Random Musings on a Slow Workday

With all the progress that has been made in the maths and science over the last century, it is increasingly important to have writers who can explain these, oftentimes complex, new ideas to the lay public in such a way that real understanding can be had by all.

Better communication of these ideas can more easily result in individuals or groups working in other fields becoming aware of these things which may turn out to have implications for their field and vice versa.

As specialized fields develop more and more obscure jargon to explain more and more complex concepts, the need for 'translation', as it were, back into more universally understandable language increases. This can allow for the possibility of interdisciplinary cross-pollination. In other words, we need more James Gleicks.

New Moon Rising

A real quick update: We here at alchememetic are working on a new feature for your long forgotten blogspot cul-de-sac - interviews with *living* people. Our immediate focus will be on regional thinkers and doers and other internet-catchword-types.
Stop back soon (and soon is a very relative term at alchememeticillusionectomy...)
Cheers,
Dolf

Values

Applying systems theory and the like to looking at our systems of belief and our overall philosophy so that we may 'perfect' them and clarify them. This allows us to make sound and consistent decisions in our daily lives.

Studying systems theory with this in mind helps us with identifying the organizational structures of our ideosphere. It helps with understanding what fundamental concepts we employ in deciding which more complex concepts we choose to believe, as well as which are inconsistent with our fundamental principles.

Once we identify our value system we may further look to see why we make the choices we do and whether these are consistent with our belief system as we claim it to be. Our actions truly illustrate what our actual values are.

It must be noted that these actions are by no means congruent with our stated values. Our stated values, those which we may only superficially think we hold, are nothing but stated values if, when it comes time to act accordingly or not to said values, we choose the latter. Thus, actions speak louder than words.

Random thoughts

When holding a conversation with someone on a topic of which you know little or none, approach it from the standpoint of learning something new. I don't think I so much as understand better by way of metaphor, but I do prefer to attempt to find metaphors to clarify in the speaker's mind what exactly they mean when they speak of whatever it is they are speaking of. This leads them to more clearly understand what it is that they think of in regards to a particular subject; they are forced to clarify the concept in their mind in order to pass it on to me with even sufficient clarity. This allows for higher fidelity in the attempted transmission of the meme(s)(plexes) from their mind to mine. You, the presently benighted party, are more likely to get more information and less noise via the channel of communication than you might otherwise have.
Those who attempt to transfer knowledge to others without fully understanding what it is they are talking about ultimately do themselves a disservice by (memetically) misrepresenting concepts due to their (at least implicit) claim to contextual expert authority. This further can lead to an internal reinforcement to themselves that they grasp those concepts better than they actually do, therefore digging themselves into the proverbial hole.
To combat this one might say that it is possible to think and speak in E-prime in such circumstances, avoiding generalizations ('All generalizations are dangerous, even this one - Dumas) and admitting fallibility as well as fully reasoning something through whilst not insisting on and taking the tacit approach of not being wrong at all costs, being honest with oneself as well as others for, as they say, 'The truth heals clean.'

The Gray Area

So often people like to take the ambiguous, complex aspects of reality and attempt to make them black and white in their heads. This can lead to many problems as this constructs mental misrepresentations of reality and thus they are unable to properly deal with things as they really are. This goes back to the problem of one not dealing with reality as it really is and the problems that stem from that.

'The psychic task which a person can and must set for himself, is not to feel secure, but to be able to tolerate insecurity, without panic and undue fear.' -Erich Fromm The Sane Society p. 174.

The Abyss of Freedom

Writing in terms of style hinders your writing altogether. 'Style' implies delimiting factors with parameters and confines within which you / your piece must stay. All else is verboten and thus your piece is denied anything which might enhance it if it falls outside this prefabricated construct. Style, in my approximation, is best employed in the capacity of inspiration. I.e., a blues-inspired section or piece; an impressionist-inspired piece, etc.

This advice would go for all forms of creativity. Everything from musical composition to cooking; film-making to interior design.

As in all aspects of life, specifically, creative endeavors, strictly speaking, to 'left brain thinking' or 'right brain thinking' is missing a whole world of possibilities – the key whole-brain thinking: applying all of the intellect that one has developed throughout their lifetime, but also conjuring and incorporating all of the experiential / emotional factors which make up what one is.

Just as culture benchmarks ideas, individuals benchmark concepts that over time become fragmented and disorganized. 'Reflection' is an important practice and can be energized if used as a period for reintegration of all the concepts one has accumulated – a sort of defragging and reorganizing of both gained concepts and emotionalized experiences. This, once again, conjures whole-brain thinking – combining the intellect and the emotions; left and right brain.

'With all the possibilities at [Debussy's] disposal, and conscious habits blocked, he came to confront what Stravinsky later called “the abyss of freedom.” Thereafter he complained of a paralysis of the imagination. In 1909 he wrote to Caplet, “No, it is not neurosis, or hypochondria either. It is the sweet sickness of the notion of having to choose among all conceivable things.”' -Music in the 20th Century, W W Austin p.33.

-A definition of information overload in the creative process?

In the words of Damien Rice: 'So Here It Is'....

More fauxetry for all four of you. It is an incomplete work so (feign caring) check back to see its evolution.

I will not love you only for your body
I will not love you only for parts of your body
I will not love you only for access to your body
I will not love you only for your mind
I will not love you only for parts of your mind
I will not love you only for access to your mind
I will not love you only for what you think of me
I will not love you only for what I think of you
I will not love you only for what others think of us
I will not love you only for what others don't realize in us
I will not love you only for what has happened
I will not love you only for what I want to happen
I will not love you only for what I hope will happen
I will not love you only for what I treasure that has already happened
I will not love you only for what can never happen
I will not love you only for what will never happen
I will not love you only for what has never happened
I will not love you only for what has yet to happen
I will not love you only for what I can make you be
I will not love you only for what you can make me be
I will not love you only for what we can make others be
I will not love you only for what we can make the world be
I will not love you only for your potential
I will not love you only for our shared potential
I will not love you only for yor existence
I will not love you only for your presence in my life
I will not love you only for how you can complete my life
I will not love you only for your gaze
I will not love you only for those moments when we are the only two in the world
I will not love you only for how you look at me the way only you do
I will not love you only for how comfortable we may be together
I will not love you only for how good we are together
I will not love you only for what you say
I will not love you only for when we are silent together
I will not love you only for our shared interests
I will not love you only for our diametric oppositions
I will not love you only for our shared experiences
I will not love you only for our similar experiences
I will not love you only for our parallel lives
I will not love you only for our parallel dreams
I will not love you only for our shared virility
I will not love you only for our shared vividness
I will not love you only for your tastes
I will not love you only for your lack of taste
I will not love you only for your talents
I will not love you only for how you perceive
I will not love you only for how you say what you say
I will not love you only for your misperceptions
I will not love you only for your adorable imperfections
I will not love you only for your abhorable imperfections
I will not love you only for your silly understatements
I will not love you only for your grave misunderstandings
I will not love you only for your mistranslations
I will not love you only for your perfect synchronicities
I will not love you only for your perfection
I will not love you only for your imperfection
I will only love you because I love all of you, regardless, and that is more proof of love than you will ever get anywhere else. And that is proof of love in its purest, simplest form. The only form in which it lasts eternally, all else is naive bullshit and/or attempted-panty-dropping buncombe.
But when I pose the question: Will you choose ghost or will you choose life? You will choose death.
And when I pose the question: Will you choose him or will you choose me? You will choose him.
It is because you have a deathwish and do not want life; the life that I would bring you. You will suffer all your days and I tried...