This creative life, part 2

The way I see it, there are two ways to live a creative life. In way 1, I am tense, anxious and agitated – with myself and with everyone else. I am self-focused. I have tunnel vision. There’s a constant heaviness in my chest and a lump in my throat. I am doing-doing-doing, like a […]

The Future of Humanity: Losing and finding ourselves again

We live in some interesting times. Digital technologies effortlessly connect us to strangers and loved ones all over the world. Artificial intelligence and automation is becoming smarter and more capable, reducing the need for human labor or even human-to-human interaction. Planet Earth is teetering on crisis – climate change threatening famine, war, natural disasters and […]

What if people run out of things to do? Automation, Basic Income and the “Purpose” problem

Imagine this. Your basic expenses are covered. You don’t need to work anymore. You have Monday to Friday free. Nowhere you need to be. Nothing you need to do. You can live (reasonably) comfortably. You have all the time in the world. Now what? With the rise of automation and technological advances, some researchers predict […]

I looked to see what was holding me back – and realized it was me.

** Hi there. I know Sandberg has been in the media lately in scandals involving Facebook. To me, this reflected a lack of integrity. Nonetheless, I left this post up as I know from personal experience that taking on new challenges, requires a lot of inner work. Just showing up and trying, is already a […]

Addictive technologies and the race for our attention

Let me start with a confession. A (not-so) well-kept secret. In the five years since I’ve started this blog, this is the first post I’ve written about technology. The very first. This might make me a terrible computer scientist. Or it might make me a really focused one. Let me explain. Researcher Dr. Eric Baumer […]

A beautiful, honest mess

I’ve been pondering the nature of spaces. How their design can make us feel the way we feel, and the subtle ways our environments can impact what we do and how we interact with each other and ourselves. Take where I’m at right now. A Starbucks in Calgary, Canada. It’s -20°C outside, cold wind and […]

The next right thing

It has been one month since I’ve moved to Germany. The PhD feels close yet far away. I’ve been learning how to slow down, to relax, and to take time. I’ve been learning not to measure the worth of my days (and indirectly, myself) by how productive I’ve been. I’ve been learning how to sit […]

Good Helen, Bad Helen, and the Evolving Self

I sometimes feel like there are two versions of myself. Good Helen and Bad Helen. Good Helen is kind to others, appreciates beauty in the everyday, is immensely curious, hopeful, self-disciplined and likes to ponder the state of the world and how she can contribute to make it better. Bad Helen, on the other hand […]

This creative life

Doing a PhD (or any kind of creative endeavour, really) is like signing up for a continual ass-kicking. Yup, you’re gonna get your butt whomped. Hard. You pour your heart, your ideas, your energy and your time into this project which spans months or years, which frankly, in the end, may or may not pan out […]

Hot off the press! The PhD student revealed

The PhD student is a mysterious breed. Seemingly normal on the outside, the PhD student functions effectively in daily life, though secretly suffers from a variety of odd and somewhat peculiar symptoms, including (but not limited) to the following: 1) Short-lived waves of euphoria (e.g. “Hooooly shit, I’m f*&S*ing brilliant!!!”), followed by an all-encompassing self-doubt and loathing (e.g. “What is this crap?!! What crazy idiot came up with this???”). Rigorous […]