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I can be found in Merton in Surrey, England where I reside with my wife.
[edit] A bit about me
My interests are: Psychology, Evolution, Politics, PIC and Linux.
I have a degree in Economics and a postgraduate Honours degree in Psychology (Majors: Research, Psychotherapy, Assessment, Psychopathology, Sports Psychology and Social Psychology). I am particularly interested in humanistic psychology and evolutionary psychology. I am a member of British Mensa and a graduate registered member of British Psychological Society.
I am an enthusiastic squash player and enjoy mountain biking. I am an ex-cricket and rugby union player.
I am an Irish citizen. My parents are Irish, although my mother, being from the Shackleton clan, is originally English (Yorkshire). My father is a decendent of the Hugenots that came to Ireland during the Huguenot Exodus from France.
[edit] History
I was born on a fruit farm (apples and pears) and grew up in a rural setting. After school I started work in construction (civil engineering). I became certified as a construction surveyor. After a year working as a construction surveyor on a construction site I realised I was more interested in automating processes than doing them. I took a position in a financial services organisation were I worked for several years in IT development ending up as assistant divisional manager for e-commerce.
During my time there I progressed from Pascal to C to C++ to Delphi to web-based e-commerce using Java and DHTML. In 2000 I was offered a position as principal consultant responsible for e-commerce architecture at Ernst & Young working with J2EE. During my time there I was responsible for a number of projects in the Netherlands practice. As a result I spent some time living in Utrecht. My next project involved the development of the Libra system for the British government. During my time on this project I decided to switch careers to one that involves working with people.
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[edit] My Thinking
I am interested in complexity, in patterns and the systemic nature of natural phenomenon, especially the dynamic nature of change over time. When you are aware of, and look for these characteristics, then so much of all that is around us becomes interesting. My ultimate fascination is with the human mind. I am interested in it from a developmental perspective and I am interested with how it functions. From the initial actions of the neuroblasts in kicking off its development on day zero, through all the developmental stages to the elegance of the adult mind with billions of functional patterns created by the interactional effects of synapses firing in concert, I think it is the most interesting of all phenomenon. In addition I think that the development of our understanding of evolutionary psychology will facilitate the much needed consolidation of the fragmented work that exists in the field of psychology today.
My interest in patterns and systems extends to social structures and processes. I am particularly interested in how society functions - in how we treat the strong and the weak, our support systems, our political systems, our judicial systems and so on. The complexity of the challenges that many in society face is interesting and something to which I am attracted.
