Yes. I need to cast my runes again to see what they reveal (I jest). I hate to leave a good fire untended for too long. Consider this one stoked while I attend to other immediate concerns.

Wonky,

Some of your predictions are right on the money, some are in the general direction.

Of course, I accept the axioms, in fact, it was my study of existence exists, A is A, and every cause has an effect and every effect has a cause, that propelled me to achieve a great deal more than my classmates. I use integration and differentiation, generally, but use an analogy of genus and species more often, and of course all knowledge is contextual. Those that separate knowledge from context are driving down the rationalist road. The concept of non-contradiction helped me to understand some very hard to grasp material. It seemed contradictory, but I knew it was likely not so. Thus, I re-evaluated my premises.

Yes, I challenged every contradiction, and still do. There are a number of... let's call them idioms.. used in the sciences, such as "nature abhors a vacuum" and "entropy causes everything to move from order to chaos" and others that really bug me because they are patently false if you examine reality. Yet they are mindlessly repeated by intelligent people as if they are truth, simply because their professor told them so.

I think the mathematics of quantuum physics is modeling true behavior, but that the explanation is obviously bunk. I absolutely do not think that observing an entity changes it, provided that the observation is passive.

I have not spent time considering the right hand rule, thanks for the tip.

I have a decent understanding of thermodynamics, enough to throw the bullshit flag when necessary, and well enough to predict outcomes of some processes before they occur, but definitely not well enough to predict processes like organic chemistry.

I think the idea that the speed of light is the ultimate speed limit of the universe is a silly idea.

I have no interest in perpetual motion machinery, but spend a great deal of time considering how to get another 5 percent efficiency out of a standard thermal cycle power generation facility.

BUT...... epistemology alone does not provide happiness. There can be no separation between mind and body, between thought and action, between plan and execution. Epistemology is simply a tool that one uses to find errors, correct them, and move on. It is a tool that one uses to invent and create, to verify and reject falsehoods. But it does not stand alone, and though I know there are many who consider epistemology to be the most important of the branches, I disagree.

My secret to success, Wonky, which I regret that anyone would consider to be a secret, though it might as well be for the lack of people who understand it, is rooted more firmly in metaphysics than in epistemology. I cannot separate one from the other, though, after all I understand metaphysics because of my epistemology. Of the two, though, my epistemology is weaker. It is still a branch that I need to work on.

Does this help with your profile of me?

Nicely stated Mike. Indeed, metaphysics and epistemology are the two foundations that underlie every decision we make and every action we take. They support our ethics, and then, when we apply our ethics in a social context, our politics. Metaphysics and epistemology are the basis of my "secret to success", but only when they are not only fully integrated mentally, (which takes a great deal of time, study, and work) but also integrated physically, which means that the plans must be put into action, that the thoughts must be transformed from the conceptual to the physical. One must learn to shape their own reality to conform to their own values.

Sadly, most people never take the time to even understand, or to discover, what their values are.

Persistence is one of the keys, yes. But not the crux of the matter. It is one effect that is gained from a cause that is very hard to initiate. However, it is an effect that becomes a key contributing cause of success. Dig deeper, much deeper into this subject, to integrate the concept that enables all of these things mentioned in the responses.

Definitely on the right track. But this is a very deep subject. It cannot be summarized in couple of sentences or a quick series of thoughts. Of course there is no magic formula. Anyone who says so is a mystic. But there is a secret, though it should not be secret at all, it should be obvious to all. Yet, most people who say they know how to succeed, do not. Is it then, that they choose to fail?

Maphesdus, I have read some of your other posts. I have nothing to say to you other than..I have nothing to say to you.

No "secret" exists. You can work hard, be determined, and persevere every day and not achieve much. Reason and logic are also important, perhaps fundamental. In order to ACT you must THINK. Clear thinking gets you farther than hard work, all other things being equal - "ceteris parabus" as the economists say.

But rationality alone is powerless without application. I agree that hard work matters.

That said, no magic formula tells you when you need to persevere over all obstacles and when you need to change your path based on your experience. Wisdom cannot be reduced to a set of commandments.