1984 was written in 1948. John Nash's work in the Pentagon was in the 50s.
The book was already extant then.

I've never really appreciated the therapeutic value of sharing your most intimate personal feelings with a diary, let alone publishing that diary for all and sundry on the net. Still, at the repeated exhortations of friends who keep telling me I have related enough experiences about it to write a book("oh god stop already stop just make it stop go write a book or something") - there ARE some interesting observations to be made. And it IS oddly cathartic. So here's today's little gems

Putting work into perspective:

Succeses to date.
a) Learning to tie a half-windsor knot for my tie. This is no mean feat considering that for four years in secondary school my school tie was only tied twice by my mother, and subsequently hitched and unhitched every week; only retying the knot ONCE after Sec. 2(lost the tie in canteen). And in university, I got away with clip-ons and bowties whenever occasions demanded a cravat of some sort. But now, I have to tie a tie *everyday*. And now I know how. (thanks to http://www.bizweb.com/tie) Cheer at my triumphs! Bask in my glory!

Failures to date:
a) Everything else, from having a hideous job, to having a hideous life.

Okay, that bit of bitching made me feel WAY better about myself:)