Well, as already touched on, I am a psychologist. But that only happens on the side of being a generally curious person, keen on theorising (alas, sometimes a tad disregarding of that Sherlock Holmes quote on how ‘It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts’)... See column to the right for more on this.

As I’ve already given up 7 years of my life studying psychology, I have developed both specific areas of interest, and a global avid interest in everything psychological (and that’s a gross overstatement for procrastinating endlessly, reading all sorts of papers but the ones I should be reading...). I intend to shed some light on that en route, so do check back to my blog from time to time, if you’re interested.

I have attempted to scratch the surface of the psychological crème brûlée by running a couple of supposedly proper studies in the past, in health psychology & religiosity, and in traits of resilience in adolescence. In the last couple of years, I have set my eye on paediatric psychology, with a focus on chronic illness, and am going through a phase of... well, creative theorising around it. What comes out of this, we’ll have to wait and see.

As for my clinical interests, yes, they exist, and yes, they are mainly situated in treating children, adolescents and their families. At the same time, I am training to become a family therapist, and my systemic ideas are very integral to who I am and to how I perceive of the world. (Wow, that sounded very interviewey.) I am also open to utilising different forms of therapy in parallel (drama/music/occupational etc.) and jump at the opportunity to work in multidisciplinary settings.

To recap: I love this science. I love how it disarms you when you least expect it. I am thankful for the creativity it allows for, and I am pleased at the emerging positivism in it, although my own scope is mostly postmodern. And another thing; it blends nicely with other disciplines.

Let me tell you a bit more about the way I see the world. I try to make some sense of the world I live in, whenever I can. I admit to a tendency towards playing undercover social scientist a lot (look-around-casually-but-in-fact-scan-and-scrutinize-on-micro-and-on-macro-level-while-quoting-theories-and-amending-them-to-new-ones-in-your-head). At the same time, I always put effort into fitting my observations into the evolutionary axis, a fact that can at times be baffling, but at least makes up to some interesting hypotheses when bored in the tube late at night. (Also, it makes you look smart at certain parties. Not all. But I’ve come to realise it especially works after the 5th drink, if you can still tell your Darwin from your daiquiri. Then again, maybe you don’t want to try this at home. Or outside of it, for that matter.)

To add to that, I most enjoy a meta- lens. Now, that is truly zen. (Oh the joy of being a psychologist with a bit of systemic training on your back.) Above all, though, I rarely let go of my positivist spirit; that must explain my affection towards that ‘evidence or STFU’ Lay Scientist motto (as well as the fact that some people see me as a major PITA to discuss with). So, just so you be warned, you might get the odd link to the paper that just caught my eye, in the blog of this website...

I like listening. In a wide sense, I have found that being a listener is being a student to other people’s view of life. I feel honoured when people take the time to talk to me. I find listening to ideas that challenge mine compelling. All right, so I can’t promise to always be civil when it comes to this, but never do I let an argument slip away without due consideration (and sometimes, that means nights spent in rumination, I’m afraid). I love debates and profoundly enjoy TED. I can often be spotted in the audience of talks, esp. those taking place around the IoP, KCL or at BPS headquarters.

I like politics. I’m certainly not afraid of it; rather, I think it’s necessary to acknowledge its omnipresence and deal with it appropriately. I detest nepotism, favouritism, lobbying (well, most of the time), and apathy or spite for the out-group, despite my fondness of collectivism.

Did I mention I dislike -isms altogether? (BTW, see what Ambrose Bierce thought of aphorisms.)

On emergence. As you might have figured thus far, I am particularly fond of emergence. Now, you might want to check that out here, or here... And that will save me some trouble explaining, too. For those reluctant, here’s a definition I put together for you with a little copying, cutting and pasting:

Emergence can be defined as the arising of novel and coherent structures, patterns and properties, during the process of self-organization in complex systems. Its foremost characteristics are summarised as follows: (1) radical novelty (features not previously observed in systems); (2) coherence or correlation (i.e. integrated wholes maintain themselves over some period of time); (3) a global or macro "level" (i.e. some property of "wholeness"); (4) Emergence is the product of a dynamical process (i.e.  evolution) and (5) it’s "ostensive" (i.e. perceivable). Finally, (6) it abides by superinvenience (i.e. downward causation).

For the sake of being ethical, let me quote Jeffrey Goldstein and Peter Corning, but please do look up the wikipedia entry for concrete citation!

So, you might ask, what about it? Well, let’s just say emergence is my prism and my cult, the best lens I have available to make sense of the world, including myself as a complex bio-psycho-social human system. In a sense, it’s my UFT for life.

Finally, a few days ago I came across this rendition of my world view and I’m thinking, you might want to check that out as well.

I like art. Art is what you can get away with, as per the Warholian quote. Visual arts, poetry, music, drama, cinema... You name it. At times, I try to find answers and meaning through it. To my experience, this is usually futile. (In fact, it kind of reminds me of that old tale of Nasruddin Hodja, who kept looking on the street for the ring he lost inside the house, because he could see better in that light...) Still, I’ve found that good art provides me with an indirect, enriching reflection of my own condition that can prove beneficial, almost therapeutic, in the long run.

I often wish I were talented. Still, not being is OK by me, since I consider myself gifted with an appreciation for art that rarely goes wrong. I reckon that’s something.

Miscellaneous. I was born on a really hot Tuesday in 1983. I share my birthday with Stanley Kubrick, Salvador Allende, Aldous Huxley, G. Bernard Shaw, Mick Jagger, Helen Mirren, Kevin Spacey, Roger Taylor; and others, I suspect. I prefer, and thus (try to) use, British English. Paranoid Android by Radiohead constituted my view of life for many years. Still think it’s a piece of (my) history. I have been called “T9 for Dionysis Savvopoulos’ lyrics” in the past. It’s true. I can’t help (discretely) air drumming or ‘playing the piano’ when listening to music in the tube/train. Elsewhere, too. Probably my favourite book of all times is ‘A History of the World in 10 1/2 Chapters’, by Julian Barnes. According to tripadvisor, I have been to 120 cities in 11 countries. I have been unsure about liking the HHGTTG for some time now. Still, I LOL. Lately I have become a sucker for medical dramas. And I’m a bit embarrassed.

Valorous credentials of an eternal scout.

Religious Views.