echo 1

I have always loved reading and writing. Reading, in particular, has been a hobby for me since I was a kid. Writing, on the other hand, has been sidelined; the main reason was my university education in engineering and environmental/energy sciences, where writing was largely limited to descriptive exercises rather than articulating ideas. Yet, argumentation has always been my favourite approach to writing. In academic papers, the section I like the most is the discussion, where we can critically inquire into our own line of thought and point out potential flaws in our own work.

Since I switched from engineering research to social sciences and humanities, writing has finally become part of my core activities at work. And, oh boy, how I enjoy it. It helps me to articulate my thoughts and make sense of ideas I want to connect. Of course, in the academic context, writing usually means a well-rounded piece – an academic article, a book chapter, a position paper – which takes time, requires literature grounding, really, a well-thought-through argument, which in turn requires more reading, more reflection, writing and re-writing. You can find this type of writing in my Publications. I find it very important to take time to write well-rounded pieces, rather than quick, half-baked ideas just for the sake of publishing. However, I also find it extremely important to write for the sake of articulating ideas, reflecting on what is going on in the world around us.

echoes is the space I created on my website precisely for this exercise. When deciding how to call this section, I did ask ChatGPT for suggestions, because honestly, I didn’t want to call this a blog. And among these was “echoes”, which captures precisely how I feel about my thoughts and writings – echoing in my mind, to be resonated, absorbed, or diffused away. The other suggestions it provides are below, together with my reactions:

Notes – No, my life is not a note.
Log – Adds too much pressure, this is not fieldwork.
Desk – Oh no, please.
Margins – Another strong candidate. I find the concept of “margins” powerful and generative.
Fragments – I don’t feel like my thoughts are fragmented; they are grounded in my lived experiences.
Drafts – “Draft” hints at having a final version, which should not always be the case. We should be able to wander without the intention of finality
Scribbles – Sounds to me as lacking intention…
Pulse – I’m not sure whether all my thoughts should be seen as a pulse towards something…
Queries – I’m not always querying for anything, really

This is it for now. More entries soon…