Today I broke down and manually moved my old blog posts that were created in WordPress and hosted by Yahoo into Blogger hosted on Google. Yes, I know, there are probably automated ways to do this. In fact, I found one, but it required installing Python and other stuff. Since I only have a handful of posts on the old blog site, I just copied/pasted them into Blogger.
So, if you are one of the incredible throng of my followers (:))) you will see a bunch of posts at the head of my blog that appear to have been created Feb. 22, 2009. In fact they are from September and October of 2008. I tried to note that as I moved them, but may have missed a few.
As a further testament to my mid to behind curve connection with new communication and information technology, I got a Twitter account last night. I happened to flip to a CSPAN interview with one of the Twitter founders, Evan Williams, and figured I might as well try it out. I was able to hook up with at least one person I know who has been a Twitter-er for a while and a few celebrity types including George Stephanopholous (sp?), John McCain, Ashton Kutchner and Dave Winer.
My take on Twitter up until now, is "why would anyone want to do that?". Of course, after less than 24 hours of usage, I am starting to reconsider that, as I dip in my little toe. A new veil appears to be lifting, but I will have to comment in a later blog after a few days or more of usage. Need to get hooked up on SMS to really appreciate, I think (gotta make sure I have unlimited texting first though :))
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Another NFL Football Season vs. Other Things to Do
Originally posted in my old blog in September 2008
Seems that the 2008 pro football season started today. Or was it last week? Maybe this past Thursday. At any rate, it’s here and we can all wonder whether the Cowboys are going to get into the playoffs and actually progress with forward momentum this year. Or maybe not….
Sure, last year I was worshipping at the altar of HD TV with my shiny new 47 inch HD-capable TV complete with compact sound bar and sub-woofer. Sure the games were so visually stunning that I could see gnats crawling on helmets from a full field shot. Yes, I went to the first playoff game here against the Giants and was as surprised as everyone else at the upset and properly stimulated to want to see the new stadium in Arlington in 2009 up close and personal, but there could be more to life than this, right?
Today I sit here with the TV off, oblivious to the plethora of chatter, analysis and speculation that must be going on on ESPN, Fox Sports and any other channel that is carrying pro football games. The soundbar of the TV is hooked up to my newly loaded iPod and I am enjoying a random mix of almost 900 songs from my personal history over the last 30 years or so. And guess, what, this feels satisfying! I can stare out at I35 South and be glad I am not driving there amidst the Sunday afternoon traffic, enjoy music ranging from classical to jazz to 70s rock to progressive, type my thoughts here in a calm-induced stream of consciousness and feel the cares melt away. Ok, to be honest the cares never really go far do they, but hey, I’ll take what I can get.
Yes, I am sure I will be seduced at some point, be it later today, another weekend soon, or through Monday night football (or, um, Sunday night, or Thursday night, or any other of the 4 out of 7 nights football might occur) to indulge in the national religion of the United States. I will have to confess my sins at some point of preferring to go to movies, theatre, art exhibits, sushi restaurants, jazz clubs or any number of other fun activities there are to experience in the DFW area. I re-designed my website to function as a handy website link reference for many activities that occur almost daily in the metroplex. I am sure this re-design will soon need a sports category as well. Not that there is anything wrong with that :).
Don’t get me wrong, I love sports, football being my favorite. Maybe it is better when mingled with the assortment of other things on the buffet, rather than functioning as the 1 pound hamburger that leaves nothing else for the appetite to consume.
Seems that the 2008 pro football season started today. Or was it last week? Maybe this past Thursday. At any rate, it’s here and we can all wonder whether the Cowboys are going to get into the playoffs and actually progress with forward momentum this year. Or maybe not….
Sure, last year I was worshipping at the altar of HD TV with my shiny new 47 inch HD-capable TV complete with compact sound bar and sub-woofer. Sure the games were so visually stunning that I could see gnats crawling on helmets from a full field shot. Yes, I went to the first playoff game here against the Giants and was as surprised as everyone else at the upset and properly stimulated to want to see the new stadium in Arlington in 2009 up close and personal, but there could be more to life than this, right?
Today I sit here with the TV off, oblivious to the plethora of chatter, analysis and speculation that must be going on on ESPN, Fox Sports and any other channel that is carrying pro football games. The soundbar of the TV is hooked up to my newly loaded iPod and I am enjoying a random mix of almost 900 songs from my personal history over the last 30 years or so. And guess, what, this feels satisfying! I can stare out at I35 South and be glad I am not driving there amidst the Sunday afternoon traffic, enjoy music ranging from classical to jazz to 70s rock to progressive, type my thoughts here in a calm-induced stream of consciousness and feel the cares melt away. Ok, to be honest the cares never really go far do they, but hey, I’ll take what I can get.
