That said, you’re right: I didn’t take the earlier era into account, and age 30 was generally more mature then than it is now.

Finally, based on my own experience as a distracted, self-absorbed drunk, I would say that honesty about the condition is of little virtue. This is related to something called “The Asshole Fallacy” – where a person behaves generally as an asshole but believes that this is ok because he acknowledges that he is an asshole. We’ve all met someone like this, generally during freshman year of college. Honesty actually contributes to the problem when it becomes an excuse not to improve the situation. Virtue requires stopping the behavior, for which honesty may be necessary but is not sufficient.

You don’t think being honest about being a distracted, self absorbed drunk could be defended as virtuous?

Nevertheless, I just realized that now that I have posted on this topic, the odds are incrementally higher that I would be targeted for jailbait or scam. In addition, my embarrassment and self-disgust with a bad outcome is significantly increased. So now it is much more certain that I would turn in any significant amount of money.

But who knows what would really happen? Personality is quantum like Schrödinger’s cat – it exists in a mixture of states until you open the box.

I’m not so sure that the kids who live in the open now will continue to do so as they age. It’s possible that young people simply have less to hide – or rather, less reasons to hide. If we had FB when I was younger, I’m sure I would have had lots of embarrassing things on it. And I’m also sure I would have cleaned a lot of that up, if possible, as I got older.

With the services people differentiate as public versus private, try seeing them as spaces for keeping up with old friends versus meeting new friends. Some of the concerns about privacy may remain, but things like Twitter’s imposed brevity add value that’s missed from the privacy perspective.

I like the idea of Nick as the unreliable driver/seer of the story.

But maybe it’s more appropriate to say it’s about what we can look up TO…Eckleburg has the most visible ‘vision’ of all but says nothing.

In the absence of looking up at all, all we’re left with is what’s within: the pages of the book are filled after all where we expected a facade. Whether that’s enough to sustain us depends, I suppose, on the authenticity of our tales.

Just wanted to say “thank you” for your kind, but mostly insightful, words about Craig. I, too, worked with him at VLG, and also worked with you. I am currently living in Georgia and heard about Craig over the weekend. Bad news travels…and travels fast. He will be missed greatly.

I never had the pleasure of being in the office next to Craig, however when I did see him, he always had an “interesting something” to say to me. I appreciated that more than he ever knew.

Great post.