My wife and I are in the process of installing new wooden blinds in our family room windows. During the process of buying the blinds, I was introduced to the concept of

Faux Wood blinds. Faux wood blinds look like wood, but are made of plastic. They are not the real thing.

Faux equals

fake, but faux sounds more chic.

Faux pearls.

Faux painting.

Faux fur.

Faux identities are not new.

Mark Twain was Samuel Clemens’ faux identity or

pseudonym.

Andrew Heenan’s Real Names of Famous Folk lists many famous people and their real names.

In the modern world of cyberspace, faux identities are commonplace – and troublesome. While some anonymity provided by false identity is certainly justified, particularly by those seeking protection from predators or bigots, I am troubled by the pervasive culture of anonymity on the Internet. Too many people act out fantasies in cyberspace that they wouldn’t be caught dead doing in real life. Evil people prey on innocents while hiding behind false identities. Phishers and spammers ply their trade behind the shield of anonymity.

An engineering professor once taught me that I should be proud to affix my name to anything I created. Conversely, I should make sure that anything I create is worthy of my name.

My recommendation? Beware of faux – whether faux wood or faux identity.

Tag: Identity