The Good, the Bad, and the Pragmatic

As I traveled home from a day of shopping in town, crammed in the back row of a khumbi with my groceries stacked on top of me and the elbows of my neighbors in my face, I began to ponder some of the things that I am passionate about; rock climbing, chess, experimental physics, and development work. Now, my dabbling in these four areas has been amateur at best to date, although I hope to further my abilities in all three. Yet, in the way that I’ve experienced them, I’ve found a recurring theme. The fields rely on not necessarily being “good” or “bad” but on being pragmatic. One often has to deal with non-ideal situations. Indeed, sometimes it is the complications and difficulty that draws one to them. But, solutions are possible to find, though the implementation may be beyond ones capabilities. In the end, one must use ingenuity, skill, and strength of will to find a path through the difficulties, often turning obstacles into new avenues for advance.

Sending It

I preface this by admitting I am no real rock jock. I haven’t climbed since graduating last June. However, I love climbing and feel a rush when I can “send” a route or boulder problem that has stumped me. Rock climbing is in essence an act of defiance. In our language we have sayings like “hitting a wall” and “between a rock and a hard place” that describe places you really would rather not be and that offer no real way forward. In rock climbing, you deliberately hit a wall, inching yourself up between rocks and hard places to overcome what at first seemed unassailable. The fact that a route is not easy is what makes it attractive. Being able to overcome a bad section is a real demonstration of skill. On the other hand, one cannot risk being foolhardy. There is no good and safe environment of climbing in which carelessness can be allowed. Sure, there are climbers who solo, but they do so risking their life. Rock climbing intelligently requires pragmatism. Redundant safety measures are a must as well as a cool head to judge each move and one’s own ability. Inspecting a route, one could say, well, for that part, I’d rock on from that hold, do a toe hook, and then mantle to that bomber hold. Once on the route, you must pay attention to every bit of your body and balance as you attempt to pull of what you saw in your head. Every piece of rock has potential for use. I’ve often been completely stuck on a route and then asked an experienced friend for advice. The answer generally involves viewing the environment in a different way, using what looks like an obstacle as a tool (“use that overhang to do a head jam?”). It does not help to think of a route as doable, or undoable, but rather, they are just routes and must be viewed rationally without judgment.

The Gambit

In chess, there are definitely good and bad moves, but often there are many moves that are possible, each with their own advantage and disadvantage. There are lots of strategies and memorized openings, but in the end, each game evolves uniquely. Letting emotions or psychology cloud your judgment often results in a loss. One must remain rational and pragmatic above all. A good example of this is the gambit. A gambit is a sequence of moves, usually an opening, in which a piece is deliberately lost. Sometimes a gambit is a set up to force an opponent into a sequence in which they will lose a piece of greater value than was sacrificed or into a check mate. Sometimes, it’s tossing a pawn away to change the tempo or gain a stronger position. Some might think losing material for position is questionable. It is often neither good nor bad, simply a pragmatic attempt to find a way forward through innumerable possibilities.

A Leatherman and Duct Tape

Many people have written about the elegance of physics, about beauty, simplicity, and symmetry. But any experimentalist knows that although the phenomenon that is to be studies may indeed be all these things, the process of study often is not. This is not to say experiments are always ugly. Many rely on magnificent feats of engineering and design. However, few things work as planned in life and in a physics experiment, when things don’t work, the willingness to get down and dirty to make things work is a must. I remember when I first joined the Manoharan Lab in Stanford as an undergraduate, seeing MOTA, the atomic force microscope that the group had spent years building and for which a separate room was added underground on its own foundation, I was struck by the incredible engineering and custom parts fitted together as well as the pieces of aluminum foil, wrapped around numerous parts, and the rucksacks full of lead shot sitting on the spring loaded table. As I progressed through my undergraduate career in physics I soon learned the necessity of such “think outside of the box” methods. As I worked on a team to measure the dependence of the resonant frequency of quartz oscillators in liquid helium versus temperature, I always had to grin when walking up to our bench. This set up, which was able to do measurements at temperatures of 1.47 K (-271.68⁰ C), relied in part on two by fours and duct tape. Professor Moler, who taught the lab class, commented that a true experimental physicist always has two things; a Leatherman and duct tape.

As I worked on my honors thesis I realized that there is not necessarily a “right way” to do things. You have to juggle the money and tools you have in innovative ways. I had created a device to manipulate magnetic micro- (and potentially nano-) spheres. After spending many months on simulations, designs, electronics, machining, electroplating, decarburizing, and what not, I needed to figure out a way to see and record the beads if I wanted to take any actual data. Now though the lab was equipped to see and manipulate atoms, it was not particularly suited for the micrometer range. The best we had was an optical microscope that could distinguish features down to about 6 microns. However, unlike biophysics labs I’d seen, we didn’t have a fancy camera attached to a scope. Time was short and negotiating to use a different lab’s equipment did not seem practical so I took a hint from MOTA. Using a Webcam and rubber bands, I was able to make a digital microscope good enough for the purposes of my experiment. Later, Professor Osheroff, who read my thesis to judge it for a department prize, commented on how it was nice to see some real blood and guts experimental physics. The method was not good; it was not bad; it just worked.

Change We Can Deliver*

This week I completed the final installment of my workshop series on Improving School Improvement to all of my schools. The workshop has probably been one of my most frustrating projects to date, but in the end, it seems like it may have been worth it. It did not go well. None of the 6 total sessions (3 primary school, 3 high school) started on time. All but one had to be rescheduled from its original time. No one ever did their homework. The final School Improvement Plans are not done. However, it did not go badly. The workshop was completed by all four of my schools. All schools demonstrated a greater understanding of their needs and ways to make changes. Feedback was largely positive. All schools have begun and some almost completed a well thought out School Improvement Plan. To get here though required an abundance of patience and pragmatism. I had to adjust expectations and material to meet the realities of my situation. I had to make use of knowledge of each schools strengths and weaknesses as an institution and as a staff. I had to calm myself down after experiencing great anger and frustration.

In many ways, I think all of Peace Corps is like this. We deal with non-ideal situations but have to see challenges not as problems but as opportunities. Like experimental physics, we have to juggle limited funds, resources, and time to find creative ways to help our communities find beauty in life. Like a gambit, some of us have chosen to not make a head-on attack against corporal punishment, sacrificing a value, in order to put us in a position that we can make change in a school without alienating the staff. Like rock climbing, when confronted with a wall, we chalk up our hands and push ourselves to new heights.

*This is in no way an attack on Senator Obama. In fact, I personally think he is the candidate that will deliver. These comments are my own and do not reflect those of the U.S. government, the Peace Corps, yadda yadda yadda…

A Glass of Water

There is a saying in the Peace Corps that goes like this. A pessimist says, “The glass is half empty.” An optimist says, “The glass as half full.” A Peace Corps Volunteer says, “Hey, I can take a bath in that!” Blind optimism leads to unrealistic expectations. Pessimism leads to missed opportunities. We must keep a level head, look at our environment, and find new and creative uses for everything.