My name is James Carter, and I am an IT engineer by trade. However, my favorite pastime is thinking about the nature of existence in order to come to a better understanding of the world. I have always enjoyed reading and writing, and this is reflected in how this site is structured, namely that it is structured to focus primarily on the written word, in both my own writings and the writings I have quoted from other authors. There is great value in the written word, in that it allows us to clearly and thorougly express complex ideas in a concrete, permanent, reproducible, and distributable format, which allows for these ideas to be learned at one's leisure, and also for the ideas to be passed to the next generation so that they may carry the torch forward and build upon the results of their predecessors. Advancing knowlege and preserving freedom in society depend on the teaching and learning of complex ideas, and the written word can act as preserver of and reference point for these complex ideas so that we may, as a society and as individuals, reduce the chance of losing our way as we navigate life and so that we do not spend any more than an appropriate amount of time reinventing the conceptual wheel.
Aside from my primary work, I also enjoy regular exercise and maintaining a healthy diet, which not only increase the health and longevity of the body but stimulate the mind by, among other things, aiding in the problem solving process and enhancing emotional health and resilience. I enjoy the wildness and expanse of nature as well, though I, unfortunately, have not gone on a nature trip in a long time.