As a scientific naturalist, I gain my inspiration from overlaying my observations onto previous knowledge in my notebooks. At a glance, my journal seems to be a mess. It is not meant to be seen or read, except by me, and often not even that. When I write in it, it is usually in haste. I use any stray implement at hand. I have no system, no object or goal in mind. The notebook allows for spontaneity, a counterbalance to my ideal of orderly scientific objectivity. It is my wild side that explores without restraint, without inhibitions. Its value is usually derived less from its contents and more from the exercise of writing things down that forces me to pay attention and to remember. This process slows my thinking and serves as a first crude filter for the natural breeze of data that passes by in a continual stream.
Bernd Heinrich in Field Notes: on Science & Nature (a Christmas present I am much enjoying).
Heinrich, incidentally, had an excellent running career.