Yes, I am sure I will be seduced at some point, be it later today, another weekend soon, or through Monday night football (or, um, Sunday night, or Thursday night, or any other of the 4 out of 7 nights football might occur) to indulge in the national religion of the United States. I will have to confess my sins at some point of preferring to go to movies, theatre, art exhibits, sushi restaurants, jazz clubs or any number of other fun activities there are to experience in the DFW area. I re-designed my website to function as a handy website link reference for many activities that occur almost daily in the metroplex. I am sure this re-design will soon need a sports category as well. Not that there is anything wrong with that :).
Don’t get me wrong, I love sports, football being my favorite. Maybe it is better when mingled with the assortment of other things on the buffet, rather than functioning as the 1 pound hamburger that leaves nothing else for the appetite to consume.
Springtime, Mayans and Forests
Originally posted in my old blog in September 2008.
Quiet conversation. Tentative entry. Anticipation. Simple sounds of preparation. Unusual expressions, demeanor and posture. Exhiliarating passages and patterns. Disturbing soundscapes of primitive energy. Calm streams, birds and thunderstorms.
Is it possible to contain the new birth of spring? How does it feel to be in the Appalachian mountains during that season? “Appalachian Spring” by Aaron Copland takes you on an adventure ranging from exuberance to simple reflection and introspection. The wide range of tonal and rhythmic combinations point out the pathetic one-dimensionality we just experienced in our day of work. No matter how good a day you had, hearing Appalachian Spring in person and living color removes whatever daze or haze that might be victimizing your mood before choosing such a direct encounter with the Queen of all Seasons.
How did the earth begin? Was there ever a time without time? What would it be like to observe a nature awakening during the Mayan era? Ginastera’s “Creation of the Mayan World” moves through these images with a soundscape that transcends most symphonic experience for most legit music fans. Shimmering dissonance is juxtaposed with sometimes disturbing low frequencies that catapult the listener into a parallel reality. At times this separate Universe feels distinctly bifurcated from any connection with the known world. However, Ginastera skillfully melds this disjoint effect with enough glimpses into a Mayan past that the listener has something to grasp after the first few minutes of atonality, jagged melodic fragments and ultra-chromatic vertical chord slices.
After all this, a little relaxation is in order. The raw Mayan blood-thirsty culture cries out for a perfect spring walk in the woods. Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony does not disappoint. Colorful melodies and harmonies with expected harmonic resolutions gradually transport the listener further away from the ancient past into a 19th century forest and meadow. Even the required repetition of the Sonata form “A” section is welcomed since the skillful combination of musical elements is so high.
A little Springtime sonic excursion on the cusp of Autumn injects a proper soul vaccination into anyone willing to accept the gift.
Quiet conversation. Tentative entry. Anticipation. Simple sounds of preparation. Unusual expressions, demeanor and posture. Exhiliarating passages and patterns. Disturbing soundscapes of primitive energy. Calm streams, birds and thunderstorms.
Is it possible to contain the new birth of spring? How does it feel to be in the Appalachian mountains during that season? “Appalachian Spring” by Aaron Copland takes you on an adventure ranging from exuberance to simple reflection and introspection. The wide range of tonal and rhythmic combinations point out the pathetic one-dimensionality we just experienced in our day of work. No matter how good a day you had, hearing Appalachian Spring in person and living color removes whatever daze or haze that might be victimizing your mood before choosing such a direct encounter with the Queen of all Seasons.
How did the earth begin? Was there ever a time without time? What would it be like to observe a nature awakening during the Mayan era? Ginastera’s “Creation of the Mayan World” moves through these images with a soundscape that transcends most symphonic experience for most legit music fans. Shimmering dissonance is juxtaposed with sometimes disturbing low frequencies that catapult the listener into a parallel reality. At times this separate Universe feels distinctly bifurcated from any connection with the known world. However, Ginastera skillfully melds this disjoint effect with enough glimpses into a Mayan past that the listener has something to grasp after the first few minutes of atonality, jagged melodic fragments and ultra-chromatic vertical chord slices.
