Masterpiece

We do things. We can't help it. Being alive means doing at least the basic necessities, stop those and you would no longer be alive. Occasionally, if we are doing more than the basics needed to sustain life, we might just create something beyond the normal, something beyond exceptional, a thing that can be described as a masterpiece! If that thing happens to be a painting like the one in this post, it might live on to inspire countless people. 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' is a masterpiece, no doubt. Created by a man who was able to produce more than one masterpiece and a personal favorite of mine, Vermeer. What if, however, our masterpiece is not as striking, not as accessible as a painting. I think we would all agree that the general theory of relativity is a masterpiece, but most of us don't bother to take the time to truly understand why.

The most recent transient masterpiece I've encountered happened to be a cappuccino. I kid you not, it was a cappuccino whose taste, temperature and composition, if possible to frame, would be worthy of any museum.

I write code for fun, I program for a living and I do IT work because it has to be done and I'm not guilty yet of creating any masterpieces in my work so I stand free of bias on the subject. I have had the pleasure of seeing other peoples code that, to my eyes, was obviously the work of a master. The funny thing is, that code isn't displayed for all to see and even if it was, few would see it as a master work, few would take the time to understand what makes it great. Therefore, it is my conclusion that the responsibility for enjoying our own masterpieces, whether they be works of art, poems, pies, passionate statements or digital manipulations, rests first with us, the creators. Whether the world at large discovers them, has the ability to see them for what they are, matters not at all.