Glimmer

The minnows we see in the Chesapeake Bay are also known as Atlantic Silverside. In the summer they flit around the shoreline like little pieces of mirror around your feet. In the winter they retreat to deeper waters to avoid the falling temperatures of shallower depths. The osprey are back. I imagine these little fish won’t be far behind.

The glint of the Atlantic Silverside in army green brackish water is the best metaphor I know for sensing a new idea. There’s movement, it catches your eye. That’s it, you say, as you rush off to write it down. One must work as quickly as possible to preserve the glimmer.

This past winter I was on a trail just a few feet from the shoreline. The woods come right up against the water, save for a narrow swath of sand. It was a gray day and quite cold so there was hardly anyone around. Perched in a dead Bald Cypress surveying the Bay was a Bald Eagle. The bird was maybe 15 feet overhead -- close enough that the bird’s size made an impression. We exchanged glances for 15 minutes or so and then he had to leave. Wings beating, the bird took flight over the water in search of dinner. The Atlantic Silverside would’ve been too small. The eagle was in search of something else — something bigger.

I’ve probably run more than 1,000 miles on that trail over the last 15 years and that’s the only time I’ve seen a Bald Eagle up close. During training blocks, I’m on that trail almost daily and almost never see any wildlife, save a handful of gray squirrels. To see a Bald Eagle up close, you’ve got to log a lot of uneventful miles. 

Wading in — that’s the only way to catch hold of the glimmer.

The origin stories of big ideas, whether in math or any other field, generally highlight the eureka moments. You can’t really blame the storytellers. It’s not so exciting to read “and then she studied some more.” But this arduous, mundane work is a key part of the process; without it, the story is just a myth. There’s no way to skip the worrying phase. You work, and you work, and you work, and then you get a glimmer of understanding. (source)

(Photo by Han Lahandoe on Unsplash)