Why this wiki

Rationale

I have become unsatisfied with keeping my notes and ideas within the structure provided by modern media. I often have ideas on themes in my life that I might have written on a "note to self" before. If it was really important, I put a reminder in my calendar to work on it later. If it was a lot of information or writing, I might have written it in a file and stored it under an appropriate hierarchy of folders in one of my hard disks.

Allowing other people to see my wiki I initially thought a fringe benefit. But once I realized people might actually read this wiki, I started writing intentionally for a wide audience. When I think of something I'd like to share, this is a better forum for complicated or timeless ideas than Facebook, Twitter, Friendster, Myspace. Thinking of that wide audience, I maybe censored myself at the same time. For example, when I first started the wiki I was thinking of a nice hypertext guide to people I know, but then I realized most people would probably not like to have a public profile not under their control.

Problems with other forms

• Notebooks aren't easily searchable.
• Files can't have update-able links between each other.
• Notebooks and hard drives can be destroyed or stolen.
• I may not always have access to a word processor or even a notebook.

Limitations of Wiki

• The contents of a wiki are not as summarily viewed as is a shelf of books.
• Free-floating ideas can still be overlooked.
• Ideas can seemingly be erased when edited from a page.