Why Knot: A Personal Quest

THIRD PLACE: CT Press Club Professional Communications Contest for General Non-FictionI don't think outside the box. There is no box. The box is an illusion that limits the range of what we consider, squashing curiosity and creativity, ruling out possible solutions.Many of these short essays derive from my belief that, as individuals and as a species, self-regulating mechanisms push us toward balance and reason and compassion. Our worst experiences and dreams can help nudge us in the right direction as if some force were trying to navigate a huge ship down a river, with the crudest of controls.I need to know who I am and why I am and how my life might matter in the context of those who came before me and those who will come after. But the answers offered by religion feel insufficient, and scientific knowledge has advanced to the point that it is beyond the understanding of laymen. I would like to participate in the endeavor of scientific discovery and make a contribution, but the advancement of science will not end in my lifetime and will probably never end. I need answers that make sense here and now.I do not adhere to any organized religion or established set of beliefs. But I am not an agnostic. Rather I am a seeker.Life has meaning and that meaning can be found, perhaps in interconnectedness and relationships, and perhaps by intuition rather than reason, and perhaps in flashes of insight.These essays cover: Big Questions; Identity, Memory, and Communication; Understanding the World We Live In; Politics and Government; Literature, Reading, and Writing; The Double-Edged Impact of Technology; History; Business and Product Ideas; and Everyday Life - How to Live, How to Cope.