A student in Colorado, looking for some sort of synthesis--the big picture, encompassing all the strangeness in the universe--but willing to settle for the philosophic or poetic lens.
The ScienceBlogs party here this past Sunday was a blast. We had about half a dozen people stop by, altogether. We ate and drank, talked science and politics, and did silly things for the camera. On the latter note, I now have about a half hour of footage that we shot at the party that is waiting to be edited. I estimate two minutes of it may actually be usable!*
*Note...at future parties, don’t put the helium-filled balloons next to the martinis. The combination is apparently too tempting.
So, I’ll have more party news later this weekend, when I’ll have time to sit down and look at that. In the meantime, there are many different things that I’d like to get up here: bits of history, science, philosophy, and art, woven together in strange yet thought-provoking ways, in quotes, fractals, poems, true stories, and more. Somewhere in this mess of information, I have to find a place to start. I’ll probably just dive in at some random spot, like life usually seems to do.
While I’m organizing my notes, I’ll leave you with a few questions to consider:
- What do boundaries do?
- Are boundaries real or artificial?
- Are boundaries convenient? Necessary?
- Do you have to draw new boundaries to answer these questions?
Most of my research has been hovering around these questions lately, so they’ll certainly be brought up again.... after the party post? I’m not sure; stay tuned!
Comments
I would refer you to George Spencer Brown's treatise "The Laws of Form", if you have not already read it. If you would consider 'boundary' to be a cognitive equivalent to 'distinction' then you may find value in what he has to say. There is a lot to Google on the title, and you will find a lot of woo surrounding it too. But I think that does not invalidate the base message from its originator, merely warn you to be wary of derivatives. So I will do no more than refer you to the original work.
Posted by: GrayGaffer | October 4, 2008 3:33 PM