EpsilonSD - how this blog got its name

"Epsilon" is a word/ idea I've always held great affinity for for its symbolic value. Derived from the formal proof of mathematical limits, based on:

"For all epsilon greater than zero" (epsilon is always positive), "as epsilon tends towards zero" (epsilon is veryvery small - the smallest value you can imagine, squeezing up the tangent to the axis) "|f(x) - L|" (the absolute (i.e. always positive) value of whatever the function of 'x' you're trying to prove minus the value you're trying to prove it can never surpass but will tend to with ever greater values of 'x') is less than epsilon (i.e. less than this very small, positive thing that's as small as you can possibly imagine it but still the difference between the function and limit is smaller so it must be darned near zero so it might as well be the same and hence the limit...)

OK that's a lot of words for what mathematicians put ever so much more gracefully in a few symbols, but just to roughly illustrate the mathematical relevance of 'epsilon' - something by definition as small as you can imagine, but positive, the founding concept on which a proof for 'limits' (quite a lofty concept really) is based. The touchy feely social development researcher/ anthropologist in me just loves that. It makes me think of the Grameen Bank of Professor Muhammad Yunus. A huge benefit from a relatively so small input.

The SD... when I created this blog in 2007 I was partly toying with the idea of opening a cc through which to run the freelance consulting I was doing at the time. Never got round to all the admin part and ended up joining Southern Hemisphere (SHC) which turned out as perfect solution to still do what I was doing plus a greater range and variety of interesting work and loads of learning and team support without losing the flexi-freelance lifestyle.

At the time I was playing with a possible name I might give such a cc. 'Epsilon' had to be in there somewhere as it's been with me for years (remaing as relic and reminder of the mathdegree I did a decade ago before moving into social development consulting careerwise flowing from the BA I also did at the time.) But I had to make it somewhat relevant to the work I thought to be promoting if indeed this blog was to serve as quasi-website for this up&comin cc of mine. So the SD would have stood for 'Social Development' in a way. I'm not so fond of the term 'social development' and whatever connotations it might have in many minds (including my own in many ways.) But it most accurately described the type of work I do. At the time it was mostly social impact assessments (SIAs) as part of environmental (EIAs) for various big developments - power stations, golf courses, mines etc. - Not exactly the most 'social development' oriented clients one could boast of but in a way I justified it (and still do when those projects come in though SHCs clients have generally been more 'goodly' NGO's and government/ donor funded projects geared to human upliftment ('development') in some way or other.)

Going with the 'mathematical' theme helped me get over 'development' connotations... I thought a possible business card would have the ESD all in Greek capitals. With S = 'Sigma' which mathematically signifies "the sum of" (unity, coming together, adding, joining etc.), and D - 'Delta' - the symbol for "change". So EpsilonSigmaDelta would really, as my personal 'mission statement' refer to a 'very small, positive thing', 'unity', and 'change'. (The nitpicker in me wasn't entirely happy with the order of these symbols - SE=D might make a more powerful (well, more 'mathematically correct' anyway) statement: "the sum of very small positive actions resulting in change" - but I kinda made peace with the compromise - "very small positive actions, joined together, result in change". And since I hadn't actually done any math since 1999 and don't move in circles where the position of 'Sigma' makes any difference whatsoever, I figured it could work.

Never did start the cc so never needed the name. Or the 'website' for that matter. In retrospect I could probably have started using it as a blog before but... got caught up in other things I guess... Now that it's revived and I suddenly see the purpose of such a space, guess the name remains as relevant as ever to encaptulate what I'm about - well... try to be about... we all have our moments and the ideals we strive towards. Guess this is mine. (Along with my motto's for daily living: "observe; be aware; don't judge"; "do to others as you'd have them do to you"; "from each according to abilities, to each according to needs" and the Serenity Prayer ("God grant me the serenity; to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. ")