Disclaimer

All my statements, all opinions, written, verbal or expressed otherwise, are subject to the constraints outlined below; even if I do not explicitly attach them to every communication as I believe they are inherent to all forms possible:

Subjectivity

Intrinsically, everything I say, write or express otherwise, all my evaluations or judgements are based on and unfortunately limitted by my experience, knowledge, view of the world, the world seen through my eyes, personal preferences, tastes and dislikes.

None of these might apply in the same way to you, as this subjectivity applies to everyone; objectivity is the delusion that observations could be made without an observer. You might have an entirely different point of view which might likely be just as justifiable as mine.

You are not required to share mine, though I would like to understand where we differ and why so we can both learn from it.

Reduction, generalization, abstraction, deletion

Communication is not perfect; if one were to include all details - the exact cases covered and those not included - it would be quite hard to communicate in a reasonable amount of time.

So please, allow me the benefit of doubt; I shall be glad to clarify or reexpress myself if you point out deficiencies in my communication.

Do not deduce an implied statement about something by the fact that I did not explicitly address it. I try hard to make my statements rather exact, and they usually are supposed to imply and refer to exactly what they say and nothing else.

I am well aware that this will not cover all possible cases, and might even sometimes cover too much, though I try to be careful about the latter in particular.

If you feel that something I did not address is in fact an essential part of the argument or proves the logic in my statement to be wrong, I would be delighted to hear about it so I can learn from it.

Opinion of the day

As implied by the fact that everything is based on my experience and observations, it is necessarily based on my past.

However confident I may appear about my current point of view, I am always delighted to learn more and am quite willing to not only reconsider my point of view, but throw it out of the window completely in the face of new data.

If I appear stubborn in insisting on a particular point in a discussion, I am merely trying to understand very hard where exactly we differ and why, so I can learn from it. I know this can be taxing, but I do appreciate it.

Non-gender neutral language

Please rest assured that I try to strike an even balance. However, I will refer to an excellent Changes in Default Words and Images, Engendered by Rising Consciousness, published in the column Metamagical Themas by Douglas R. Hofstadter in the Scientific American of November 1982. He not only managed to explain the problem in a fashion I was able to finally see it as a real problem, but also points out quite a few of the problems one runs into when trying to avoid it; awkward phrases and complicated sentences being the result.

References to people and situations

In general, please note that if I want to address someone directly, I will do this clearly by means of a dedication, an attribution, or an explicit name reference (though abbreviated). Most of the time but rare exceptions, I will choose direct e-mail, mail or personal exchange in personal matters, and not bother the world at large with these private concerns.

Naturally though, my writings, being based on my experiences, will contain references to persons, or situations which have left a lasting impact, influence, or been an inspiration.

In this, some readers, particularly those which are or have been closer to me, might recognize themselves. While this sometimes is received favourably, on a number of occassions they may feel misrepresented, or be irritated by my response, which they feel is unrelated, under- or overstates the situation or their role.

If you feel very strongly about this, please contact me so I can correct the reference.

Yet the nature of inspiration is usually nothing but the last drop causing the the flood to spill; even if it might be more like a final shower but that final drop, nevertheless it is never the whole story. It might be the culmination point for something long in restless sleep to finally raise, or the beginning of a longer process. In any case, what I make of it will have distorted it much.

I do not wish to surpress such references, in particular if they indeed have personal relevance for me; even at the risk of alienating some of my few readers, or thinking less of me for blowing up something which should have been dealt with in much smaller detail or faster; or vice versa.

As most writers, I'm hard pressed for inspiration of any kind, and must be respectful of any that I find; and can but apologize.

Plain old mistakes

I try hard to keep my experience, observations, my view of the world and ethics logically consistent.

Sometimes, even though I try, my observations and deductions will be embarrassingly wrong. Please point this out to me. Thank you.