Forget the Benjamins.
It’s all about the Hamiltonians.
I’m reaching a tipping point, where I’m getting more energy out of the system than I put into it!
I’ve spent a solid month immersing myself in all things WordPress, forcing myself to recite poetry in PHP. And if code is poetry, I’m almost ready for my first recital and about a month from my first poetry slam.
But I’m mixing metaphors that I coulda use’d meta for. So, to keep a quantum of nerdiness involved, I’ll stick to the nuclear fusion metaphor like a gluon.
Anytime I learn something completely new I go through several phases.
First, let’s compare them to the classic phases of matter:
- Solid
- Liquid
- Gas
- Plasma
Like most people, we really only consider the first three phases of matter in nature. But we forget the fourth, which is just as au natural as the others, but doesn’t come to mind as quickly – plasma.
No not the kind of plasma that gets you paid in cookies. The kind that keeps astronauts from communicating with ground control upon re-entry. The kind that forms “ball lightning”. The chunky soup of fusion!
And like the spark that creates it, fusion can produce massive amounts of energy with only a limited fuel supply.
Now let’s look at my creative learning process and how it mimics the phases of matter.
Solid. When I first observe an unknown system, I only see the big picture. The output. The result of all the inner workings. Like billions of tiny water molecules arranging themselves into beautifully exquisite patterns that are entirely to complex to be accidental. This almost freezes my mind! How can this occur? Is it magic?
Liquid. Slowly, I turn up the heat, and look closely at the structure as it changes and melts. And now I have a pool of water where there was just moments ago latticework of amazing crystals. All the patterns are gone, and I’m left with a bucket of H2O. I can’t make any sense of this! I need help. I’m drowning in ignorance!
But I force myself to dive in, and sink or swim. Sure it’s cold at first, but I acclimate quickly and before I know it I’m treading water! (and mixing metaphors again) Soon enough, I get the flow. I feel the current and decide to heat things up a bit more. Adding some chemicals to the pool to stabilize the pH(P) too.
Gas. Now things are really heating up and I can see the steam rising from the surface. I understand the process. I could probably even sublimate, but I’d be getting ahead of myself.
Plasma. Instead I turn up the heat even more, watching the water molecules behave much differently. The individual atoms start dictating new formations and kicking out some serious plasma energy.
This is where the spark of fusion arrives in a glorious epiphany! I see not the structure, but the components. I’ve observed the various states or phases and see all the pieces working as one regardless of phase.
I can harness the power and use it for the benefit of mankind. I can further experiment with other exotic phases of matter like Bose-Einstein Condensates, and push the envelope of what matter can do!
WordPress is my new heavy water, and it sure tastes better than the Kool Aid everyone else is drinking.
