Return to Author Return to Main PageThis article was inspired by a question I was asked why did I bother to write articles when I was not focusing on a specific reader base. So naturally being intrigued by the question that I was unable to immediately answer, I took a moment to think about an appropriate response and this article bears the fruits of that thought. Yes these are my opinions, no they are not evidence based practice but you know what? It’s still all ok. So sit back and relax, while I flesh out the biggest question of all (at least for today).“ Why does Darren bother to write articles?
As I said in my introduction, not long ago someone had asked me “why do you write, because your not writing to a target audience”. My first response was that I didn't see myself as a writer more so I was just putting general thoughts down on paper. However as the person had identified I write and complete articles, therefore at some level I’m still a writer. So while I am not from the same ilk as a a professional writer by any means, I would concede the fact I write as a hobby or usually use writing to flesh out my thoughts regarding certain things about life.
I have not always written things in the past, however historically speaking, my writing has generally been restricted to assignments when I study or just work related reports. While it was true in the past I did write pet care articles, however that was because I grew tired of seeing pets being neglected by pet owners who didn't understand how to properly care for their pets. At that time I wanted to make a difference to the welfare of animals via educating pet owners. So perhaps the best way to describe the reason why I write is it’s a method for me to come to terms with how I see the world. In essence how to better understand and how to effectively compare different concepts to better assimilate knowledge and learn.
Their are many benefits to writing, while not an exhaustive list I can name several benefits right off the top of my head.
This is true, however if we go back to the comment I made regarding self exploration, my writing is not really targeted to a specific subset of people because my writing is an evolution of my own thoughts. I start with an initial idea and the start writing what I think, which eventually ends up into a visual expression transpiring from a mere though into an article. Therefore my articles are just written in the context for any person interested can pick it up and read it and if no one does then their is no harm.
I tend not to use images for several reasons. Firstly, I like to try and make my articles as original to me as possible. If I am using other peoples images I feel it removes the “my work” feel from the article. So the only time I use an image in this case is if the image specifically highlights the content.
The second reason for generally not using images is because I have read many research articles over the years while at university which only contain relevant information and perhaps a diagram or chart, but never pretty pictures. While the third reason I don't tend to use images is because I feel the information alone is more important than images. While it is true images can further support the information, the reality is many websites these days are just throwing in random images in just for the sake of it. The use of images are purported to be essential to make the article more pleasing to the eye, however I feel the use of images has no bearing on the quality of information found within an article. The purpose of images are more aligned to marketing than quality of information. This is the reason why research articles generally use diagrams and charts.
Which brings me to my fourth reason. Where is it written that it is a “MUST” that all articles have an image? Unnecessary images just bloat the article both in monitor real estate space and download speeds. This is same reason my website is minimal and generally quick loading. Many have told me to use other programs that will make websites look very pretty and are easy to construct, however this goes against my nature as I mentioned before I like to do as much as I can for my self. I hand code the HTML whether it is (good or bad), nevertheless it is still my own work and I take pride in being able to try and learn something I know nothing about. The website as a whole is not fancy looking but at least it is functional and I can look at what I have programmed and understand what I have asked the computer to do. To get other auto website builders to do my work while making it very convenient, the reality is that I don't know what the program had done in the background. I fell into this mistake many years ago when I used dreamweaver which inserted so much unnecessary HTML code.
If however you still require images, then feel free to view my own works of photography on Instagram @avianpic or my other website www.dhamburger.com.au (mind you this website is fairly outdated at the moment). And yes ALL images are my own work :-)
I would say the main inspiration writing articles is life and all the events which surround life. However more recently I have discovered that I am tending to write about lifes inconsistencies much the same way an activist may participate in their protests. Not long ago I had a person asked me “is their anything you cant do?”. I was quite taken back with this statement because I don't see myself as any different to others, in fact I just see myself as a random person. I do things generally for a purpose and if there is no purpose I am most likely not going to do it. If anything, I would say I'm more a realist by nature that is not interested in political correctness. If I think about it this year I had written about avian health care, I.T, Privacy, civil rights and ethic’s. If anything I think I just have a variety of interests which helps me to understand and relate to people at different levels, thus using this background understanding is relativity natural to me.
