Creativity Requires Inspiration

One of my paragons is the master craftsman, the eclectic innovator with a broad repertoire of complementary skills and experiences that mutually contribute to the larger purpose of artfully creating a unique utilitarian masterpiece. Masters are not specialists, nor are they generalists. They study breadth and depth, both in their field and across disciplines, finding inspiration from obvious and unusual sources. To that end, my hobbies have a dual purpose: to bring me personal joy and to educate me beyond the engineering curriculum.

Rock Climbing

Climbing is physically, mentally, and technically fascinating. Physically, I learn how to move my body diversely, which I integrate into other forms of human movement, a necessary understanding for the robotic replication of human movement. Mentally, climbing is a three-dimensional puzzle I have to solve with my body. It is also terrifying, and pushing through my fear of falling has taught me to conquer my fear of failure in research. Technically, protecting a climb requires planning, visualization, and mechanical expertise, all necessary skills for successful design. Plus, the cleverness of the gear is inspiring.

Dancing

Dancing on a stage requires a part of the ego to die, to make space for self-expression. Dancing with a partner requires this same mental state, to free myself of the fear of consequences of failure and instead focus on learning from my mistakes. Dance is like prototyping, but 10 times faster. I also find dance to be inspiring for controlling the interface between robots and their environment. The challenge of partner dancing is in moving synchronously with each other without pre-planning the movement, which can only be achieved with a high-fidelity physical interface. We become two sources of flow (admittances) connected through an impedance.

Motorcycling

Years ago, riding a motorcycle became my favorite way to travel. Riding demands my full attention, producing a greater sense of awareness of the environment and an ability to focus on a specific task, despite distractions. Like climbing, I have to see the goal through the noise. Plus, keeping the dirty side down is impossible without an intuition for physics, since the motorcycle is just an oversized gyroscope.

Photography

Photography requires careful planning and a willingness to be critical of my own creations. But the reward for self-critique is self-growth: a refinement of my intuition for aesthetics. My favorite forms of this art are landscape and astrophotography, the latter being technically fascinating in its manipulation of physics to see the unseen. This photo was taken near the Southern Patagonia Ice Field when I backpacked the Huemul Circuit.

Writing

Before becoming an academic writer, I wrote to sort my thoughts, to find new perspectives, and to pursue truth, both for myself and for others. Then it became a hobby to write about my life. Then it became part of my job, an invaluable one for communicating ideas and shaping the future with palaces built out of paragraphs. Two examples of my non-academic work are below:

Creative Writing Award, best fiction story (begins on page 70)

Travel blog: beginning my Camino de Santiago pilgrimage

World Travel

Life has taken me to many places, including 25 countries and 30 American states. Each new place is an opportunity to impress upon myself beneficial qualities and reveal to myself my own areas of needed improvement. The most memorable and transformative of these journeys occurred on my first trip to San Francisco. After Christmas, 2016, I hitchhiked from my childhood home in Los Angeles to San Francisco along the Pacific Coast Highway. The purpose of this pilgrimage was to build stronger faith in the willingness of humans to assume risks and make sacrifices in order to help another human. Traveling with only a backpack and using a cardboard sign reading “You’re Awesome,” I received rides from over 40 people, making it safely to San Francisco in 12 days, receiving many blessings from people along the way. I learned that people are willing to help others when they do not feel threatened and when they believe their assistance will be effective. This trip was also an excellent exercise in patience and embracing the moment.