What Is 'Hydragenic'?
'Hydragenic' is a made-up word that I came up with in January 2002. I was looking for a new online 'brand' and wanted something unique. I had played around with the word 'Hydra' for a year or so previously and in retrospect I was probably subconsciously inspired to add the suffix by Björk's Homogenic album. At the time, it just sounded cool and not a great deal of thought went into it. The possibility that this nonsense word could have any meaning, even encapsulate a concept or philosophy, only dawned on me a few days later.
The mythical Hydra has received very bad press, but you have to credit the attitude and resilience of a creature that responds to decapitation by simply growing two more heads. It's surely not stretching a metaphor too far to extrapolate this survivalist tenacity to the notion of treating problems as opportunities for personal growth. Seen in this light, all experience is good experience, hence the Nietzsche-derived "What doesn't destroy me makes me stronger" tagline. To be 'hydragenic' is therefore to keep faith in a positive attitude to the world, refusing to be daunted by apparently insurmountable problems.
Despite this apparent clarity, there's an ambiguity to the idea that appeals to me too. The suffix '-genic' is neatly bipolar: generating or generated by? The duality of problem and solution, the concept of an admirable monster. I'm always most interested by things that can't quite be pinned down, that seem clear-cut until scrutinised more closely. If personal growth is achieved at the expense of becoming a belligerent monster, is it worth the price? If writing is my attempt to calm the fire of my over-heated psyche, am I pouring water or petrol onto the flames?