To describe it is to create it. That's how consciousness works. Creation and discovery are one thing seen from different points of view. Naming our Selves is a creative act, but it's not for the faint-hearted. The faint-hearted ask others who they are, exchanging their identities for an illusory security, selling themselves cheap.
Identity is destiny.
Our task is to name ourSelves, and we will, once we know who we are. Deriving an identity from history, which in turn is merely a suitable myth, and a vision of a future that bounces us into the life we design like a springboard or trampoline. Islands in the Clickstream is an intermittent column written by Richard Thieme exploring social and cultural dimensions of computer technology and the ultimate concerns of our lives. Comments are welcome. Feel free to pass along columns for personal use, retaining this signature file.