It’s come to the point that even after I’ve done the experiments and have the results, I loathe writing the papers. It’s not because I mind writing papers per se, but because I hate doing the whole background search, trying to figure out what exactly the problem is that we’re solving, stating all of the work that other people have done in the area before, and dressing it all up in four pages of nonsense when our results really could be presented in a paragraph or so. Is this really how research is done? Does the research paper, like the atom, consist mostly of empty space?

(Tangent) Speaking of which, why don’t I ever get to do something really cool like the Rutherford experiment I’m referring to? I have some ideas (I’ve posted them all here at one point or another), but I don’t have the resources to test them. Do you notice how many of his students won Nobel Prizes? And among those who didn’t, names like “Charles Galton Darwin” (who is really just a legacy) and “Hans Geiger” pop up? How the ones who won the prizes tended to study under him at Cambridge while the others studied at Manchester (and also made contributions probably worthy of winning prizes but weren’t as accepted as the ones who went to Cambridge)? And how *his* advisor also won a Nobel Prize? And his *grand advisor* too? And a very large majority of all of their other students? Surely you’re not going to tell me that *every one* of those Nobel laureates got there on talent alone, especially considering that the work done by many of the non-recipients was as significant as those who did receive them?

The more I observe academia, the more it seems like a cabal. Paradoxically, these people all came up with daring theories and did great experiments, but the rub is the *ability* to perform these experiments. I don’t speak of talent – I speak of *permission* and *support*, which I have lacked my entire life and show no signs of ever receiving (this is why I wanted to become a theorist before that path was closed to me as well!) I need to go into business or something on the side, because I will never have any opportunities if I rely on others to recognize my ability on their own. If I’m going to make something of my life, I need to wrest it from society rather than waiting for them to hand it over in deference.
(/Tangent)

Anyway, you may have noticed that I didn’t do a background search yet and have no idea what the problem is that we’re supposed to be solving, but I already have my experimental results. This is because the person choosing the problems and the person writing the paper are two different people who tend not to keep good communication.

On the upside, I wrote 6 pages of my dissertation so far this week and about 10 pages of my Treatise (which I’ll probably finish next week), so it’s not as if I mind writing when there’s a good reason to do so.

I saw the signs of the collapsing housing market, oil, and the weakening dollar back in 2006 and even predicted the month it would begin to affect the overall economy (November; some instability happened in August as well but it was quickly righted), but I had no idea it would last this long.

I wonder if we’re heading into a depression. I guess if it gets really bad I can always move somewhere else. Hopefully it won’t come to that.

Yellow signs seem to be an emerging Internet meme. Usually you can never see these coming, but I think Knuth did 🙂

Nonprofit organizations are much more complex to found than for-profit corporations. This is probably due to the tax-exemption provision, but I am wondering if it is perhaps a prudent idea to find an accountant to help me navigate the maze the IRS has placed before me.

First the battery life of the MX Revolution greatly disappoints, now I also notice that the “60 day” life of the DiNovo Edge is actually closer to 30 days (which is still good).

Logitech really needs to get their battery act together – especially for a $200 keyboard.

The sorts of people for whom the best punishment is to simply watch the consequences of their actions unfold tend to be the type that forget what their actions were by the time the consequences roll around, I’ve noticed. If they can’t even remember important actions from day to day, how can they even claim a hold on consciousness?

Hanukkah is called “The Festival of Lights”, but it certainly isn’t the only one – just like flood myths, festivals of light are commonplace in many cultures. Unsurprisingly, they tend to be held in the winter. It is one of the great joys of humanity that it responds to external darkness with internal light, but it makes me wonder what the origin is – the message. Is it defiance of the weather or the long night? An innate comfort defined by a basic human need? A reminder that winter is only transient? A prayer for an easy season? It’s an interesting thing to think upon while driving past all of the decorations. As children, some of us are afraid of the dark – we flee from it. Here, as adults, we appear to be taking a stand against it, however – repelling or perhaps even defiantly challenging it.