About me
Personality Big headed (literally as well as metaphorically), self-obsessed, prone to pomposity (especially in writing, see below), depressive, nerdy, introverted, socially inept, culturally snobbish. When I’m doing well on University Challenge (Wikipedia) (answering the television’s questions, not appearing on it) I feel my mind is like the British Museum; other times it’s more like my house: I live alone and the place is generally in such a state that I don’t like to let people see it. (I’m also a bit of a self-publicist, in case that’s not already obvious—but an introverted self-publicist? Well, when the going gets weird…)
Philosophy My main ambition is to develop a sort of philosophical “theory of everything”: how mind and meaning, consciousness and culture evolved out of mere matter. (I think it’s already quite well developed, but I’m cautious about saying so, because I’ve yet to convince anyone else that it’s right. One of the most important conceptual building blocks is information.) My current project is on what meditation can teach us about consciousness, see the Papers page.
Religion I’m a “Buddhist without beliefs” (Google). These things are inevitably somewhat subtle and complex, but I recently decided that the best brief explanation of my religion is: I follow Buddhist practices without buying in to the belief system. So why bother? It’s therapeutic—and goes much further, I believe, than any current Western therapeutic system.
Education To date: BA (Hons) philosophy and psychology, 1981; MSc information technology, 1986. Planned: MSc philosophy, 2010; PhD philosophy of mind, 2013/14. I joined the University of Edinburgh Philosophy department’s taught MSc course in September 2009, on the Mind, Language and Embodied Cognition specialisation, switched to MSc by Research in December 2009, and hope subsequently to do a PhD there.
Work experience 1986 to 1998, academic researcher in computing science and environmental economics (using computer modeling); 1998 to present, computer technician (my own business, which continues part-time while I’m in full-time education).
Other interests and activities Playing guitar. Currently that means playing along with some of my favourite recordings, comprising about 90% Steely Dan and Donald Fagen (Wikipedia), 8% The Smiths (Wikipedia), 2% others. I don’t play chords or read music or know more than the most basic theory. I occasionally play bass guitar, but very often play bass-type lines. Favourite instruments: Line 6 Variax 600 modeling guitar (tuned all fourths) and Fender American Standard Fretless Jazz Bass. When fit for it I enjoy hill walking, especially the Scottish Munros (Wikipedia), but in recent years I’ve been confined to short walks in the low lands due to a knee problem, which does however seem to be on the mend. I’ve always been something of a gadget-head, and my current favourites, apart from the guitars, and in no particular order, are a Samsung NC10 netbook, a Humax Foxsat-HDR PVR, a Toshiba Regza 40 inch LCD TV, and a Sony PlayStation 3 (for CDs and DVDs (incl BluRay), not games). I have an ancient Technics audio amplifier, with Wharfedale Dovedale speakers, hooked up to the TV. I’m still not set-up for easy routine listening to MP3s, though I’ve plenty of them. My main PC is just a boring workhorse.
Family/relationships My father died in 2008 after suffering from a degenerative disease for many years. My mother is still alive but has dementia and lives in a care home. I have a sister who is married with two grown-up children. Otherwise, whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent. Or as we say nowadays, “it’s complicated”. The upshot is that I’m not available, despite popular demand. 
That makes my sexual orientation irrelevant, strictly speaking, but I like this enough to offer it anyway: “lesbian trapped in a man’s body”, which is becoming a bit clichéd, but still works for me. I wouldn’t consider a sex change, though, it’s not that good.
Despite the somewhat occluded nature of the previous paragraph, I really do believe in being as open and honest as possible, and in that spirit I hereby come out as a naturist—though I don’t like that word, because we’re the truly normal ones, who should therefore need no particular label! During the first half of September 09 I could be found most days on the Plage de Pampelonne, Saint-Tropez, sunning myself without compromise, and I intend to be in the same place doing the same thing during the second half of May, and perhaps again in September, 2010. Of course, whether you’d want to find me in that condition is another matter altogether. But don’t worry, it rarely happens below about 25°C.
I’m the last of the Faichneys who lived in Bainsford, Falkirk during most of the twentieth century. I mean, the last to bear that name, there are many other descendants. The ch is pronounced as in the Scottish word loch, and the vowel sounds in Fai and ney are both pronounced as in hay, so it’s Fay-ch-nay.