Writing is a silent voice, its silent because you cant hear it however the translation from text to the voice in your mind is where the true beauty lies. Somewhere between the transition of you reading the text and the point where you brain is forming pictures to grab a greater understanding is where the true power of writing lays. The goal and true mastery of a writer is to be able to successfully take the reader where you need them to be. While I’m not sure I get to that point, at least the reader has a generally understanding to the meaning of my articles (I hope).
A very true statement, however the point of writing for me is to break out of the whole scientific realm and explore and express ideas as they appear in my mind. While it is always preferable to write in the context of ’ evidence based’ , the flip side of the coin is just because I am not providing evidence for my writing, does not necessarily mean what I am writing is incorrect. The truth of the matter is that people will believe what ever they choose and what ever suits their belief system, much the same way as people may choose to follow a religion.
Another issue that surrounds writing evidence based articles can still be inherently incorrect, because it is still possible the evidence the writer is relying upon may have inaccuracies. So evidence based writing while as I mention before is preferable, it is still not fault free. How many times have we all been told Avocados are good then bad, then good etc. the same goes with eggs affecting cholesterol. What about the attempts to sway public to believe no harm would come from smoking! Sometimes regardless of evidence, sometimes the necessary information is withheld due to other ulterior motives.
Their is a simple fact in life that sometimes their are situations where no 100% evidence exists and yet others may hold a certain belief through their own life associations or able to read between the lines knowing truth without evidence. A case in point here is the time when “Edward Snowden” revealed to the world “operation PRISM”. How many people in the past who were fascinated and labeled as “ Paranoid”, “ Schizophrenic” or having a “ Personality disorder“ because they knew governments where spying on its citizens but didn't at the time have the proof? The simple fact is that just because there is no evidence today, does not mean a certain thing is not true or will not be found true in the future.
I want to explore the creativity of writing just for the sake of writing, I want to explore what my own mind thinks without being told what I should think. In any case you the reader can make your own assessment.
Writing is also an outlet, for eons psychologist have always touted the benefits of writing thought diary’s and the reason for this is it can give the person an element of relief because they have been able to express themselves, it provides an element of distraction because the focus is on writing and not the actual experience at the time. And of course writing gives one the ability to process information and review what the thoughts are and be better able to self evaluated. So in essence we can say writing is for self improvement, to further ones knowledge.
One thing I never really considered before writing articles is that I tend to view each article as a form of art. I definitely can see the attraction and similarities between the action of writing much the same way a painting artist views their paintings. Even though i’ve never really considered writing to be art before, when I do think of it the end result encompasses a piece of physical expression that had been extracted from a thought and made into a reality. Writing like painting can encompass all the colours and vibrancy a picture can have. People are free to examine, to like, to criticise or even allow the art to cause change within each and everyone of us. In any case it is still art and writing for me is like an extension of my photography simply because I do not have the capacity to hand draw or paint art.
My writing is just one of billions of opinions this world has. While many seek to use social media to take pretty pictures of themselves or to demonstrate what coffee or food they just bought, my writing and photography is an element of looking through my eyes that is usually connected with something meaningful to me.
Their are a couple of things that have surprised me since writing this year. The first is that I feel a bit of civil rights activism has emerged. While never really being a person to openly speak out unless necessary, I even question why did I write my last article? “ Don’t Confuse Privacy with Secrecy (or intent), Speak now or forever shut up” or even the article “Opt Out Programs Are Not Consent”. And I think it all boils down to the fact most things I do generally has a purpose. I don't tend to do things for the sake of it. These two articles represent my unhappiness and how I feel unfairly we as citizens are being treated.
Another interesting thing I had also discovered is how closely my photography and writing share the same path of self expression which is something I never even considered before. I have also learn that writing is a great add on activity to help me not think about work, hence I view this within the realms of what psychologists name “self care”. While I have also come to realise that I actually enjoy sitting in front of the computer typing away and creating a final piece of work. I get the satisfaction that perhaps one day someone may read an article and maybe the article might help them. I could not think of any better achievement than perhaps an article I wrote helped someone.&#To break away from chains
Life in my general career path is usually quite measured and quite controlled. The beauty of just sitting down in front of the computer and just typing what ever comes out without deep thought, or just writing for the sake of writing without a specific goal frees one up to explore another side of life.
