camera, and ending at the very back of the camera, where we see the resulting image.
Purpocuriosiful
That is my favorite way to work, purpocuriosiful. I start with a general idea and a broad purpose. Then, within those wide parameters I just explore freely. I allow myself to be confused, to not know how something will turn out, how it will all make sense, while I do this exploring. I allow it because I know the process works. I know my brain will eventually see patterns and structures within my purpocuriosiful explorations and I will be able to organize the information so others can gain from it.
While I am not a scientist I know from talking to my daughter, Rebekah, who is a one, that she often works that way, as do many others. Art and science are not as far apart as people sometimes think.
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Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman
Quote by Nora Neale Hurston, 1891-1960, African-American Folklorist and Writer
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