I have posted some of these thoughts elsewhere; I am re-iterating and expanding upon them here. These are somewhat wandering thoughts.
My old worldview was highly influenced by state education, officially-approved sources more generally, and vague impressions likely originating from the former two. While I had certain personal interests, they were not enough as a foundation on which to build a worldview on their own. Eventually, this state of affairs ended for at least a few reason:
