How do I choose topics?

Passions and interests

I like to write about things I’m passionate about, but that provides a good deal of scope because I’m deeply interested in quite a few disparate things. A brief personal history will explain why.

I was interested in science and technology as a child, I did well in O-levels in Chemistry and Physics, also Maths and Geography. For A-levels I chose Chemistry, Physics and Biology and passed all three, securing a place at the University of Bath for a BSc degree. My first job was doing biological research, first on tree growth, then on flower and fruit development for an MSc (lots of microscopy which I loved).

I had an early interest in astronomy and spaceflight, and that has remained with me to this day. At the same time, I became convinced that I should follow Jesus, and spent a good deal of time attempting to separate the wheat of Jesus from the chaff of church tradition and formality. I used to collect coins (almost entirely British coins) and I’m fascinated by history and archaeology. I took up photography around the age of 9 and have stuck with it as a hobby ever since.

I could add more, but regular readers will already recognise some familiar posting topics from that list above.

So what do I post?

Around half of my posts these days are based on photos I’ve taken. I’m on Image of the day – 88 at the moment. Sometimes it’s just a photo with descriptive text, sometimes I try to draw out something a little deeper in the text.

Perhaps another 25%(ish) of my posts are about faith and following Jesus. Not too religious, I hope, more practical and applicable to every day living. Some are clearly teaching on a topic that I feel is important, but perhaps widely ignored or misunderstood. Others are more casual notes about something I’ve seen, or heard, or thought.

A smaller proportion of posts relate to the war in Ukraine. I feel quite strongly about this as you will already realise if you have read any of them. But I want to be positive as far as possible, and appeal to the good that is in most ordinary people to a greater or lesser extent.

Then there are posts on science and technology topics, this one for example on star formation. I want to explain difficult concepts in ways that non-experts can understand. I believe it’s important for all of us to have some grasp of how science works and why it’s useful.

I began writing more or less regularly way back in 2002, sometimes there have been significant times when I’ve been silent for a while, other times I’ve been on a roll. And even before blogs were a thing, I was writing online about this and that. See this example from January 1997. You’ll probably note some similar topics, even that far back.

Any thought or questions? Leave them in the comments section below (or click the ‘Comment’ link below the main image), thanks.

Useful? Interesting?

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