Apologies for Another Interruption to Normal Service
Yes, I am on the move again, this time from France to Scotland, with prospects of a seven-week stay before returning to France for six weeks. The occasion is family-domestic: a child is about to be born and its grandparents (er, me and my wife, or more honestly, my wife and I) are to be on hand to help with the usual post-birth assistance as the new baby is settled into its parents home and their life-work balance (‘its’ is used here because boy or girl is not known just yet, by choice of the parents).
All being well, I may be re-connected this evening, though that depends on how much snail mail awaits me from my absence and what other household chores require my attention.
My book on Adam Smith (reeling from various disruptions while in France and my visit to GMU, Virginia) is in sight of the finishing line, though now so close to the deadline as to keep me awake at night, and whilest I am reviewing certain chapters (currently ‘10a' on Smithian Growth), I am passing through others fairly satisfied with their content.
All authors will know the terrors of the last reading –‘did I miss something?; ‘Is that reference right?’ ‘is that statement justified?’; and so on, with each trip to the Library finding another article popping up, challenging this or that approach, with the usual dilemma: ‘shall I insert something to accept/rebut the paper?’
I rest assured somewhat with the thought that it is ‘better to be approximately right than absolutely wrong’ (I hope). Perhaps it’s best to think of one’s book as ‘work in progress’ (?), but then, that is not what readers are paying for or what editors accept.
With these thoughts I shall sign off now, until tomorrow.
A bientot.
All being well, I may be re-connected this evening, though that depends on how much snail mail awaits me from my absence and what other household chores require my attention.
My book on Adam Smith (reeling from various disruptions while in France and my visit to GMU, Virginia) is in sight of the finishing line, though now so close to the deadline as to keep me awake at night, and whilest I am reviewing certain chapters (currently ‘10a' on Smithian Growth), I am passing through others fairly satisfied with their content.
All authors will know the terrors of the last reading –‘did I miss something?; ‘Is that reference right?’ ‘is that statement justified?’; and so on, with each trip to the Library finding another article popping up, challenging this or that approach, with the usual dilemma: ‘shall I insert something to accept/rebut the paper?’
I rest assured somewhat with the thought that it is ‘better to be approximately right than absolutely wrong’ (I hope). Perhaps it’s best to think of one’s book as ‘work in progress’ (?), but then, that is not what readers are paying for or what editors accept.
With these thoughts I shall sign off now, until tomorrow.
A bientot.
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