Let's keep this short, because who really likes introductions? Sure, we all enjoyed those days in high school where, instead of getting to work on the Chain Rule, we played Icebreakers or described our winter breaks (to the very people with whom we spent those December nights). But really, don't we look back fondly on those times simply because we dreaded getting back to work in earnest? Were you really paying attention when that kid in the corner named his three favorite movies? Unlike school, you theoretically want to be reading this blog, so (theoretically) an introduction that fails to relate to the theme of the blog is little more than an obstacle. Or are we reading too much into this whole thing?
So much for keeping it short.
Anyways, I've started this blog for a few reasons. One, I have some ideas and knowledge that (I feel) deserves an outlet and can't be adequately expressed in conversation with peers. Certain concepts simply aren't conducive to a coffeeshop discussion, where you're forced to shout over the Bob Dylan bootleg playing in the background and friends stray frustratingly far from the aspect of the topic that most interests you. Two, I've met a lot of intelligent people over the years, but not all of them know each other. Ideally, my buddies from high school will be arguing (respectfully) with my friends from UT. I've avoided detailing what exactly will come up in these posts, because I myself don't have much of a clue. I'd love to have a healthy share of serious posts concerning morality and politics, but who knows. I'll almost certainly explore less significant areas, such as college football and poker. I may even throw in a "life update" just in case Allie Presutti is reading (whassup Allie P), but those will be infrequent. If you ask me, life updates must be personal in order to be sufficiently compelling even for a lowly blog, and I'm too private a person to go into that much detail.
Finally, I've started this blog as a way to keep myself from being too one-dimensional. Law school basically consumed me last semester; I didn't neglect family or friends, but I sacrificed other intellectual pursuits. I'm no Renaissance Man, but it would be nice to read something that didn't require Black's Law by my side. Maybe having this blog will motivate me to expand my mind, if only so that I can have something interesting to discuss.
A few quick things: this page will not be updated routinely. I'll post only when I have something that's post-worthy. At the start, it'll be easy to come up with decent content, but as I become more entrenched in my courses, I'll likely have fewer ideas for posts.
Since I'll be talking little about myself in future entries, let me just get the basics out of the way here (on the off chance that someone who doesn't know me finds this page worthwhile). I'm a 21 year old male law student at the University of Texas Law School. I've lived in the suburbs of Chicago my entire life (up until August 2008) and spent my undergrad time at Northwestern University in Evanston. True Story: My freshman dorm was on the same street as my first childhood house. I love sports and card games, and I'll probably end up talking more about poker than you care to read...good thing it's my blog, haha. I enjoy law school but have no burning desire to become a lawyer. I'm trying to reconcile the Objectivist philosophies that Ayn Rand espouses with my Catholic values and my intangible attraction to the Kant that I've been exposed to over the years. I know very little about the great thinkers, and the little I do know is certainly simplistic and possibly inaccurate. Politically, I'm best described as libertarian, but that doesn't mean I'm a Libertarian. I can't think of much else about me that will relate to this blog, so I'll stop.
Also, if you're wondering where the title originated: Running it Twice is something that poker players do in order to minimize variance without influencing the players' expected value.* Think of it this way: if you and I were to flip a coin for $1000, to "run it twice" would mean that we'd flip the coin twice, each time for $500. Poker players apply that to their cash games from time to time. Anyways, I chose "Running It Twice" as my blog title because almost every other character string seemed to be claimed and because I'm hoping in part to take some law school concepts and run them past people who chose instead to contribute positively to society. Two different perspectives = "Running it Twice".
I sincerely hope you enjoy reading what I write. I encourage you to comment, especially on the posts that cover weightier topics.
*Admittedly, running it twice may nominally influence the EV of the hand in ways that might be discussed in a later post. I figured that an in-depth treatment of this would appeal to, oh, 1% of the readers out there, so I'm saving it until I've accrued more credit.
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