By Rodney Ruff
Keywords: research, research topics
On "Star Trek," Mr. Spock says the word "fascinating" whenever he encounters something outside his realm of experience. One of my college education professors used to say, "By your students, you will be taught." Either way, it means the same thing; when you research topics, the information will surprise you.
I've been curious about the world since childhood. In college, one of the first science fiction novels I read was A.E. Van Vogt's, "Voyage of the Space Beagle." It introduced me to the concept of "nexialism," an interrelationship between the sciences that shows how knowledge in one area can be applied to another. The Beagle's science officer, Elliott Grosvenor, frequently uses the principles of nexialism to solve the problems the ship's crew encounters with alien creatures.
The older I get, the more I look for interrelationships and analogies to collate my accumulated knowledge into a coherent whole. Although I always learn something new in my research, sometimes what I find is a complete surprise.
When writing an article about "How to Make the Classic Accordion Oompah Sound," I learned about the Stradella system for organizing the buttons on the left-hand side. I'd always admired Myron Floren's accordion prowess on "The Lawrence Welk Show," but I never really understood how he could dance his fingers over the buttons on the left as nimbly as he did the keys on the right.
Describing the arrangement as a "circle of fifths" meant nothing to me until I saw a picture of the button layout, which had all the buttons labeled. I remembered the chord arrangement on my Magnus chord organ: B-flat, F, C, G, D, A. The arrangement on both instruments is the same!
I usually research topics in subjects where I have a vested interest but may want to expand my knowledge. I once wrote articles on "How to Play He Said, She Said" and "How to Play Three's a Crowd," because I love game shows, and I had never seen those shows. I chose "How to Play Beat the Clock" for the same reason, since the original version aired before my time. In my research, I learned a little about host Bud Collyer's career I hadn't known before. I found out that, during his early television days, he and assistant Roxanne were as popular as Pat Sajak and Vanna White are on "Wheel of Fortune."
Occasionally, I find my expectations of research topics are turned upside down. "How to Burp the Alphabet" sounded completely frivolous until I learned that the technique involved is the same used in the esophageal speech taught to people who have had their larynxes removed. "How to Use a Loupe" seemed to apply only to jewelry, until I found that botanists and dentists use loupes as well. "How to Buy a Rubber Duckie" showed me there are a number of specialty ducks and even a convention for collectors, Duckfest. "How to Understand Humanism" gave me insight into the secular origins of my Lutheran faith, while "How to Understand Native American Folklore" helped me to understand a friend's New Age beliefs.
Even when I think I know it all, I am still surprised. "How to Composite Images With Paint Shop Pro" sounded like something I had learned to do already until I read an instruction manual and learned another method.
Although I have never taught school, I find my professor's words still ring true. I may not have pointed ears, but I find many of the things I learn fascinating. When the information fits, I work it into my articles. When it doesn't, I have knowledge I can use somewhere else. Either way, I'm learning something new, and I love it!
Known within science fiction fandom as "The Man of Trivia," Rodney Ruff has more than 10 years' experience as a technical writer and editor with more than 50 help files, user manuals, and proposals to his credit. In addition, Rodney writes Web content and is a software and board game development contributor whose work has been published in the Mensa Bulletin and elsewhere.
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