On pseudonyms.
1. Because it allows me to write personal anecdotes in a manner where I'm not sharing my laundry with people I deal with on a day-to-day basis.
2. Because it allows me to separate this part of my life from my work life. i.e. I don't have to worry about weirdos calling my boss, just because I wrote something that they disagree with.
3. Because "The Factician" amuses me. It's a combination of Factory and Tactician, which makes me laugh. Very conspiratorial. Though I've had folks on other sites claim that they think I'm spouting false facts. Not quite what I intended, and sometimes I wish I'd noticed that before I chose it...
4. It allows people to judge what I say, not who I am. I try to make arguments from a rational position, rather than a position of authority (not that anyone considers a post-doc an authority - we're just about the bottom rung of the academic science ladder).
