why the name?

So why did I decide to call my self the "anonymous mad scientist in a strange land?"  Well to some extant it is pretty obvious, but when I was thinking of the name I would use I can up with some deeper meaning that I liked.  To be honest I have had the name longer then I have seriously thought of making a blog. And the name might actually be part of the reason I finally went out and started one.

So anonymous isn't so much that I am trying to be truly anonymous.  I actually think of it as having a couple of meanings.  The first is a commentary on starting to be a professional scientist.  It sometimes feels that I am unrecognized and anonymous in a the scientific community.  I have friends who are writing book chapters, hosting conference, getting prestigious fellowships and grants, while I only have a handful of papers (that are papers I spent a lot of time on and invested a lot in) with few references and with little attendance at my conference talks.  That being said a lot of the young post-phd scientists I know feel the same way (even though I include some of them in the above list of accomplishments because they are awesome).  Also, I have been feeling better based on the responses I have been getting from my current job search.

And of course the use of anonymous is also an ironic comment on the privacy of the internet.  I am using a google service (a company who is starting to provide "an identity service" to compete with facebook) to communicate with my friends with the whole world watching.  And while I, Bram, am  not trying to hide my identity, the inherent nature of the internet provides a false feeling of anonymity to those of us adding our ideas to it.

"We find these truths to be self evident, that all men are created" slightly mad. The "mad" part is pretty much self-evident (especially to anyone who knows me).  If you aren't a little willing to let your whimsy fly and act crazy once in a while what is the point.

"Scientist" also appears self evident but is more than that.  I am a physicist in much the same way that my parents are christian.  They are the "grunts" that make the church work.  They take part in the services and are ushers, readers, or alter server.  I am not a priest of science - I am a usher or a alter server who works (in the back ground) to make the service work - to tie everything together.  Science has a relative few priests (prof.) and bishops and prophets who proclaim the word of science (Hawking, Green, Einstein, etc.).  The majority of science is populated by those of us who work to make sure science still functions so that all can enjoy the service (our robot overlords will take care of us). 

I am in a strange land.  And I am not just talking about living in a foreign country were everyone eats their body weight in cheese.  I am talking about life in general.  Even when I am not being amazed by the wonders and idiosyncrasies that is France, I am being amazed by the wonders and idiosyncrasies of life in general.  For what is there not to be amazed at in the strange land that is life.  Where else but in life can you see the magic that is children playing, laugh at the humor of www.xkcd.com, marvel at the ingenious design of a record player, challenge yourself with climbing a rock wall or the delicateness of a wildflower?   And the fact that it is always new and exciting if you are willing to seek life out makes it the true strange land.  Of course, it is also a head nod in the direction of Heinlein and all the Sci-Fi genera.