She is cute. When she gazes at me with those big, bright eyes, I am mesmerized and want to touch her soft cheek. Whenever I hold her in my arms, I want her to have all the happiness in the world.
"So, what are you researching?" she asks. Her questions always come without warning.
"I want to know how the brain computes things," I reply, looking at her inquisitive eyes. As that answer rolls around in her mind, I stir my iced coffee with a straw.
"You mean how it does geometry and calculus and all that?"
"Well, yes those types of calculations, but," I start to explain with a smile, "the brain calculates or computes a lot more than that. Like, how the baseball pitcher Matsuzaka is able to keep his head and come back strong even in the clutch is, well, his brain is performing a type of computation. His awesome willpower is the result of his brain computing something. Other computations in his brain are also crucial for him to achieve the speed and control of his pitches. Just looking at someone and thinking he or she looks nice or pretty, that is possible through the brain's computations. Even the fact that we're having this conversation is the result of computations in the brain."
"Hmmmm," she says as she ponders this and sips her caramel cappuccino.
"What a break though it would be to discover how the brain computes, don't you think?" I want to say more, but decide to sip my iced coffee instead.
"You know, for my final exams," she finally says, abruptly changing the subject as she so often does. Now, she casually steers away from a problem on an upcoming math test to the boy she glimpsed while having tea with a friend a few days ago.
I wonder if I will ever have a conversation like this with my adorable four-year-old niece. She seems to be fond of me, right now at least, but it may be too early to imagine having a conversation like that. Go for it, Matsuzaka! I would not want to mention your name and watch as her face shows no recognition. Besides, I will be older too as fate would have it. I hope the way I talk about my research will snag her attention, and that, when she sees the way I enjoy my work and my passion for it, she will notice. By which time BSI, I sincerely hope and believe, will have become somewhat like a stadium, overflowing with fun and excitement, driven by the enthusiasm and expertise of its superstars. It's not just Matsuzaka who needs to hustle....
I wonder what she and our future selves will think when they read this story.
