Life Angles: Business Vs. Science, Finding Your Passion

Very interesting. Somewhat intriguing. More or less thought-provoking...

I just received an email from one of the newsletters I'm subscribed to, which apprised me of the existence of an online tool that analyzes your writing style, and subsequently enlightens you as to what famous author your prose resembles.

Naturally, I couldn't resist. Within seconds, had there been any onlookers, they would have seen me copying and pasting my last three blog entries into the analyzing tool...

But now is the time for a tangent, as I interject some thoughts about myself. You see, my mom always told me that I should have been a scientist (by the way, I'd better not catch you laughing at that cliche allusion to my mother).

Apparently, during the last century or so, less and less Americans have been going into the field of science (being lulled by the flashy promises of business).

As a result, our country has slipped down from its previously lofty status. That is, the status of being the country that produces the most scientists.

I am one of the culpable ones in this case, owing to the fact that I possess various propensities and aptitudes that would normally qualify one as ideal for the field of science, yet I, too, am among the ranks of those who have been seduced by business, and left science behind in the back corridors of un-developed talents.

Don't misunderstand; I'm by no means trying to propagate the idea that business is not a necessary ingredient to preserve freedom, or that entrepreneurship is bad in any way.

On the contrary, I am a very strong believer in honest capitalism. I love business. It's primarily to business (or to be more specific, entrepreneurship) that I have dedicated the last 6 years or so of study.

Business allows me to freely exercise my creativity. And for the purpose of explaining how much I cherish the ability to exercise creativity, let me just say that I love creativity like the child loves to run around, and make loud noises with his windpipe.

What child have you ever seen that lives a sedentary life? For me not to have an outlet for my creativity would be like a child who has no space to run; no playground to ever play on, no cars or trucks to crash into each other.

Okay, now that I've spewed out that sub-tangent within a tangent, let me get back on the subject: the results of the writing style analyzer.

Those results are what drove me to the blog to once again lay my thoughts before any interested eyes.

According to the all-knowing power of the algorithms that were programmed into that writing style analyzer, here are the three famous authors who my writing style resembles:


#1 - Sir Arthur C. Clarke, CBE

Pen Names: Charles Willis, E.G. O'Brien

Occupation: Author, Inventor

Genres: Hard Science Fiction, Popular Science

Subjects: Science


#2 - Isaac Asimov

Occupation: Novelist, Short Story Writer, Essayist, Historian, Biochemist, Textbook Writer, Humorist

Genres: Science Fiction (Hard SF), Popular Science, Mystery Fiction, Essays, Literary Criticism

Literary Movement: Golden Age of Science Fiction


#3 - Cory Doctorow

Occupation: Author, Blogger

Genres: Science Fiction, Postcyberpunk


I was quite surprised to see that ALL THREE of the gentlemen that the analyzer compared me to were science fiction writers.

On top of that, one was an inventor (I am especially enamored with inventing), and two belonged to the more specific sub-genre of "Hard Science Fiction", which is characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, and on scientific accuracy.

In other words, for those men to be dedicated to the genre of Hard Science Fiction in their writings, they have to have a working knowledge of many different aspects of science. They are in a way, scientists.

Two of them (Clarke and Asimov) are members of the "Big Three" science fiction writers.

Now, this doesn't by any means signify that my writing talent is on a level with these masters; I would never be naive enough to think that.

But the point here is that it did make me think.

I'm sure you've noticed by now that I am very sentimental. Small details of average everyday life sometimes have a way of coming out and speaking to me. I am often thrown into a pensive state by seemingly insignificant tidbits, and that pensive state usually has a direction toward introspection.

In this case, the obvious common thread of science, that can be seen throughout the results of the analysis of my writing style, sparked a pang of remorse within my soul for having forsaken science as I have.

Ah yes, science. My old friend; the bosom buddy of my childhood...

It was to science that I was devoted during my growing years. It was science that made my eyes sparkle, and my face become animated. It was science that filled my innocent youthful mind with an adventurous sense of wonder; with a desire to take this entire universe and dissect it, until I fully understood it, and could manipulate it at will.

But this blog post is not meant to be simply a melancholy declaration of my regret for not having studied more science.

No, these words are organized here as a medium of my admittance of a folly, and also as a catalyst for thought in your mind, and my mind, and a provocation for action in your life, and my life.

Business is the chum of my grown years, but let me not forsake the loyal comrade of my youth: Science.

Think about your life and what you are dedicated to at the moment. Have you forsaken anything of value for what you have now?

Is there any way to make room for some more of that which enlightens the mind, excites the senses, and fills life with wonder?

I am hereby motivated to study more science, to catch some of the time that I've missed, and perhaps mold a happy medium between business and science for my future.

Yet I will never forget the true order of things.

I am here in this blog post dedicating my thoughts to those things (like business and science) which take third place in my life, after God and my family.

But enough about me. What about you?

What is your mission in life?

What is your secondary mission?

What is your contribution?

What are the several dedications with which you can make a difference in this world; make somebody else's life happier, somebody else's comfort level higher, or somebody else's mind more enlightened?

What are you passionate about? Don't forsake it.