The mc2maven writing project is an evolution from my X/Twitter and Medium social media accounts with the same name, and a space to more fully explore intellectual topics at the intersection of energy, climate change, science, and history that I have been interested in since childhood, during my years as a student, and that I am still curious about today. I first started using X/Twitter and Medium because I found that it was a fun way to have intellectual discussions with friends and strangers from all over the world, in public. The dynamic debates within social media are highly stimulating (in both positive and negative ways) but left me wanting a space to more thoroughly explore ideas. This blog cannot and will not be as thorough or specific as a professional research journal article or as focused and current as a science news article, because that’s not where my work has taken me.
I’ve been a data science professional producing software tools using applied machine learning and data analytics in private companies for the past decade. I can’t fully describe the feelings of pride and professional accomplishment while working in a team on a new product that hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people know about and use as well as moments of fear, anxiety, joy, and relief when tackling unexpected and known project challenges. However, the academia I left behind has its own exclusive joy of asking questions no one has ever asked before or finding the solution to a puzzle that has been confounding some of the smartest and/or most experienced people in world, sometimes for years, decades, or more.
This blog is my creative outlet to ask questions and contains my best attempt to solve puzzles in my limited free time, drawing upon the work of the creative scientists and writers from the past and present.