In school I absolutely loved mathematics… until algebra came on the radar.  All of a sudden, there was no absolute answer and no absolute way to come to that variable answer.  It took me by complete surprise and I don’t think I ever recovered.  Mathematics still fascinates me (yes even Algebra, Calculus, Geometry and the more advanced forms the science takes), however my interest changed and today I find myself in the computer and information technology sector focusing on the human/psychological, social and user interface aspects, not developing the latest mathematics-laden algorithms.  With the exception of markup languages like HTML and XML, I couldn’t code if my life depended on it.  Mental block or something.  I’ll leave that area to others.  I can sure recognize good programming in the end product though :-)  Apple Computer, the Mozilla Foundation and Wordpress come to mind.  Microsoft lost it long ago, though I love their new Office 2007 user interface.

Sorry, this isn’t supposed to be a software/tech rant.  I was just thinking about how our lives are like algebra and software.   So full of variables.  Variety is the spice of life as the old adage says.  Yet with all the variety and complications of our culture, most of us want a foundation, a constant, a coordinate in the x,y,z 3-dimensional grid of time and space.  As Christians we find that constant in God.  He was, is, and will be.  When we realize how all encompassing and awesome He is, and what His Son has done for us, we repent of our own attempts to create a viable life for ourselves here on earth and give everything to Him to manage.  In turn, He shows us how to live and gives us this planet to “have dominion over”, and provides other human-beings to build relationships with and to lead to Him.  We have such a short moment to influence the world, after which we move on to another world where the constants and variables of existence are so different from our current experience that we can’t fully comprehend it until we are immersed in its reality.  “For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12)

What other understanding of the universe is as complete as that of a 21st century Christian?  We have so much to be thankful for and to believe in.  Let’s not keep it to ourselves, but share it with others. 

Posted on March 7th, 2007 by Josh Champagne
Filed under: Computers & Technical, Research & Learning