06-22-2013, 07:25 PM | #61 |
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I have enough contradictory ideas and opinions of my own to make me avoid worrying about those that others hold.
Vegetarianism, abortion, genetic selection etc. There are no 100% clear cut answers that I can see. Whether a person's actions and stance are consistent is not as important to me as the fact that they are trying to do what they think is right. But then there are times when I think a person or group has taken a moral stance simply for the pleasure of bludgeoning others over the heads with their feelings of moral superiority. But this is off topic I am sure Thinking back I have been present at several gatherings of like minded people, artists, academia, poets and authors, newspaper people, musicians, and even politicians and lawyers, and was unimpressed overall, but they all seemed impressed with themselves and each other, so in 50 years perhaps others will be asking the same question referring back to gatherings of today. Helen |
06-22-2013, 09:21 PM | #62 |
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06-22-2013, 09:55 PM | #63 | |
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To answer all the disagreements on this point, let me show the work. Michaelson/Morley showed that the speed of light did not vary in any direction. No argument. This caused a major stir in late 19th century physics. Another physicist (FitzGerald) provided a mathematical basis for this anomaly. He proposed the space contracted/expanded at the same rate that the aether would cause a difference in the speed of light, so you could never see the difference in the speed of light caused by the aether, if it was there. Since you could never measure it (according to the FitzGerald Contraction), aether was eventually dropped as something that existed. (The FitzGerald contraction fit into the mathematics of Relativity perfectly, so once relativity was accepted, the aether went away.) However, none of this has disproved the existence of aether. Arguments could be made that the existence of permeability and permittivity of a vacuum are aspects of aether. but be careful saying that, as "everybody knows" there is no aether... |
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06-22-2013, 10:04 PM | #64 |
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One thing I'd be interested in knowing is whether people make any distinction between creative and polemical thinkers (which is not to say it's impossible for a thinker to be both).
Much as I love Dawkins and the author of What's the Matter with Kansas?, I wouldn't want to listen to either of them in the midst of a creative project because they're reacting to stupidity in the present and I'm trying to channel a pronounced lack of stupidity which (ideally) is timeless. As necessary (and thankless) as Dawkins' mission might be, I wouldn't find his writing inspiring in a time in which people were not actually behaving like twits. Also: To say that internet conversations are interchangeable with ones that occur face to face is to discount all of the esoteric aspects of our physical being. Nostalgia for printed books as opposed to ebooks is frequently ridiculous when the layout is superfluous and a simple flow of text is the only true medium. But personal interaction -- visual, auditory, emotional, visceral, even spiritual -- can be so complex and multifaceted that it can give participants what a forum exchange cannot. Forums are tremendous resources, of course. Clearly, for people with our post counts to deny that would be hypocritical. But for me to say that forums lack certain of the benefits of face-to-face interaction with brilliant people is not to undervalue those forums but to understand their limitations. A forum exchange can be more exacting than a conversation in a bar and thus might be more useful to refer to in terms of (for example) diagnostic steps. But a bar conversation can inspire and validate participants in ways that help to fuel their work for a lifetime. The Rivington School was a group of New York sculptors who met in bars, garages, galleries and studios. Once they stopped doing that, their school ceased to exist. Imagine spending a New Year's Eve drinking with a few breathtakingly brilliant people. Now contemplate spending the next New Year's talking to those same people on Facebook while being physically alone. Which night is likely to yield more inspiring memories throughout your life? Last edited by Prestidigitweeze; 06-22-2013 at 10:08 PM. |
06-22-2013, 10:43 PM | #65 | ||
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I don't really see the fascination with smart people. Maybe I've just never met anyone who was smart enough to blow me away. I'm much happier to be around kind people. And even they can be a drain. |
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06-22-2013, 11:01 PM | #66 | ||||
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06-22-2013, 11:21 PM | #67 |
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I see our discussion ran off the rails a bit. I expect the greatest concentration of thinkers to be located in our universities. That is the environment that most values thinking over producing, aside from "publish or perish" which is just thinking in the written form.
It is a sad truth that pure industrial research is a shadow of its former self in the USA since the heydays of Bell Labs. I see some current efforts, such as at Google or DARPA grants, but I'm not seeing the same intensity or output, IMO. |
06-23-2013, 01:08 AM | #68 | |
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Still thinking through that question, but I just watched an intro to the making of 10 Canoes (Aus flic set in isolated regions of Northern Aus) and realised that the Aboriginal men discussing not only if they wanted a film made with an Aboriginal theme, but what the theme should be, was a really 'great' conversation. The movie started as an idea between the actor Gulpilil and the producer Rolf de Heer. Over a period of time insitu at various northern remote sites, they discussed whether a movie could be made and what it should be about. The thinking was circular, spoken in low tones and conceptually far reaching. Essentially they tried to identify/assess how the traditional culture of that area could be represented in a way that did not demean the culture, the individuals, the belief systems or the appearance of locals or the actors brought in to fill specific roles. They wanted their cultural norms to be treated respectfully, not just now - but in any future timeframe. So, I think that great thinking has an element of time and place, of sharing an idea/s in a way that is understandable to the immediate audience and is of a quality that endures. Actually, as questions go - I think I'll be thinking about 'what is great thinking' for some time .... |
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06-23-2013, 01:11 AM | #69 |
Treachery of images ...
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At the top of my previous post is a green arrow .... it doesn't do anything, you can't click on it, but I haven't seen it before.
What is it? |
06-23-2013, 05:19 AM | #70 | ||
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I'm massively introverted, though.
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06-23-2013, 06:49 AM | #71 | |
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It's the Cabal! Run! Run Lynx RUN!!!!! Last edited by kennyc; 06-23-2013 at 08:46 PM. Reason: Typo....Kabal -> Cabal |
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06-23-2013, 06:55 AM | #72 | |
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06-23-2013, 08:23 AM | #73 | |
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<Mission Accomplished> |
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06-23-2013, 08:21 PM | #74 |
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06-23-2013, 08:48 PM | #75 |
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