Introduction

Background:

This blog is a subset of a private one I run. It doesn't contain topics that are too personal, have IP considerations, or wouldn't be interesting to those who don't know me. Unfortunately that means many of my best ideas (and almost all the most practical ones) will not be included. This is regrettable, but necessary. I refuse to see this blog as an obligation, and treat it as a journal, so posts will be irregular. While posts may be copied from my private blog, often I'll make changes, merging in updates, adding more explanation, and rephrasing for an anonymous audience.

Title:

The quote in the header explains the blog title, and I myself do try to adhere to an objective point of view. In practice, I find that I am pessimistic about the way things are, optimistic about the ways things could be, and pessimistic about the chances of things working out that way. The title is also a veiled reference to the blog being a smaller part of my private one. The image is a symbolic representation of the Gordian Knot.

Pictures:

I'll try my best to include photos that add something to the posts or that at least are somewhat amusing, but it can be really difficult for some topics. If you have a suggestion, please let me know.

Blog principles:

I hate nonconstructive criticism and have a personal rule: if I find fault with something I have to try and come up with something better. I don't have to succeed, but at least try. This ensures I am busy, as I criticize a lot. I also believe that when trying to solve problems it is valuable to determine the ideal solution and then use it as a guide in directing real world change. Consequently I will often explore ideas that would be very difficult to implement in practice, although frequently I will work within a realistic framework as well. I try not to blog about a topic I cannot add anything to, although the amount of research I am willing to do will inevitably mean I duplicate the viewpoints of others. Feel free to point this out, and links would be great. I am never disappointed when an idea I've had is discovered to have been done before. It means I was able to invent something of value. I will discuss pretty much anything I find interesting, so the topics will be varied. Additionally, I have a strong disgust for oversimplification. This can have me seemingly arguing both sides of an established issue, when really what I'm advocating is that there needs to be more depth. Making the complex simple is tough, making it simplistic is easy.

Post Reordering:

I dislike it when conversations on blog posts scroll off the main page and then attract no more interest. I will therefore reorder posts to push those with new comments to the top again. I apologize if this is disorienting, and will be sure the original posting date is clearly marked.