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What is Deeper than the Sea?

This blog, I guess by definition, is my quarantine project. In a summer of canceled internships and postponed prospects, I decided to finally do that one thing I have wanted to do for years: write and make art about science, the ocean, and everything in-between.

Why “Deeper than the Sea”?

I stole the name of this blog from one of Emily Dickinson’s poems:

632

The Brain—is wider than the Sky—
For—put them side by side—
The one the other will contain
With ease—and You—beside—

The Brain is deeper than the sea—
For—hold them—Blue to Blue—
The one the other will absorb—
As Sponges—Buckets—do—

The Brain is just the weight of God—
For—Heft them—Pound for Pound—
And they will differ—if they do—
As Syllable from Sound—

Kane, Paul, 1950-. Poetry of the American Renaissance: a Diverse Anthology From the Romantic Period. New York: G. Braziller, 1995.

The first line of this poem has often been used to talk about consciousness; how amazing it is that our brains can contemplate the breadth of the sky while remaining in its small, cranial confines. However, to me the second line has much greater implications. While humanity has gazed upon every inch of sky, the ocean remains largely unexplored. It is as mysterious as the outer edges of our universe. So when Dickinson says, “The Brain is deeper than the sea,” she stirs up awe at the complexity and beauty of our minds that is simply beyond our current capacity to even imagine.

Something so inconceivable reminds me of the discovery of life on hydrothermal vents. Without sunlight, under extreme heat and pressure, and in the midst of toxic gasses—life found a way. Before this breakthrough, the thought of a thriving ecosystem was unimaginable, it broke every rule we deemed necessary for survival. What will be the hydrothermal vents—the ‘something’ so unimaginable—hiding in the depths of our minds?

This question and hard to define aspect of unimaginable possibilities that Dickinson conveys is why I decided to name the blog Deeper than Sea.

Anne Bonny?…Isn’t that a pirate?

Yes, actually! I decided to write under a pseudonym because I really value my online privacy. Before making this blog I had no social media accounts and strove to remain as anonymous online as possible. However that is not always feasible. As my real name is rather unique, people can easily find my home address and a lot of information that I rather keep private. Therefore, I decided to use the name of the most badass ocean-loving woman I know, Anne Bonny. You can read more about her here on her Wikipedia page.

Do you make money from this blog?

No. And I probably will not for a while. I think this is an important discussion to have with you, dear reader, as any revenue I generate is coming at the cost of your time and attention. So when I do start to generate profit (when I make more than the approximately $100 it costs to run this blog) I will have a full disclosure of how money is generated (whether its from amazon affiliate links or actual products on Redbubble or Etsy) and how I plan to spend that money. My ultimate goal is to model some of my favorite science artists and communicators and use the profits from this blog towards conservation efforts.

Enjoy!