Power is the ability to exert one's will. The desires for power, to make a difference in the world, and to be heard, among others, seem to have this common root of exerting one's will on the world. In me this manifests in an enjoyment of building things and of accomplishing seemingly impossible tasks, such as computing the Ackermann function in TeX, proving unstatable theorems in Coq, and smashing nearly perfect abstraction barriers. See also frustration.txt.