R.I.P. Kurt Vonnegut. It may not be obvious, but this blog is technically named “Harmless Untruths” (a part of my larger monodrone.org website). This term, “harmless untruths,” comes from Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle , one of my favorite books. In Cat’s Cradle , a strange religion called Bokononism admits that it is mostly made up of lies — called foma , or “harmless untruths.” Still, people take comfort in these lies and find them meaningful. I don’t claim to totally understand the concept, but on t…