There are clues, if you can find them. And there are things to be found, if you can puzzle through the clues. And there are three Nokia phones to be won if you do well.
Are you a seeker?
Previous post: Money as debt
bubbling enthusiasm for $arbitrary_topic
-
If you’re interested in writing, books and cats, subscribe now to Word Count, my weekly round-up of mews, news and reviews and get my free urban fantasy novella, The Gates of Balawat.
Argleton
Matt is fascinated by the story of Argleton, the unreal town that appeared on GeoMaps but which doesn’t actually exist. When he and his friend and flatmate Charlie are standing at the exact longitude and latitude that defines Argleton, Matt sets in motion a chain of events that will take him places he didn’t know existed… and which perhaps don’t.
A Passion for Science
From the identification of the Horsehead Nebula to the creation of the computer program, from the development of in vitro fertilisation to the detection of pulsars, A Passion for Science: Stories of Discovery and Invention brings together inspiring stories of how we achieved some of the most important breakthroughs in science and technology.
-
-
If you’d like to write more than you currently are, whatever you’re writing and why ever you’re feeling stuck, then my newsletter Why Aren’t I Writing? is for you!
Queen of the May
Every year, on May Day, a young woman is stolen away by the faeries to become their Queen for a year. This year, though, the faeries have bitten off more than they can chew. Shakti Nayar will do whatever it takes to get her own life as a botanist back. As she struggles to work out how to get home, she uncovers Faerie’s dark secret and finds that she is not the only human who needs saving.
Strange Attractor- AI is the latest divide in the volume vs. value split in media
- Daily Maverick: A model of the power of membership
- How journalism can help rebuild civic society in the US
- Finding out the needs (and wants) of local news audiences
- America is tense and divided: Here is how media and innovators are addressing the problem
“Are you a seeker?” What a dangerous question! For a moment, I had horrible visions of a recruitment site for Mme Blavatsky’s kind of Theosophy; or the Collingwood Football Club; or Scientology; or worse (if there is anything worse).
Thirty-some years ago, I answered an employment ad: “Are you a problem-solver?” Green as I was, I thought, “Aha! Here’s some kind of business that actually values, and recognises its need for, a polymath!” Would you be surprised if …? No, guess not. That’s right, you guessed it, they actually wanted a life insurance salesperson. (Not sorry, but no apology to life insurance salespersons will be forthcoming.) What had actually penetrated the deep, dark corners of the area manager’s tiny mind was this: “We’re trying to sell people something they can only collect on if they’re dead, and for some unfathomable reason, they don’t want to part with their money … Strange. Maybe someone out there has a clue we’re lacking?”
The site that you linked to is looking for a “seeker” – defined by the rules of the game as some individual with so much time on their hands (and no idea of how to put it to good use) they can explore dozens of different places in and around London, snapping photos on their latest must-have accessory, because they’re really, really keen on a chance to win the, um, latest must-have accessory. Not real attractive from over here in the Antipodes (Melbourne, Oz) when I’ve already got a perfectly serviceable, fully-paid-for, handheld mobile communication-and-picture-snapping device using (blush) six-year-old technology – that I only turn on when I leave the house, maybe once a fortnight.
No, really, when I read your headline, I was hoping you’d decided to organise Philopolymaths Anonymous, and sagely thought to uncover prospective members by tapping into the legendary curiosity of the polymath (aka philomath). And lord knows, we polymaths need a few lovers-of-polymaths to put up with us, and to help us through the healing twelve-step programme! It’s so hard making friends with people who want to spend sixty percent of your valuable face time discussing football, little Johnny’s sniffles or the latest improbable high-school scandal in Summer Bay. I’ve met, in person, three people in my entire life (nearly six decades) who might be capable of inventing a new science. And yes, I am counting myself. Clearly, I need to get over my crazy interest in everything, and get a life; maybe stop collecting esoteric and exotic musical instruments, inventing languages and designing quines, and pay a little attention to something worthwhile, like who won the latest Formula One Grand Prix, or which designer shoes are being promoted through product placement on “Sex And The City”.
Friends, please do consider this seriously, as a cri de coeur – um, a cry from the heart from an incurable bore! Come and drop by my place at http://www.esnips.com/user/yahya and leave me a note to cheer me up. Pretty please?
Hi Suw, your clues were complicated but I think I’m there now 🙂
Yahya, you really are grumpy, aren’t you? What’s wrong with a little fun and games once in a while?
Will, well done! Do let me know how you get on when you’ve discovered where to go, and been there. 🙂
Fortunately it’s about five minutes from my office 🙂
Didn’t find anything, although my phone battery ran out. May have to try again with GPS live…
Sorry, Suw! Must be turning into an old grouch 😉 I’ll try to do better …
You know I stumbled across your blog after googling “polymath”, and found your penetrating article on being a polymath in an age of specialisation – wonderful writing! You’ve surely realised by now that your blog does indeed have a well- defined target market segment: polymaths. That means that almost anything will sell to at least some of your readers … the advertisers should be beating down your door!
Cheers!
Comments on this entry are closed.