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Abstract Watch - Inception

 

Greetings from Cobourg, Ontario, Canada, my hometown, where I am visiting my dear parents.

 

Being at my roots seems like the perfect place to launch something new.

 

With Abstract Watch, I want to build a habit of reading a scientific abstract a day - a daily affirmation, interlaced with learning new science. I hope you will join me. I believe that this will not be a chore, but something to look forward to. A way to drop anchor in the storm. 

 

I'll bring the abstracts, you bring your unique insights, opinions, inspirations. And the courage to show up and read something that is potentially WAY outside your field. This might seem off-putting and irrelevant at first, but you have to trust me - it isn't. By going outside your comfort zone regularly, you will effectively expand your comfort zone. You will broaden your appreciation for many different kinds of science. You might even find a concept or approach that you can apply to your own work, or to your daily life. 

 

When you read outside your field, or encounter something you don't know, it might feel uncomfortable. You might instantly cringe at the unfamiliar language or jargon. That's a good sign :) Well, at least I feel this regularly. Hang in there, because it is incredibly rewarding when you wrestle with material that you don't understand, and leave with new knowledge. At the very least, it's good banter for dinner parties and the elevator.

 

I don't know where we will go yet but I DO know that this will be a fascinating adventure filled with unexpected turns, irony, simplicity, complexity and beauty. There are few things I find as stabilizing in the world today as data and our desire to unravel 'all of the mysteries'. 

 

I also know that new friends, new connections, new ideas will emerge here. I look forward to it!

 

“I used to think I was the strangest person in the world but then I thought there are so many people in the world, there must be someone just like me who feels bizarre and flawed in the same ways I do. I would imagine her, and imagine that she must be out there thinking of me, too. Well, I hope that if you are out there and read this and know that, yes, it’s true I’m here, and I’m just as strange as you.”
Frida Kahlo

 

Keep on keeping on!

 

- Angela