The Cyber House Rules

Ben would be proud of me. I thought of a double entendre which Matt Groening thought of before - Futurama

These are for me – I need to look at them before fouling the nest.

1. Brevity is the soul of wit.

2. Skepticism is warranted, no, demanded of a contrarian. Cynicism, however is inappropriate. Finding the line is the trick.

3. Stick to the knitting.

4. When "frequently in error but never in doubt", make changes

5. Don’t be self-conscious.

6. Make new rules as necessary.

I would like to give some thought to the nature of rules. Sometimes they are useful lenses to focus and sometimes they are harmful self-constraints. I’m not certain how to tell the difference.

I had a motorcycle and wrote down some riding rules (no riding at night, wear protective gear etc.). One of the rules was to get rid of it after one fall. I fell, separated a shoulder, followed the rule and sold the bike. I miss the bike, but I think that having the rule and following it was useful not constraining. It prevented me from making excuses that it was safe.