First post

In the last 15 minutes or so, I've decided to start a blog. In my experience, many of the most delightful experiences result from a sort of prudent spontaneity, so I think this not a bad way to begin a blog. Truth be told, I've had the idea of starting a blog rolling around in my mind for some time now. I have more than a hundred pages of philosophical, spiritual, and personal insights (note that there is of course overlap between the three aforementioned categories), almost none of which have been read. So, I begin this blog in hopes that some of my ideas can be read by and discussed with others, and that the fact that my blog is public will encourage me to edit my writings to a greater degree than I currently do, which is very little.

Before I commence with the more philosophically substantial posts, I would like to share a bit about myself. As it says in the "About me" rectangle to the right, I am a philosophy student at Bowdoin College. I am currently intending to go into graduate school to become a professional philosopher. My interest in philosophy grew out of an interest in religion--my interest in Christian theology lead me indirectly to Descartes, and from then on to other philosophers, such as Sartre, Wittgenstein. My interest in religions has continued, and I currently hold a particular fascination with Buddhism, although other religions continue to draw my interest.

I also have a strong interest in mathematics. My strongest interests in the strange and often baffling world of mathematics is in those areas where philosophy and mathematics collide, namely formal logics and its application to foundational studies and mathematical logic. I also have an interest in computer theory, cellular automata, Turing machines, and related areas. Although I take great care not to pull a Hawking and attempt to apply abstract mathematical principle's to philosophy of science (*cough* using Godel's incompleteness theorem to "prove" the impossibility of a unified theory of physics *\cough*), I do occasionally employ mathematical concepts as philosophical metaphors.

Lastly, I appreciate humor. So if I appear deadly serious about certain matters, it is almost certainly the case that I am not being deadly serious, unless, of course, I am.