delicate balance
When I discovered that libraries get in new material more frequently than last year’s Sport’s Illustrated for Kids, I was elated and began checking out many books with my local library’s trial membership card. But when the second summer session arrived, I balked the returning visits and forgot all about the possibilities. I recently tried the library stage once again, this time on the university side and scale.
And I discover textbooks. Or, perhaps they are simply technical books. In the past, I would hear of friends getting their textbooks from the library if they were first in line, but it never occurred to me to do the same.
Last week, I had some extra time, so I did a search for “acoustics” on our library’s search web page. Not even 0.0019 seconds later, I had a list of 500+ books that matched my result. I scratched a few of their call numbers down and walked upstairs to their climate-controlled dwellings.
Lo and behold, numerous books on acoustics were waiting for me, each more interesting than the last. I have checked out a baker’s dozen worth of acoustics-related books in the past week and am flying through each of them. I have never read a textbook faster in my life.
Currently, Perception-Based Data Processing in Acoustics is my latest book affair; what a joy! Be it a textbook or a technical book, I cannot put it down.
But a thought came to me - I may lose interest in other areas, in other fields. I used to read anything I could lay hands on, but if I willingly drown in acoustics, I may forget about psychology, forget about geography, forget about Dante, forget about subjectivity.
If a parallel exists between this latest quandary and my entire state of being - I must find a reasonable balance before I throw myself from a precipice of ludicrous passion.