In 1724, when Benjamin Franklin was 17 he moved to London to try and make a career as an apprentice newspaper man. While there, Franklin was wrestling with complex ideas related to man's place in the universe. Franklin set out to write and publish a treatise on this thoughts. In 1725 he did just that. Like many 18 year olds Franklin made bold claims about the existence of an omnipotent benevolent god, and the nature of human free will and morality. It's the kind of thing your slightly stoned friend might come up with in the common area of your dorm in college.

He wrote and self published a few hundred copies of his manifesto that he believed neatly and perfectly explained an idea that had plagued philosophers and theologians for millennia.

In later years, Franklin considered it one of his greatest embarrassments and attempted to have every copy of it burned, say for one.

My goal for this blog is to not be forced to burn anything (my arson days are behind me). I will not pretend to offer any clear, neatly-packaged explanations of the entirety of some topic. Instead, I'm going to try and write about the experiences I've had, and the lessons I've taken away from them. At first I will simply write about whatever is on my mind. Perhaps this is really just a form of art therapy for me. I think that my topics will eventually localize around some central themes or topics.

I hope this series will be of some use to anyone.