Creativity: through the eye of an elephant gun

My creativity comes from connecting big problems with math.  I start out tackling a huge problem where I think I can get some traction.  In the problem space I spend many years reading all that I can and trying to fully understand the core essential problem.

My first such effort was studying why software didn't work -- -- why it wasn't rigorously tested, why it had errors, and why it was unmaintainable.  I spent over two years doing this and doing nothing else.  In parallel with the problem domain I search for mathematical results that in some way is connected to the problem and would provide some traction.  In the case of software I published a graph theoretic complexity measure after two such years -- -- it became a national standard.

I have spent five years studying the AIDS genome.  This resulted in an AIDS characterization as a mathematical group that would explain the underlying mechanism for the production of AIDS mutations.

Recently I have spent about 18 months studying software security threats and viruses.  This resulted in a algebraic reduction technique that I am in the process of publishing.  I also presented this technique to a software audience in Paris on March 9.

The beginning of this process is a bit schizophrenic being emerged in parallel problem spaces and mathematical spaces.  As the process continues I try to whittle down the problem space to both it's essence and something that's tractable.  At the same time I consider various mathematical models that have underlying simplicity and rigor and look in some way connected. Typically there are very many connections but a breakthrough has to provide a fresh new insight and map onto something operational that solves the problem.

The underlying process is a duality between working very hard and then letting go.  It's like interval training for an athlete --- run full blast, walk for a while, run full blast....  And then when I let go and all is quiet it announces itself.

 It's also an emotional roller coaster -- -- when I find a mathematical connection it's euphoric -- -- when I then find it has no operational use I feel like I'm wasting my life.  Very often after the biggest disappointments and the accompanying depression will be followed by a huge result, wherein I refine the focus and what I thought was an obstacle leads me to the truth.

Here's what drives me.  Rather than science I feel like this is a quest for an underlying truth -- -- wherein I can characterize a big problem with mathematical rigor and get a breakthrough result.  It feels like Columbus on the high seas discovering a new continent  --- the truth was always there, the excitement is finding it.

My next step is to go out and tell the world --- always to the practitioners never to the academics.  The practitioners know what works, the academics certify the math after the fact.  The reinforcement I got lecturing about software complexity gave me the confidence and momentum to build a successful company.

In short I look for big messy expensive problems being addressed with anemic slingshots -- -- and  lug in my elephant gun.

My creative spark in writing poetry is quite different -- -- I aim at the big elephant in the room.  Poetry lets me address the unaddressable in a light way.