Two things I try to keep in mind:

1) At the end of the day, what I actually am is a pretty darn average middle-aged man. I am not a philosopher, thinker, intellectual, or Great Man.

2) Anonymity is good not just as a defense against others, but as a guard against your own ego.

There’s a temptation on this site to become a performer, to churn out ever-wilder material to stand out from the crowd. A bold, historically unprecedented plan- this is a mark of insight! A suggestion that we try something small and simple and see how it goes- boring, foolish.

I talk from time to time about the prison of narrative, the way that the values and perception attached to Doing Something or the way it’s done can overtake actual action and results in importance. It’s very easy to fall into that trap here as well, crafting schemes for applause.

The truth is that events are mostly beyond any of us; and collectively muddling through in a dynamic and reactive manner is far more common than grand plans seen through to completion. The best you can do is blow on the dice as they skitter past, and wonder if that mattered.