"The Navigator?"

I read an article about personal branding. It said -- among other things -- that people perceive only in types. We need analogs and types to categorize. Without a category, you're nothing. That's why everyone's a "leader" or "team player" or "wonk" or, or, or . . . Too bad those are such generic descriptions: the picture they create is a bright yellow person with a black arial label: "MBA -- Generic." [Full disclosure: I am not nor do I ever expect to be an MBA.]

Select a type and "position" oneself at all times. It struck me as sensible. So, I sought a word to typify my value proposition: who I am and what you can expect of me. I really wanted to be a "general" or "leader" or something.

Ultimately, I got stuck on Captain James T. Kirk, going boldly where no man had gone before. Kirk was out there like Balboa, Magellan, and Behring, like Columbus and Cartier: exploring and searching. They all went out and found things that everyone said weren't there. The unknown was an adventure not to be feared but relished.

I like "captain," but I'm not always the captain (and lots of people believe I shouldn't even have a boat). Nobody can deny that I find routes to goals.  Nobody would say I'm short on will, courage, and tenacity; that I've avoided the unknown, shrunk from a decision, or hesitated in the face of adversity.

So I'm The Navigator -- I find the way.

Go to the blog

I've a Weblog into which I add notion-ettes not worthy of exposition in an essay. Or maybe they are worthy but neglected, you never know. It is an unexpurgated vomiting of opinion on any subject that strikes my fancy. My hope is that it is different. You'll also find the ocassional essay posted for feedback there.

What is "recursive progress?"

Recursive means: "(1) repeating itself, either indefinitely or until a specified point is reached; (2) involving the repeated application of a function to its own values." Progress, a modern notion, means: "(1) gradual development or improvement of something; (2) movement forward or onward." I think this apparent oxymoron is relatively descriptive of my life, my approach, and the unwitting way of the universe. [See here for some thoughts about Progress, Final Ends, and the teleology of history. ed.]