The Modifier

If there's one trait which characterizes me, it's that I modify things. I can't help it. If I see something that I believe could be better, and modifying it to make it better seems to be within my abilities, I try.

When I was a kid this often meant I broke things and then felt ashamed.

Now I'm more likely to recognize when something is beyond my abilities-- but not always. I still break things.

This trait is why my flashlights all have LED bulbs in them now. It's why my vehicle has Fischer cup holders (not an affiliate link), why I made litter boxes for the cats, why I made myself a standing desk years ago, and why I can never seem to leave "well enough" alone.

Most of my former bosses seemed to appreciate this quality as I was good at solving problems with what I could scrounge up and modify.

But I don't stop at physical things.

When the English language seems inadequate to a task, I coin a new word. "Archate" is not the first by any means, nor was it the last, but it is the one I most hope will eventually catch on.

The reason I coined "archate" is that I really like the Zero Aggression Principle as worded by L. Neil Smith, but I knew it could be better. It was essential, but not sufficient because it didn't cover everything humans have no right to do-- everything which violates the equal and identical rights of their fellow humans. Yes, some people try to define theft, fraud, etc. as "aggression", but it's a stretch.

The ZAP, in my opinion, needed modification so I searched dictionaries for a word which suited it better than "aggression" and found none.

So I coined a word and modified the ZAP to become the Zero Archation Principle. Did I break it or make it better? I can't know the answer to that, but I can say with complete confidence that I don't feel any shame over my modification this time.

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