it's easier to complicate than to simplify.

if i had to do it all over again, then i'd still apply for that NSF grant. i'd have started earlier, say in early august [1].

as long as we're discussing the hypothetical, i would have also written a research statement before that, say in late july.

it's conceptually easier for me to expand a short document or to make more technical an accessible discussion.

there is even a human element in it, a risk aversion or fear of loss: i went through the trouble of writing 15 pages of ideas and exposition. how could i cut out >insert wonderful topic here< or that >fill in great idea here<?

so yes, i'm having a hard time re-casting what i've written before. this is taking a lot longer than i thought.

[1] i'm not sure how much better it would have been .. not that my proposal cannot be improved upon ., but somehow i have never been particularly good at planning for the future. likely i'd end up squandering those two months, debating "how about this or that?" before, in the last 2-3 weeks, solidifying the right ideas in a frenzy.

as the saying goes, constraints make the problem.