My first ever tattoo
(Crossposted from Google+ and Reddit. See the Reddit post at http://www.reddit.com/tb/121tdg).
I have wanted a tattoo for quite a long time. I agonized over it for many years, because I did not want to get something that was cliché, trite or meaningless. Earlier this week, a moment of serendipity led me to realize that there is one thing in all the world that is important enough to me that I feel comfortable sharing it with the whole world: reason.
The initialism Q.E.D. stands for the Latin, "quod erat demonstrandum." This initialism was very commonly used to indicate the completion of a formal proof in logic and mathematics. This initialism was used prior to the invention of computerized typesetting, when special symbols came at a very high cost. In more recent times, a simple empty or filled square may often be seen taking the place of the string, "Q.E.D."
Reason is extremely important to me. I wish there were more of it in the world and I hope that this little stain on my arm can illustrate my feelings and possibly even proliferate my opinion on the matter of the importance of proof through reason.
The act of getting it as a tattoo is actually recursive. A tattoo is a mildly traumatic process, causing transient pain and a bit of superficial damage to the skin. It causes a release of adrenaline that in most animals would invoke a flight-or-fight response. It is something that a human can endure because a human is capable of suppressing raw instinct in favor of later gratification. Therefore, the presence of this tattoo on my body as all of sign, signifier and signified is proof of my humanity, my dedication to reason and the value of reason for myself and all of humanity, Q.E.D.
This actually emerged as a result of a conversation with a coworker. I was investigating a possible issue with the implementation details of a software feature when I discovered that the system already had a mechanism for supporting what I needed it to do. We all had a good laugh about it, since we were expecting it to require a bunch of tricky, delicate work. I had proved that additional work wasn't required and my coworker said very cleverly, "You just earned your black belt in Q.E.D."
Driving home, I replayed this event in my mind and suddenly realized what I had to do.
I have wanted a tattoo for quite a long time. I agonized over it for many years, because I did not want to get something that was cliché, trite or meaningless. Earlier this week, a moment of serendipity led me to realize that there is one thing in all the world that is important enough to me that I feel comfortable sharing it with the whole world: reason.
The initialism Q.E.D. stands for the Latin, "quod erat demonstrandum." This initialism was very commonly used to indicate the completion of a formal proof in logic and mathematics. This initialism was used prior to the invention of computerized typesetting, when special symbols came at a very high cost. In more recent times, a simple empty or filled square may often be seen taking the place of the string, "Q.E.D."
Reason is extremely important to me. I wish there were more of it in the world and I hope that this little stain on my arm can illustrate my feelings and possibly even proliferate my opinion on the matter of the importance of proof through reason.
The act of getting it as a tattoo is actually recursive. A tattoo is a mildly traumatic process, causing transient pain and a bit of superficial damage to the skin. It causes a release of adrenaline that in most animals would invoke a flight-or-fight response. It is something that a human can endure because a human is capable of suppressing raw instinct in favor of later gratification. Therefore, the presence of this tattoo on my body as all of sign, signifier and signified is proof of my humanity, my dedication to reason and the value of reason for myself and all of humanity, Q.E.D.
This actually emerged as a result of a conversation with a coworker. I was investigating a possible issue with the implementation details of a software feature when I discovered that the system already had a mechanism for supporting what I needed it to do. We all had a good laugh about it, since we were expecting it to require a bunch of tricky, delicate work. I had proved that additional work wasn't required and my coworker said very cleverly, "You just earned your black belt in Q.E.D."
Driving home, I replayed this event in my mind and suddenly realized what I had to do.