I had previously started writing a book, which is really no where near being finished. One of the interesting comparisons between finishing shorter articles v’s a book is the satisfaction of having completed something occurs more regularly with shorter articles. Think about it, it could take a year or two for a writer to finish a book. While that gratification would be enormous, however there is a risk that book doesn't get finished because the self fulfilling rewards may be too far away. The beauty of shorter articles is that you can complete the tasks in small bite sizes, and their are a whole bunch of gratification moments more frequently. Its like saying “would you prefer a piece of cake each week or one full cake at the end of the year.”
How much of the information do we read from the Internet which is siphoned off others word for word? News websites and the likes of social media tend to just copy and paste and regurgitate without question. While I have no interest in using Facebook and have not done so for many years, the times I had used Facebook it didn't even impress me.
Their was a time I saw people on Facebook randomly reposting Memes continuously. What I found more annoying than the meme itself was people were throwing Memes around without having any individual thought for themselves. Somehow by clicking like/dislike or reposting one liners were supposed to represent that person or what they felt. For me I just found it really disturbing and was wanting much more originality from people. So when I write articles, while perhaps the the idea itself may not be original, I do try and write original content. I may link different sections to others web page content, however I try not to just regurgitate word for word from others for the sake of it.
Trying to stop being a passive consumer and become an active participant producing content is a really interesting concept i’ve been thinking about for a while. However the things I’m starting to increasingly become aware of is that consumerism seems to be killing off originality and free thought. The best example I can give you is their was a time through the Australian depression era when money was tight, their was no money to buy children the latest and greatest toys. Instead the girls would used pegs and drew faces on them and dressed the pegs up like dolls, boys ran around with sticks for guns, knives or wands. Children played in parks with groups of other children all the time and learned to communicate and socialise. Now days, children are so caught up with their latest computer game, xbox, using simplified computing technologies or playing with all purposed built mass produced toys which minimise the imaginative growing mind. Children are being wrapped in a cotton wool where now society is being protected to the enth degree by legal mantra much the same way as in the “ I Robot” movie where the robots had taken over and prevented humans leaving the house because it wasn’t in their best interests. The point being is children learn’t to use their imagination. Passive consumerism makes us lazy and we don’t think as much and we tend to become dependent on others content to amuse us.
So in part my writing is taking time away from the mind numbing TV and computer games, and allowing freedom of expression, freedom of exploration and using my time in a more constructive manner and who knows maybe I may even learn something. Even if at the end of it all the article is irrelevant, it is still a time of free thought and exploration and learning. If your reading this article that is just an an added bonus. So yes, my writing is a bit of a defiant opposition to stop myself only being a consumer and try and start with being a contributor.
I ran my own clinical practice for 8.5 years and in most part I worked as a solo practitioner. So Last year I had decided to stop the practice and have some time off and relax and to do something different. Having time away from work helped me to view the world in a different light and get back in tune with other parts of life, instead of seeing the walls of the office most of the time and listening to peoples difficulties. I was able just to wake up and do what ever I wanted. If I wanted to sleep in, then so be it, if I wanted to do something random then so be it as well. However this time off helped me think of a couple of things differently. I started to learn how to grow fruit and vegetables and realised how much we seriously under value farmers in our city lives. Through growing food I also became aware just how difficult it really is to grow and produce a constant stream of quality foods. I was able to spend the time learning how a car worked and learnt how to fix cars and also realised how much taking the time to learn things can save us money instead of being ripped off from other services. I obtained a greater appreciation of the Free Software Movement and became more aware of I.T security risks. Additionally, I was able to take some time learning to use computer programing language C++ and HTML. And finally, one of the other main reasons that led me to write articles was because I had a fair amount of time away from the computer and not working, so I wanted to start preparing myself before getting a job to feel more comfortable with typing and to increase my mental acuity because I knew I would have to start writing reports again in the future.
So their you have it, a bunch of reason why I write and now after sitting and thinking about it I have now just finished another article. All because of one question. Who knows maybe one day I will be able to finish a book. I think it would be quite fun to write a science fiction novel and perhaps one day my attention will drift in that direct at a later date. However at this stage I am enjoying writing spontaneous shorter articles.
Until next time...
Darren Hamburger
Page Last update:25/11/2017
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