Steve Barefoot

I started wring my blog, Confronting Mediocrity, in 2010 simply as a place where I could develop and record topics that interested me. It seemed that I would often come across an idea that interested me but never seemed to have the time or discipline to dig deeper into it. I don't have any more discretionary time, but at least I can set aside time to think about a subject in a structured way, scribble down a few thoughts and then move on.

I'm pleased when someone reads a post, but having a large following for the blog has never been my goal. In a way, that's empowering because I can always write just for me and after all, that's why I started writing in the first place.

If there is any recurring theme in my postings, it is probably the battle between emotion and reason as it relates to people's decision-making process and overall behavior. My perspective is that the world would be a better place in general if people's actions were guided by logic, reason and basically, critical thinking. I am both fascinated and depressed that the world doesn't work that way and that, unfortunately, there are endless example that serve as fodder for my ramblings.

I am a graduate of Indiana University with a bachelors degee in biological sciences as well as a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. I had been in active practice for only a few years when I shifted careers to medical research to study the metabolic burst of stimulated polymorphonuclear leukocytes. In addition to studying white blood cells, I also studied endotoxic and hemorrhagic shock, and was part of a team that performed phase four clinical trials, mostly for hypertension. It was during this period that I devloped an interest in computer-based management of clinical trial data and started my own company and developed software to manage trials. Some of the work I did in this area is listed on my Google Scholar page,

I have also been a certified IBM instructor, a National Solution Director for a consulting company with over 1,800 employees, founded one of the premier IBM Authorized Education Centers (Eclipse Education), served on the editorial board of the Journal of Environmental Forensics, and have been an analyst for the mobile industry.