Hello, World!

New Year's resolutions are decidedly out of fashion. In spite of that, on a cold January day I promised myself that this would be the year I started writing. I suppose the necessary impetus has come from my experiences in grad school. The aspiring researcher has two fundamental objectives. First he must learn how to find and explore new ideas. Second he must learn to present his new-found knowledge in such a way that it can be consumed in less time than it took him to create it. Until he has mastered both these skills, he cannot fulfill the basic function of a scientist or thinker. Of course, 'thinker' is an obvious misnomer. Everyone thinks, and most people consider their thoughts rather good. To be a 'thinker' one must give form to thought, and thrust that form out into the world. And so here we are. Happy reading, friends.