As a far better man than me has pointed out, the most notable bit of every phenomenon is always the beginning. That is, however hard this is to believe, it’s, erm, downhill from here.
I spent a long time trying to sort out exactly how I was going to be able to define this blog. And I spent a long time trying to work out what I wanted from it. Both without much success. Well … I still don’t know how to introduce this at all. I’ve fluffed it, Mr Carlyle. Such an unnotable beginning means that this isn’t/can’t be, ipso facto, ergo, quod erat demonstrandum, and memento mori, a phenomenon. It’s some knowledge management theory, some learning stuff (e and not e), some stuff on networks.
There are two things shaping my doing this. One is wanting to begin to systematise a lot of the stuff I’ve picked up over the last few years. The other is a long-held interest in creativity, madness, and the crossover between arts and sciences.
Where to start? I think something about creativity, having a brain, innovation and being able to begin might be apt. What sort of people are inventors and can they be spotted? What sort of organisations foster creativity? When does thinking outside the box become madness? Those sort of questions.
And I thought one place to start, given that everyone talks about them these days, would be memes.