Let's Begin...

I have participated in blogs in the past and my experience has been mixed.  I and others will generate a lot of good posts and discussion, and then that initial enthusiasm will die out as we all turn our attention to the many other pressing matters in our lives.  As a result, the blog sits and stalls out, and often is deleted after a time.

Or the response to a particular post is so overwhelming that responding becomes a consuming and burdensome exercise that never ceases.  Consequently, my attitude towards the blog becomes that of a beast viewing its burden, reluctant to shoulder it again or add to the work load.  Better to let it sit than to create more work for myself.

And yet I recognize the value of blogging personally for me.  It has generated good conversations in the past with others, and I have enjoyed the thought and work that has gone into various posts.  It has kept my mind active and my skills sharp.  It provides an outlet for creative work that is above and beyond what I do for my day job.

This is why, despite the challenges of blogging, a slight disdain for self-promotion, and a desire to avoid reinforcing a culture that encourages everyone to have an opinion on everything (and holds all opinions to be of equal worth), I am drawn back to it.  In starting this blog, I hope to avoid the pitfalls while reaping the rewards of blogging.  I will focus on the two areas I know something about: (1) philosophy and (2) data analytics.  I will focus on one, or the other, or often, the two of them together.  For example, I have done work on trends in PhD  job placements in academic philosophy and done surveys on the relationship of philosophical views to demographics data.  I hope to continue to do this same sort of work, while expanding into other areas ripe for analysis that pique my interest.

I will do this at a pace sustainable for my current work/home life, which practically means generating a post or addressing comments once or twice a month.  This blog will be about what I am interested in doing, and will be updated however often I am interested in doing so.  And since I am the only contributor, this pace and content is in my control.  This is the only sustainable way to keep up a blog I believe.  Thus, it can remain a blessing to me (and perhaps to any others that may read it) without becoming a burden.

In conclusion, I hope someone out there finds something that I write and do on this blog insightful, intriguing, and interesting.  If not, if only I benefit from what I do here, it will still have been worth it.

Let's begin...