Entry 1, Aug. 10, 2015
IT'S NOT ABOUT ME
The professional part of my working life -- as distinguished from intervals when I thought of myself as an undiscovered artist of one kind or another -- has had one main stream running through it. The spring head was the discovery that I had a better than average knack for making technical knowledge and news accessible to all kinds of people, that doing it gave me satisfaction and even joy, and that good results could be rewarded with modest but persuasive amounts of money and respect.
What flowed from that starting point was an ever broadening, deepening engagement with research and innovation, now more than thirty years long. I've had the privilege of working in three completely different kinds of organizations -- a public broadcasting network, industrial R&D labs, and a university -- each among the best of its kind. There's hardly a subject area in science and technology I haven't been dared to enter, explore, and explain.
People say I'm good at this, among the best. I enjoy rising to a challenge. The next may be just around the bend. That's one reason I've hung out my shingle as a freelance writer, editor, producer, and communications advisor.
But it's not about me. That's the beauty of this kind of work. The spotlight is on nature and technology, on deep insights and creative engineering, on brilliant individuals and resourceful teams. A different kind of attention, just as intense, is directed toward engaging the audience. The communicator can almost disappear. It's not about me.
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