The roles I play - Part 3. Liberal Arts

Be mindful how you speak to children. Despite popular belief, children actually listen to most of what you say, and what you say shape how they think about themselves.


Part 3. Liberal Arts

When I was 6 - 7 years old, I hated reading. I loathed letters and I just could not figure out the purpose of putting certain letters in particular orders. Reading took too much time and reading out loud in class always caused me massive anxiety (reading difficulties plus a lisp caused by teeth changing is a recipe for anxiety).
Math was easy. Just two numbers in a row and the sign between them gave you the final answer. I loved math. I adored the simplicity. It was easy to understand and it was pretty.

Until a teacher forced me to erase all my work because I worked too fast and was too far ahead of the class.

Until I figured out that words were just images that described the images in my head.

I cracked the code of reading about the same time I was first told that math wasn't for me. Being the person I am, I launched on a reading spree that would last almost 15 years, during which time I forgot my love for math.

I was told that I wasn't a sciency kind of person. That liberal arts and social science was more my thing. I agreed, mostly because books and language, art, music, and theater held me captivated. My teachers in biology, physics, math, and chemistry didn't peek my interest and the way those classes were taught were just mind numbingly boring to me.

I graduated high school with a diploma in Cultural History and Social Science and had no idea what to do with my life. My dreams of acting had been shattered, my hopes of being a journalist were on the back burner, and my confidence was at low point.

It wasn't until two years ago that I discovered that I am damn good at science stuff. Up until that point, I knew I was a not too intelligent person. People never understood what I was talking about, and so I was convinced I wasn't smart enough.

I was wrong. Last three tests I've done puts my IQ between 110 and 115, which puts me in the upper area of normal intelligence. Yay, not stupid. I just don't think in the same way many people around me do.

Thing is, I can find correlations in almost anything. Give me a set of information and time to think, and I will find the smallest common denominator. When I discovered that and started mastering the way I think, I found that ALL THE THINGS now catch my eye.

Physics, string theory, theater, biology, chemistry, history, art.

I can find links and correlations from Pythagoras to Michelangelo to Higgs. I can show you cultural links between Hellas and Heian, religious links between astrophysics and the first temples.

I am not just a social scientist or a liberal arts student. I am a student of anything and everything I fancy, and I am smart enough to understand what I read.

You look at me and see a band t-shirt, side cut hair in a pony tail, jeans, and tattoos. To most, I look like a "alternative" metal head. What you don't see is the youtube playlist of physics documentaries, the book shelves stacked with history, philosophy, and art books. My subscriptions to Numberphile, Nottingham Science, MinutePhysics, CrashCourse, SciShow, and GoodMythicalMorning don't show in the way I dress.

I am far more than what many see, and I hope that people will one day imagine me as more than "The History Nerd". I like black holes, too.


DFTBA