There are two things you should know about me. The first is that I love a good title. The second is that I am not very good at coming up with good titles. Whenever I write a paper, the title is usually the last thing I add. It also takes a significant amount of time to get it right. But I feel it is worth the investment. The title can be an important factor in setting the tone of anything.
I would have started this blog quite some time ago if not for the facts stated above. A blog is not like a paper or a poem. The title comes first. The content follows. A well-titled blog will draw my attention and I will be more likely to read the content and return for more. A few examples of nice blog titles are Paradigms and Revolutions (you have to read Thomas Kuhn to get it), Good Math, Bad Math and my personal favorite free convection (I'm mostly jealous I didn't think of it first). After mulling over a lot of possibilities I have found one that I really like (of course the domain name was taken).
Iron Sharpens Iron. So what is this title all about? Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) reads "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." This verse speaks to the mutual edification of people. But the sharpening process is not passive. Sharpening takes work; it's not easy. It should be challenging. I grow the most when I feel the most challenged. The most challenged I feel is when I have to rub up against those whose opinions are not my own, people who see the world in a different light. I have grown a significant amount since first beginning college. The wide array of viewpoints has caused me to make serious reflections on my own beliefs. Oftentimes I am passive when it comes to my opinion of issues that may be different from those around me (As long as we agree on the basics, the rest doesn't really matter all too much). I wish to change that. I want to present issues that many of my readers hopefully will disagree with. I want to generate discussion that makes me and you sharp. Not all conversations will necessarily be religious. I am sure I will delve into politics and philosophy and everything else that makes up my view of the world. And of course my perspective is subject to change.
I want to be iron.
In return for your admiration of my blog's title, I must admire the choice of domain name. It's a beautiful expression of what you're seeking to accomplish here!
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to being sharpened by the coming conversations here. I hope we are different enough to sharpen one another.
I think I like "free confection" better. Maybe you can use that
ReplyDeleteinos: I thought about titling the blog Mean Free Path but thought it was a little bit of a stretch to make it fit. I decided to go with the more familiar phrase in the end. I suppose though it's not too late to change it...
ReplyDeletemark: I would have except some jerk had already taken it.
I think the combination of familiar title and more abstract domain name is great. Almost makes me wish I had thought of that myself... almost.
ReplyDelete