“Finally, it was stated at the outset, that this system would not be here, and at once, perfected. You cannot but plainly see that I have
kept my word. But I now leave my cetological System standing thus
unfinished, even as the great Cathedral of Cologne was left, with the
crane still standing upon the top of the uncompleted tower. For small
erections may be finished by their first architects; grand ones, true
ones, ever leave the copestone to posterity. God keep me from ever
completing anything. This whole book is but a draught—nay, the draught
of a draught. Oh, Time, Strength, Cash, and Patience.”
This blog is my personal scratchpad.
It is not an academic blog, although occasional posts of minimal academic interest may appear. They likely will be categorized “History of Science,” and as likely as not will fall smack in between family notices and informal nostalgic musings of no professional interest. If you are an academic colleague who has stumbled your way here, my best advice is to filter by category: i.e., click on “History of Science” in the category list, ignore the rest, then escape while you can.*
By “personal” I mean that I write here not to create a dialogue with the world, but for family and personal friends and most of all for me. I do not seek “followers,” although you are welcome to eavesdrop if you like. Many posts will interest no one but myself. Most are written for some family members or a few close friends, more often than not related to conversations we are sharing over coffee. This is why every post is invariably autobiographical and the blog as a whole is idiosyncratic.
By “scratchpad” I mean that any given post is a work in progress. Most posts on this blog are motivated by my desire to clarify my own thinking or to share an experience or idea with one or two specific friends in mind. In both cases, I typically come back and revise any given post over several days after writing the original draft. So if a recent post interests you, stop by again after about a week and see if it has changed. Some bloggers compare themselves to news reporters. Many assume that once a post is made, it should not be revised. However, I heed Somerset Maugham:
“There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
This whole blog is but a draught – nay, the draught of a draught!
No post is ever finished. God will keep me from ever completing any of it.
Kerry Magruder
Norman, Oklahoma
My online projects include a professional blog, kerrymagruder.com; a personal blog, kerrysloft.com; the T. F. Torrance Theological Fellowship; the Wade Center Podcast Index; and Sky Tonight. For a basic bio and more about me, see the About page of my professional blog. For OU, see my faculty page.
* Update: Many of the posts in the “History of Science” category will be moved to my new professional blog. However, the distinction between professional and personal posts is not as clear as it might seem, in large part because, a half-dozen years ago I resolved to re-tool my professional interests to focus more directly on science and religion, and my explorations in theology are a major theme here. The history of science and religion has always been an essential part of my professional work in the field, and it is one of the main areas of emphasis in the OU History of Science Department, but it had not been my central, sustained professional focus. That has now changed. Education, and digital technology, two of my other main interests, with both personal and professional dimensions, are also represented here. Some posts here were transferred from a previous blog for the Collections, now shut down — such as notices of “recent acquisitions.” I will not continue to post notices of that kind here, but I decided to transfer them here rather than to consign them to ethereal oblivion. Now they may or may not go over to the professional blog; we’ll see with time. So the bottom line is to continue to expect what was explained above: an idiosyncratic mix written mostly for myself and a few close conversation partners. Kerry’s Loft remains a personal scratchpad, not an academic blog.
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