Monday, December 18, 2017
Errant Thoughts On Errant Thoughts
By: Donovan Baldwin
I sometimes post on LinkedIn odd things that pop into my mind. I call these little ramblings, "Errant Thoughts". Some even wind up being re-posted here, after they roll off my LinkedIn feed.
A definition of "errant" reads, "erring or straying from the proper course or standards".
Another definition is, "traveling in search of adventure", as in "knight errant".
My errant thoughts, usually of the first definition, are that, in more ways than one. Not only do they wander off the beaten path, but, they dodge in and out of the underbrush within my brain.
I can be thinking about eggs, and write a commentary on paper airplanes without the foggiest clue how I got there.
This is NOT a problem in these little comments of mine. In fact, this can be fun.
However, uncontrolled swerves and bumps in dealing with life, and solving problems, especially if the boss is waiting for a solution, can be problematic in itself.
On the other hand, the ability to stray "from the proper course or standards" has resulted in some awesome discoveries and advances.
Sometimes these are referred to as "accidents".
I prefer to think of them as errant thoughts, in the mind of some "knight errant" of progress.
Most people will just call it daydreaming, and the boss will be here any second, so, quick, make it look like we're really doing something, and not just saving the world.
Still, I wonder if you could make an airplane out of egg shells, or a make a plastic like egg shells. What if you used the egg's structural properties for passenger protection?
Hmmm. Another errant path to follow.
A definition of "errant" reads, "erring or straying from the proper course or standards".
Another definition is, "traveling in search of adventure", as in "knight errant".
My errant thoughts, usually of the first definition, are that, in more ways than one. Not only do they wander off the beaten path, but, they dodge in and out of the underbrush within my brain.
I can be thinking about eggs, and write a commentary on paper airplanes without the foggiest clue how I got there.
This is NOT a problem in these little comments of mine. In fact, this can be fun.
However, uncontrolled swerves and bumps in dealing with life, and solving problems, especially if the boss is waiting for a solution, can be problematic in itself.
On the other hand, the ability to stray "from the proper course or standards" has resulted in some awesome discoveries and advances.
Sometimes these are referred to as "accidents".
I prefer to think of them as errant thoughts, in the mind of some "knight errant" of progress.
Most people will just call it daydreaming, and the boss will be here any second, so, quick, make it look like we're really doing something, and not just saving the world.
Still, I wonder if you could make an airplane out of egg shells, or a make a plastic like egg shells. What if you used the egg's structural properties for passenger protection?
Hmmm. Another errant path to follow.
Labels: donovan baldwin, errant, knight errant, LinkedIn, solving problems, thoughts
Friday, October 27, 2017
Notes On The Sharing Of News
By: Donovan Baldwin
When we read, or listen to, the "news" it's easy to believe the world is going to Hell in a handbasket.
What the "news" leaves out, or fails to report on, is the millions of kind and wonderful and exciting things that happen every day.
Social media has a failing.
Anybody who wants to say anything can, and, often when they do, as the "news" does, they tell us all the horrible and nasty things about us humans.
Still, among and around all that, there's all the good news, the exciting developments, the progress, the kindnesses and good will that the "ordinary people" on social media sites care about, share, and express.
I hear of people getting burned out from all the negativity on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites, and, I get it. I have lived with a news junkie, and I got to where I just didn't want to hear of one more senseless act of violence or evil.
Finally, I decided to look at the world around me, and within myself, with a different goal in mind.
There's plenty of people telling us about the bad. So, sometimes it takes a little mindful looking and thinking to find the good, but, as I look and think, I find it.
Humans have done terrible things for millennia, and that's nothing to be proud of.
Yet, we've also managed to reach for stars, save lives, and, in places, made the world better. I'm good with that sort of thought, and news.
What the "news" leaves out, or fails to report on, is the millions of kind and wonderful and exciting things that happen every day.
Social media has a failing.
Anybody who wants to say anything can, and, often when they do, as the "news" does, they tell us all the horrible and nasty things about us humans.
Still, among and around all that, there's all the good news, the exciting developments, the progress, the kindnesses and good will that the "ordinary people" on social media sites care about, share, and express.
I hear of people getting burned out from all the negativity on Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media sites, and, I get it. I have lived with a news junkie, and I got to where I just didn't want to hear of one more senseless act of violence or evil.
Finally, I decided to look at the world around me, and within myself, with a different goal in mind.
There's plenty of people telling us about the bad. So, sometimes it takes a little mindful looking and thinking to find the good, but, as I look and think, I find it.
Humans have done terrible things for millennia, and that's nothing to be proud of.
Yet, we've also managed to reach for stars, save lives, and, in places, made the world better. I'm good with that sort of thought, and news.
Labels: bad news, donovan baldwin, Facebook, good news, LinkedIn, news, social media
