Lionel is the user name for Lionel D. Hummel, a resident of Scottsdale, Arizona. He grew up in Highland Park, Illinois and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
He has worked since 1989 as an engineer at a major American electronics firm. He serves and has served on several community boards, sometimes in an executive role. He believes in the active pursuit of "truth" and "knowledge" (quoted in recognition of how otherwise reasonable people can disagree on these things), and he is a committed voice of moderation, civility, fairness, and most of all accuracy. He believes in humanity's responsibility to care for life and all of creation, and that diversity is our greatest strength. He feels these beliefs are somwehat reflected by his membership in or involvement with groups such as the Sierra Club, the American Jewish Committee and of course, Wikipedia.
In high school he postulated a "Halftone"-based theory of knowledge, in response to the question "Do you see things as black and white or shades of grey". Just as a newspaper photograph appears grey but is actually made up of very tiny, black and white areas, he believes that grey subjects are made up of smaller facts and value judgements that can be expressed in black and white. When the black and white pieces are suitably chosen, sized and arranged, a clear picture emerges.
