Introduction

It's 2:00 in the morning on my birthday. For no particular reason, I thought this would be a good time to start a blog. I've been meaning to for a while, but just never got around to it. I guess I'll lay out a personal plan for what I'd like the blog to be about.

WHAT THIS ISN'T:

- A way to tell humorous day-to-day stories about my life. Sorry everyone (no one?), it's just not that interesting to talk about. If you want to know, I'm sure Facebook and/or Twitter will tell you more random things about my life than ever need to be shared.

- Personal. Sometimes I might write about my own life and feelings (particularly in this first post), but I don't want this to be all internal. It's not about me. No emo.

- Inspirational. I am a Christian, and plan on talking very honestly about my faith. That may include the peaceful and emotional aspects, but it also includes doubts and struggles.

- Focused. I have a wide range of interests, and I don't plan on sticking to one theme. Even though this first post deals a lot with my beliefs, I don't expect all or even necessarily many posts to. I'll probably want to talk about nerdy things like AI, or Math, or Physics. I'll probably also want to ramble about Philosophy. Maybe I'll talk Politics...but hopefully not. I like keeping my friends.

WHAT THIS IS:

- This blog will be a way for me to think out loud. I don't want to come off as an authority on anything, or as someone with an agenda to spread. I'm a fallible person, and my beliefs and ideas are riddled with mistakes, I'm sure. But I want to put them down and, hopefully, dialogue about them.

- My life is pretty divided. I've always felt like friends from school may see a certain version of me, and friends from church another. But if there's anything I hate, it's a lack of integrity. I'd like to be honest and consistent, which means being open about my life and beliefs, even though it will probably let some people down.

- An excuse to write. I'm an Engineer, school certainly isn't giving me that excuse.

WHO I AM:

My goal, as of the last year or two, has been complete honesty with myself. On the one hand, I'm a big nerd. I like Science a lot. I like Math. I like Logic and Philosophy. I like academia, even when my own beliefs are the subject of ridicule. I have immense respect for people who question things.

On the other hand, I'm not secular. I believe there's more to life than scientific discovery, progress, or existence; namely, I believe in God. Not Einstein's deistic God, and not some ultra-spiritualized pantheistic essence called God. The Biblical, Christian God.

For years, the scientific community and the religious community have diverged. Christianity is almost universally viewed as irrational by academia, and many Christians in turn vilify and mock the skeptics. Most people in either camp are able to ignore the issues raised by the other. I don't want that gap. I don't want to trust the scientific community when I'm flying in their airplanes and taking their medicine, and deem them lunatics when they tell me the age of the earth. I want to face the issues, and part of that means understanding exactly what the issues are, and the science behind them. If my faith is true, it will be able to look The God Delusion and Quantum Physics in the eye and not flinch.

But all that for another time. I have plenty other interests. In particular, since I plan on studying the field of Artificial Intelligence, the relation between the mind (soul) and the brain (body) is very interesting to me. I'm a conscious soul, but my thoughts and feelings seem to be governed (or at least heavily swayed) by neurons and chemicals. Simultaneously spiritual and physical. Free will meshing with a world governed by deterministic laws; or, theologically, free will in a foreknown, predestined world. Art and beauty, and where they can be found. Abstracting an almost infinitely complex world into simple, meaningful shape. Morality and gray issues vs. tradition. General Relativity, Quantum Physics, and String Theory.

Yeah...it should be fun. For me anyway, probably not you. If you even got this far. If there's even a you to read this.