I’ve always found it useful to borrow metaphors from the arts in my work. As a researcher, I try to avoid seeing myself as a technician and instead see myself as a craftsperson. For me there is an important distinction between the two. A technician may be able to use their tools to a high standard but the craftsperson’s relationship with their work is deeper. A craftsperson has a process, a philosophy. They don’t just know how to produce good work, they also know why. They don’t just use tools, they create them. They don’t just produce work for someone else – they produce work as an end in itself.
At the moment my work is motivated by an idea that is borrowed from music: I want to know what my symphony would sound like.Continue reading →