Pre-Reading Disclaimer on my Thoughts
If you’re planning to read anything else I write, it would probably be best for me to make this disclaimer about how I think (though it’s possible I’ll have changed my mind by the end, which rather proves the point I’m trying to make).
Firstly, my opinions and beliefs at any given moment can change unexpectedly and, at times, dramatically. Sometimes I get cold feet partway through a sentence; other times it takes months or even years of obstinate reflection and research for me to capitulate. I may spend a few evenings crafting what I think is a devastatingly brilliant argument, publish it with considerable smugness, and then find myself completely abandoning the whole premise when contemplating my own ignorance over encoldened tea the next week. 1 What this means is that when I publish a post, it represents merely a freeze-frame of my thinking in that exact moment, and by the time you’re examining the fossil of my thinking, I may already have migrated elsewhere and not bothered to update you on my whereabouts (partly from laziness and partly due to being unable to yet articulate my thoughts). I might be passionately crusading for the delight of strawberry milkshakes in January, but then outlining the argument against tasty milk cocktails by December. (Unlikely, given how much I love a good milkshake.) Furthermore, I don’t intend to edit my old posts as my views evolve, but that is also subject to change.
Secondly, my passion about a point is not a reflection of my conviction. Every so often I rigorously defend positions of which I’m not convinced, just to test them out or to get a feel for how I really think. It may sound duplicitous, but I see it more as sparring with myself to test my mettle. Maybe I’ll argue for conclusions I find logically questionable because I’m exploring the emotional or intuitive pull of an idea, or simply so I can better defend the things within I do find a firm truth. Typically, I try to be fair and balanced when I can. But occasionally, I fall head-over-heels in love with a concept and write about it with mortifying enthusiasm, knowing (mostly) that I’m being one-sided.
A third crucial point is that in no way do I ever avouch to have the definitive truth. 2 I don’t see my writing as the final word, but instead as theoretical peregrination. “Here’s how I see it right now” versus “here’s how it is”. Some readers may become frustrated by this uncertainty, preferring those who take strong and unwavering stances, planting their flags decisively on the hills they intend to die on, and if that’s you, then my writing will possibly be dissatisfying. You might discover ideas that resonate, arguments that irritate you, or half-baked thoughts that go nowhere because I got distracted by something shinier.
So, without any further ado, I now pronounce you ready to read my utter drivel.