I have just been offered a new full time job at a web design place that makes websites for high schools.  I will be building new sites from scratch for schools that join the network and giving tech support to teachers who call in with issues.  I will be doing something that has absolutely nothing to do with chemistry.

I don’t know how to write about the importance of reading, the gravity of curiosity, and the usefulness of useless knowledge without sounding egotistical, pretentious and vain and I apologize preemptively.  All I can say is that it apparently worked out for me pretty well as most of the jobs that I had previously were solely using skills I learned as a hobby.

Reading is not a talent, nor a skill, and it really should be utilized as the ubiquitous solution to boredom and problem solving that it was meant for when your kindergarten teacher first made you sound out the words to Goodnight Moon (or Goodnight God if such was your early education).   Although personally my fight in terms of education would more likely be the proliferation of new cultural views on science and math, the idea that reading is still a rare concept in college educated folk is crazy to me.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m not talking about the reading that involves actually having to open a book and read cover to cover; I mean the reading that satiates curiosity and fills in gaps in the brain.

Whenever you wonder something, read about it.  Useless stuff comes up once in a while.  Useless stuff can get you regular full time jobs with health insurance and 2 weeks vacation.

This is a story that has inspired me in a lot of ways. It is probably the earliest story that I remember my father telling me as a kid. It is also probably the root of many of my personal views in my life, no matter how egotistic and idealistic they might be. I think it’s also the cause of my deep rooted concern and appreciation for semantics. I know you’re probably wondering how all of this can possibly be related to a story that I heard when I was 5 years old, but hopefully with the knowledge gained in one semester’s worth of creative writing courses, it will all make sense soon. (more…)