After all this, a little relaxation is in order. The raw Mayan blood-thirsty culture cries out for a perfect spring walk in the woods. Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony does not disappoint. Colorful melodies and harmonies with expected harmonic resolutions gradually transport the listener further away from the ancient past into a 19th century forest and meadow. Even the required repetition of the Sonata form “A” section is welcomed since the skillful combination of musical elements is so high.
A little Springtime sonic excursion on the cusp of Autumn injects a proper soul vaccination into anyone willing to accept the gift.
The Optinum Number of Options
Originally posted in my old blog in September 2008
How many options are too many? How many are too few? I need enough to be able to choose, otherwise I feel like my life is static. Having too many options, though, is paralysis. Either extreme can be soul-crushing.
So, what is that number? Does it vary depending on what concrete situation the choices are for? Or is there some magical number that works for all situations, common and unusual, static and dynamic, social or business?
I believe the standard answer most people believe is three. This number has proven nursery rhyme, religious and commercial significance. Three wise men. Three blind mice. Holy Trinity. 3 point sermons. Get three estimates. Interview three candidates for any position. On and on. You get the idea.
Is this the test of time and contextual variety or just a convenient way to settle? Three does seem like the right number to get a decent variety and level set without requiring too much time and effort. Imagine substituting the number seven (another famous biblical number) for the examples above. Who needs seven blind mice when three will do just fine? Nevermind forty.
Why not two? There is still a choice and even less time and effort required to make the choice.
But somehow I feel cheated with only two choices. I can determine that one is better than the other. But there is that nagging feeling that if there was one more choice, it may have been better than the one of the two chosen. Or at least provide further confirmation that my choice was correct.
Ok, so, let’s assume that three has the nod. Does it work for dynamic as well as static situations? By static I mean this: You are presented with three choices. But once you make the choice, the other two go away and you live with the choice made for some duration of time, or eternity, whichever comes first.
A dynamic context is one in which there are always three choices that can be freely alternated, never together, but one at a time in any order you choose. Is three enough here? Is it too many? The challenge here is that the choices have to be sliced in between all other life obligations and not overlap. More than three might be a scheduling nightmare. Less than three might take away some of the life-zest to be had. If scheduling is not a problem, maybe more is better. Wealthy people who can offload or delegate the scheduling might argue for more. But here is the source of the other problem with the dynamic context.
Even if the scheduling problem is resolved. Even if you stick to three to five choices, does this diminish the satisfaction and limit the depth of enjoyment from each choice? Given infinite time, this may not be a concern. Here again, the idle rich have the leg up on us common folk. But given finite time to explore the set of dynamic choices, what is the optimum number?
I believe three is it. Hands down winner. If each choice is rich enough in diversity within itself, three can provide an ample overall variety and challenge for most human beings. Beyond that number the overhead of time scheduling and the dis-satisfaction of superficial experience outweighs any benefits that quantity can provide.
Should we do everything in threes? Probably not consciously. Being overly conscious of a rule will itself contribute to stagnation and lack of imagination. A healthy flexibility around the principle of three is best.
Happy optimizing :)
How many options are too many? How many are too few? I need enough to be able to choose, otherwise I feel like my life is static. Having too many options, though, is paralysis. Either extreme can be soul-crushing.
So, what is that number? Does it vary depending on what concrete situation the choices are for? Or is there some magical number that works for all situations, common and unusual, static and dynamic, social or business?
I believe the standard answer most people believe is three. This number has proven nursery rhyme, religious and commercial significance. Three wise men. Three blind mice. Holy Trinity. 3 point sermons. Get three estimates. Interview three candidates for any position. On and on. You get the idea.
Is this the test of time and contextual variety or just a convenient way to settle? Three does seem like the right number to get a decent variety and level set without requiring too much time and effort. Imagine substituting the number seven (another famous biblical number) for the examples above. Who needs seven blind mice when three will do just fine? Nevermind forty.
Why not two? There is still a choice and even less time and effort required to make the choice.
But somehow I feel cheated with only two choices. I can determine that one is better than the other. But there is that nagging feeling that if there was one more choice, it may have been better than the one of the two chosen. Or at least provide further confirmation that my choice was correct.
Ok, so, let’s assume that three has the nod. Does it work for dynamic as well as static situations? By static I mean this: You are presented with three choices. But once you make the choice, the other two go away and you live with the choice made for some duration of time, or eternity, whichever comes first.
A dynamic context is one in which there are always three choices that can be freely alternated, never together, but one at a time in any order you choose. Is three enough here? Is it too many? The challenge here is that the choices have to be sliced in between all other life obligations and not overlap. More than three might be a scheduling nightmare. Less than three might take away some of the life-zest to be had. If scheduling is not a problem, maybe more is better. Wealthy people who can offload or delegate the scheduling might argue for more. But here is the source of the other problem with the dynamic context.
