July 2021 – Page 2 – Fallton Havenstonne

Preparing

July 13, 2021July 12, 2021 Fallton Havenstonne

To prepare for something, you must know in advance what you need. We could prepare financially for an amount we want to have saved, or to make a large purchase. We can prepare for emergency situations, road trips, parties, etc. Preparation takes time, and the length of time depends on the event and how much resources are required for it.

The same could be said for our own projects, like writing a book, a DIY project, a painting, etc. But just because we prepare, doesn’t mean things go as planned. There are always unexpected twist and turns that happen along the way, things that shake the foundation of our planning. Preparation can only take us so far, but we also must be able to adapt when the unexpected occurs.

Collection

July 12, 2021July 11, 2021 Fallton Havenstonne

Collecting things can be a fun hobby, especially if it’s something that we can enjoy like books, movies, etc. I used to collect books, buying various books from authors I enjoyed reading (even if I didn’t get to reading all of their books) and housing them on my bookcases. As the years past, I would revisit the books, open them up to read a few pages, then put them back to read another.

But in general, collecting things never seem to have an end. Not only that, we run out of space, have no place to store the newest items for our collection. Overtime, the collection will gather dust, and we might even forget about what we had bought–or grew out of them.

Some people donate their collection to make more space, or because they no longer have an interest in the hobby or the things they collected. In my case, I donated boxes of books, not only because I did not read them anymore, but because I didn’t have the space for them.

It felt good to have less stuff, to make room for newer things. I still think about the books I read, the ideas and characters they implanted in my mind. Even though the physical books aren’t in my possession, the books themselves have stayed with me in how they shaped me and influenced my life.

When Things Aren’t the Same

July 6, 2021July 10, 2021 Fallton Havenstonne

During one of my day trips, I got this feeling that things weren’t the same anymore. With everything that has transpired, the vibe was different at the place I visited. The scenery was the same, and so was the environment, but my outlook was different. I couldn’t unplug myself from the memory of what it was like before.

It’s similar to meeting someone you hadn’t met in years, or visiting a place that you hadn’t been to in who knows how long. You can’t help but compare the present experience with the last–hope that it is the same or better.

Things have changed a lot. They seem quieter now, and less crowded too. My last memory was one filled with activity, noise, energy. But things have calmed, and the experience was like seeing shadows of the past.

Questions

July 1, 2021June 27, 2021 Fallton Havenstonne

To advance knowledge in science, it has to begin with a question.

Which leads the scientist to a hypothesis. It doesn’t mean they know the answer, though they might have a sliver of an idea of what it might be. And to find the answer to their question, it involves a series of tests, or experiments, to see if their hypothesis is correct. Maybe it’s not. And if not, they have to investigate why, see what the patterns are, what went astray.

When we think about math or science, what comes to mind are facts, formulas, and well-established truths. But what doesn’t come to mind are the questions that led to them, the trial and error and mistakes that steered the scientist and mathematician on the right path in making the discoveries that are known today.

Why is that though? Perhaps we’ve become accustomed to caring more about the solutions, the immediate answers, rather than the impetus which lead to them: questions. It is with questions that truths and facts become known. Questions lead to investigations, and investigations lead to discoveries. Thus, without questions, there would not be investigations, and without investigations, there would be no discoveries.

When we think about all of the technology that science, math, and engineering made possible, it’s easy to accept cellphones, computers, TVs, etc., for what they are, to buy and use them because they are available to us. But how did they get there? They weren’t always there, and they didn’t get there by themselves.

Didn’t it begin with people asking why something is the way it is, how to make something work, how to make something better, how to create something . . . ?