StormCloudsGathering
Bio:
Every once in a while I get asked about my background, or my credentials, or my expertise, usually from the angle of validation or credibility, or in an attempt to figure out what kind of label to attach to me. This is understandable since our culture has trained people to judge information on the merits of the messenger rather than on the validity of the information itself. However, this is not the paradigm that I am operating from. I have a strong aversion to labels, categorizations and organized ideologies. I don't like to rely on them in my thinking, and I like it even less when people seek to find a neat little box to put me in.
Even the concept of defining oneself by what one does to get money seems bizarre to me. I spent the last 5 years programming for a living, does that mean that I'm a "programmer"? If so, then there's a label for you to grab if you want it (though it certainly won't shed any real light on the question).
If there is one principle that (I believe) defines me and my mission in life, it is that I do my best to be honest with myself. Being honest with yourself means being committed to reality, and that commitment is tested each time we are confronted with a concept that threatens our world view. Self honesty is the only path to truth. Intelligence may help, but not if you're delusional. I find that a large percentage of the public only wants to know the truth that fits their expectations, they only listen to perspectives that validate their current identity, and they spend enormous quantities of energy defending the ideas which hold their world view together. My goal is to put a dent in those tendencies, and to push human society in the direction of reality as much as I can in my lifetime. I push aggressively at times because the stakes are high.
