Research

So I had this idea in mind. Half of an idea, really. I wanted to make some Flash dealie, but dealing with probabilities. Statistics. There is a 1 in X chance this will happen to you type of scenario. It’s a fairly morbid theme though, as I was interested in what the chances were of someone dying in a plane crash. Or a car accident. Or being murdered. Or dying by drowning.

For some reason, I’ve had this project in my mind a while. Some sort of visual display that would show the likelihood of these events.

And so, like any nerd worth his pocket protector, I spent my Saturday downtown, doing a little research at the Harold Washington Library Center. I’m a bit embarassed to say this: today’s trip marks the second time I’ve been here (the first was when I attended a reading by Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk).

I used to go to libraries all the time. Back when I was a kid. Back when I was in Columbus. But for most of my reading anymore, I much prefer owning the book instead of borrowing it. There’s something about being able to go back and reference a passage if I need to, having the physical object always there.

But today – I wanted to research. And off I went.

Interior shot, looking down from the second floor.

I sat here for a few hours, and went through a bunch of government publications. Found lots of statistics, and made a crapload of photocopies.

Unfortunately, I don’t think I can use the data I found. At least, not in the way I originally imagined. I’m still not entirely sure what this thing is that I want to make… so maybe that’s a big part of it.

Today sort of feels like a wasted day. I had planned on coming back and sitting down and coding some of this stuff out. But it seems that I need to kick this idea around a bit more, before I can really do anything with it.