Better understanding = more appreciation

It's amazing that the complexity of most trivial things are rarely understood by the general public as a whole. How often do you wonder how those dollar bills in your pocket were made, or what security methods have been implemented to prevent counterfeit bills. What about the keys you use every day to unlock your house or car door (or the remote that magically moves something to unlock your car, while the car isn't even running!).

The more complex our daily lives become, the less we understand. A couple hundred years ago, the world began a transition. People began to specialize in a particular field. This allowed for great progression in every area. Someone dedicating all their time to perfecting and improving a single field very quickly improves that field, assuming they are passionate about their field and enjoy what they're doing.

Ever since I was very young, I have always been obsessed with grasping an understanding of how everything works, regardless of what it relates to. How was it made? Who are the people involved in the process of its creation? What is the history behind it? How would things today be different if it never existed? How would they be the same? These are the questions that automatically go through my mind when I think about something. Try asking yourself those questions with regards to something very trivial. A spoon, a watch, the wheel, the light bulb, nails, the gun, paper, ink, anything!

The more you understand how things around you work and how much is involved in making them work, the more you appreciate everything around you. I'm writing this post on my Blackberry while commuting to my job in Boston, jumping between subways and riding on the train. After thinking about the complexity of something as simple as paper, try thinking about a subway system, or a whole city for that matter (with its many many underground levels, there's an entire city underneath every city!).

I'm using a mobile posting feature of WordPress that allows me to write a post by simply emailing it, something my Blackberry was designed for. : ) Judging by how easy it is to blog this way, and the time for creativity I have while commuting, I expect I'll be doing this more often while commuting to Boston. I can write when I have time, click Save Draft when I need to stop writing, and easily resume writing whenever I'm ready. My Blackberry has a spell checker, and when I'm ready to submit the post, I need only click send. It couldn't get much easier than this!