Why I chose the pseudonym Quixote

Quixotic: foolishly impractical especially in the pursuit of ideals; especially : marked by rash lofty romantic ideas or extravagantly chivalrous action - http://www.merriam-webster.com

Don Quixote represents what I stand for in writing this blog.

For those of you who have not read the book, Don Quixote was an elderly villager, average, but living comfortably. He had an obsessive fascination with books on knights and chivalry, to the point that he eventually imagined himself to be a knight as well, and as a result, he sets off on a fantastic quest, though very much unlike the chivalrous stories that he actually read about.

The book Don Quixote is one of my all-time favorites, and like Don Quixote, the books I read represent my persona. Besides Don Quixote, my favorite books include Catch-22, the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, and books by Kurt Vonnegut. They all feature protagonists with similar features: strong sense of personal morality, willing to back up their beliefs with action, worldly and intelligent, but seen as insane to those around them.

This is especially true of Don Quixote. While his insanity manifests in distorting reality with the fantasies of knights and chivalry, in all other instances he is able to display immense intellect. Indeed, what makes him so intriguing a character is that you are never quite able to determine where the intelligence ends and the insanity begins.

"No single analysis of Don Quixote’s character can adequately explain the split between his madness and his sanity. He remains a puzzle throughout the novel, a character with whom we may have difficulty identifying and sympathizing." http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/donquixote/canalysis.html

And so this blog embraces what I see as Don Quixote's lasting influence on me. This blog is not about impacting the world or even the country at a noticeable level, it is not about fame and notoriety, perhaps it is not even about affecting the other people besides me who might stumble upon these writings and graphs. Ultimately, it is about a very personal struggle to reconcile my ideas of how justice and the world should truly work, and how justice actually manifests in this world. After all, there is nothing more quixotic than to think the solutions to the world's problems are as easy to implement as they are to define.