The Library: Comments & Details

This geeks-only section contains explanations about The Library that most people wouldn't want to know, but some do.

The Library is a selection of items I have produced in various formats. 

It contains actual files and their contents, or suitable links. It includes text documents,  lecture presentations, and spreadsheets.

Many of the items were written a long time ago, and I have had to ask myself whether they have any present value. If it's here, I must think it is worth something, and it might for example be part of a sequence of unfolding understanding or shifting ideas. It might have some historical value in terms of 'what we thought then' that illuminates the present, or possibly even the future. Or it might be a one-off idea, a subject that never got revisited, but perhaps deserves an outing. Some of it is rather unpolished, and probably needs cleaning or culling. I appreciate feedback on this matter.

Sometimes there will be a collection of items addressing the same problem. These might appear rather 'samey', but were perhaps addressed to different audiences, were trying out different patterns of argument. Of course some basic material gets 'recycled' and there is bound to be some repetition.

Many of the older documents require annotation.   Trivial errors like typos, grammatical mistakes, stylistic obscurities, might as well be amended without further ado. Otherwise the text used is usually the most recent version. Items will be introduced at the topic level, and are sometimes be preceded by a prefatory note in the documents explaining their history, why they were written, and any special features that merit attention. Sometimes I simply add footnotes, duly dated.