My name is Ben Harack, and I am the founder of the blogs Vision of Earth and Condensed Matters. I am also the co-founder of Live to Learn.
I recently completed my masters degree in condensed matter physics at McGill University in Montreal, Canada. This blog is intended to be my outlet for issues pertaining to my physics education.
I hope to write about the topics that I learn, and do so in a way that is comprehensible. I intend to take my education to a higher level with this effort. My experience in publication so far is that if I go through the effort to learn about something in enough depth that I can confidently publish about it, then I know it far better than I would otherwise. This method of learning has trumped many other time management and studying techniques that I have tried over the years.
This blog will be the first full-scale experiment of this type: combining standard academia with blogging. Another way to look at this project is a balance of input and output, learning and expression. I believe that there has to be some semblance of a balance in people's lives in order for them to be intellectually happy.
My Background
I graduated from the University of Regina in Computer Science and Mathematics in 2007. I continued my studies there and eventually graduated again in Physics and Psychology in 2010. I am originally from a small town near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan.
For the last several years, I have been investigating the energy and resource usage of societies in great detail. My interest in this eventually led to the launch of Vision of Earth in 2007.
I love to read and write, as well as listen and argue. I pursue knowledge voraciously but I also constantly look for ways to apply it meaningfully to the real world. I play badminton competitively and pursue many other physical activities avidly.
My current plans for the future as far as education and employment are broad at this point. What is certain is that I will continue to try my best to learn and teach about those things that I feel are important to me and my society.
I enjoy living, thinking and doing. The what, when, where, why and how of those are not as important to me as doing them. I try to better myself and the world around me.
I am a firm believer in the power and value of knowledge, and also the responsibility that comes with power. I am humbly grateful to be alive, and hope to make good of the opportunity.