Hello Steemit!

Thanks for reading this and allowing me into your fantastic community.

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About me

My name is Nima. I am a doctor who works in a small speciality at the interface between the eyes and the rest of the body. You might be surprised to know how many "full body" diseases can affect the eyes, and how often they are the gateway to finding out the pathology and diagnosing a condition which someone has suffered from for a long time.

It is a holistic speciality, and therefore I value alternative approaches and perspectives to healthcare, particularly calling out things which I don't agree with. I am interested in finding new ways of healing...

Both in terms of tools we have around us...

Tools we have just learnt to use...

And in terms of tools we are yet to discover...

Immersive technologies can be useful for healthcare, and I also believe they can have a role in education. Exploring new ways of learning is one of my passions and am doing research into how VR, AR and MR can contribute to this.

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Discovering Steemit

(Lo-fi pic, I have a green backdrop and was hoping to do something interesting here but didn't quite manage, anything really.... Sorry!)

I enjoy writing (anyone who reads my doctor letters will know, if they can read them of course!) Having written for my Wordpress blog and for newspapers such as The Guardian, The Huffington Post and the Independent on subjects such as diverse as mental health amongst doctors and the potential impact of UK's exit from the EU on healthcare provision in Britain, I was still seeking a haven for my writing and my interests.

I think I had chanced upon Steemit articles a few times over the last year and was impressed by the clean presentation of the site and saw it as a viable alternative to blogging sites. I had no idea, until very recently, quite how much potential it has: A decentralised haven for publishing content, producing a new type of community, and allowing an admirable amount of flexibility in terms of how people publish their content and how they are rewarded for it. I see this ecosystem as representing a paradigm shift for content and social networking. It is early days, of course, and depends on the direction that it is taken by the community.

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Interests

I am a strong advocate for devoting time to one's interests and I like fostering a few which are off the beaten trail. I enjoy upcycling empty liquor bottles to make them into terrarium with succulents,

Or making small scenes using little figures

Preferably, combining the two:

Making scenes using small things is balanced (at least in my view) by making larger things look small, and I do like the odd timelapse/miniaturisation combo whenever I travel

I love charts, and the walls where I live are covered in them. Hopefully I'd like to curate some of my favourites and share my passion here on Steemit. I enjoy travelling, comedy (especially offbeat, surreal and dark humour), animals and nature, gaming (trying out new virtual reality games), football/soccer running and salsa dancing - when I get the chance.

Just like anyone who has an interest in decentralisation, I am excited about the progress of blockchain, not only cryptocurrencies (which I hope will change the status-quo for financial hegemony) but also their potential use in voting, sharing medical data to help allow fluid healthcare.

This is my Shamo stag Cheep-Cheep. No longer living with me but he is amazing. His story to come.

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Finally

This kind of place can only flourish if it has a communal spirit. What I have experienced thus-far are folk helping getting me started and teaching me the etiquette, gently and patiently, of this community.

I feel instinctively that Steemit can grow hugely over 2018 and become something very special. Even if there are times when I can't contribute much due to work, I hope to be part of this.