JSH: Living and learning

From: James Harris (jstevh_at_msn.com)
Date: 11/26/04 

Date: 25 Nov 2004 16:01:10 -0800

I've been watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" and they just had this
great episode where Raymond's father decides to paint his house and is
his usual self so Raymond fires him, but of course his mother
convinces him to go talk to his father again, and his dad says
something about people being the problem when all that should matter
is if you're right.

And I used to actually think that way.

I figured that, hey, this is a PUBLIC forum, and I can come out here
and talk about whatever math related thing I want--following the RULES
you know as it's math related--and then people would give me grief,
which to me just showed you that people were the problem. I mean if
it's a PUBLIC forum, and you're posting about math then BY THE RULES I
should just be able to post, but I got all this flak.

Sure I had lots of ideas that were wrong that I thought were right,
but hey, I was following the rules, and in the real world problem
solving is a difficult process where you brainstorm ideas, eventually
critique them, and then hopefully come out at the end with something.

I FOLLOWED THE RULES of Usenet and twerps gave me grief--still give me
grief--and for a while I decided that people were the problem.

But now I realize that some people are the problem and I don't have to
let them get to me. So I follow the rules, talk about math related as
I see fit, and hey, I have a paper at a math journal anyway, so let
the losers keep at it, as if they have no lives.

So hey, yeah, I'm not the nicest guy around, and I don't mind dishing
it out, challenging people, or making big claims when I feel they are
justified, but at least I'm following the freaking rules of Usenet.

These other people, they steal posts and put them on their own
webpages. Hound me all over Usenet, and spend all sorts of effort to
control my postings and I'm supposed to be the bad guy?

Like Frank I'm misunderstood. People cheat. But hey, they're still
important, and at the end of the day, it's better when you make the
effort to be nice. So I'm making the effort. I'm being nice now.
This is me being nice.

James Harris

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