in which i think about un-research articles (and refer to j.l. borges)

it is hard to be productive.

yesterday morning and today, i jotted down a few ideas and worked with them a little, but it is hard to follow them through. none of them looks especially promising, so it's not clear if each is a waste of time. experience tells me that none of them will work, but one of them could possibly point me in the right direction ..

.. which means more nascent ideas. experience also tells me that none of those second-order ideas will be especially promising either ..

.. and even if this program does terminate, i may only end up with a counter-example. i may learn that it was, after all, a hopeless end. i would have learned something, but it's not like there is a journal which accepts un-articles and stupid ideas, right?!?

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sometimes i wish that i would get good ideas more often. then again, that luckier, hypothetical me probably wouldn't notice that additional success, and he/i would probably wish for more good ideas.

so yes: even my hypothetical selves are ungrateful bastards .. which now makes me paranoid in a way which is reminiscent of jorge luis borges:

what if a wish did come true, and i am getting more ideas than usual? what if i am a realised form of a hypothetical, ungrateful bastard?!?

it's best not to offend the mathematical wish gods, then. i'm getting back to work.