Even if the scheduling problem is resolved. Even if you stick to three to five choices, does this diminish the satisfaction and limit the depth of enjoyment from each choice? Given infinite time, this may not be a concern. Here again, the idle rich have the leg up on us common folk. But given finite time to explore the set of dynamic choices, what is the optimum number?
I believe three is it. Hands down winner. If each choice is rich enough in diversity within itself, three can provide an ample overall variety and challenge for most human beings. Beyond that number the overhead of time scheduling and the dis-satisfaction of superficial experience outweighs any benefits that quantity can provide.
Should we do everything in threes? Probably not consciously. Being overly conscious of a rule will itself contribute to stagnation and lack of imagination. A healthy flexibility around the principle of three is best.
Happy optimizing :)
Personality Types
Originally published in my old blog in September 2008.
Do you categorize personalities into types? Do types include more than just personality? Are types really personal essence rather than simply personality? If categorization is done, does that help or hinder our interactions with people?
In some ways an intuitive classification of a personality into a “type” can trigger a style of interaction from us that is more receptive to the person of focus. It is inherent in more specific political interactions where influence of another person’s actions or decisions is desired. However, in this case the specific knowledge of the person is paramount.
Reacting or pro-acting to a type is more general than a specific political interaction. It sometimes happens immediately upon meeting a person. The mannerisms, body type and personality are thin-sliced intuitively into a type that was formed from previous interactions with at least one person of very similar characteristics. This intuition may trigger a way of relating to the new person with similar communication style as in prior encounters. This can lead to a feeling of immediate acquaintance or friendship, since it “feels” like we have known this person for a long time due to the type association that has occurred in our minds.
If type association occurs, does this influence the interaction in unnatural ways that would otherwise not occur if every single person we meet is treated as a blank slate unique starting point? Is type association stereotypical, or is it a pragmatic evolution that enhances the degree of emotional intelligence we can bring to bear on social situations?
Type association does not mean that we completely map a new person into a prior type. Obviously there are numerous idiosyncracies and unique characteristics that make up a complex human personality that cannot be downgraded into a type classification. However, there may be some credibility to the theory that thin-slicing personalities into types is a strong component of emotional intelligence. It brings a foundation of familiarity to social situations that would not otherwise be there.
Perhaps those of us with less social adeptness lack some degree of the type association skill that is necessary to quickly interact in a confident manner with a variety of people. Having to start from scratch with every new social encounter would seem to be a disadvantage and tend toward uncertainty of expression rather than a quick familiarity that puts others at ease.
On the other hand, as mentioned above, and without complementary awareness and perception of unique personal qualities, type association may lead to stereotyping and superficial understanding of people we meet.
Do you categorize personalities into types? Do types include more than just personality? Are types really personal essence rather than simply personality? If categorization is done, does that help or hinder our interactions with people?
In some ways an intuitive classification of a personality into a “type” can trigger a style of interaction from us that is more receptive to the person of focus. It is inherent in more specific political interactions where influence of another person’s actions or decisions is desired. However, in this case the specific knowledge of the person is paramount.
Reacting or pro-acting to a type is more general than a specific political interaction. It sometimes happens immediately upon meeting a person. The mannerisms, body type and personality are thin-sliced intuitively into a type that was formed from previous interactions with at least one person of very similar characteristics. This intuition may trigger a way of relating to the new person with similar communication style as in prior encounters. This can lead to a feeling of immediate acquaintance or friendship, since it “feels” like we have known this person for a long time due to the type association that has occurred in our minds.
If type association occurs, does this influence the interaction in unnatural ways that would otherwise not occur if every single person we meet is treated as a blank slate unique starting point? Is type association stereotypical, or is it a pragmatic evolution that enhances the degree of emotional intelligence we can bring to bear on social situations?
Type association does not mean that we completely map a new person into a prior type. Obviously there are numerous idiosyncracies and unique characteristics that make up a complex human personality that cannot be downgraded into a type classification. However, there may be some credibility to the theory that thin-slicing personalities into types is a strong component of emotional intelligence. It brings a foundation of familiarity to social situations that would not otherwise be there.
Perhaps those of us with less social adeptness lack some degree of the type association skill that is necessary to quickly interact in a confident manner with a variety of people. Having to start from scratch with every new social encounter would seem to be a disadvantage and tend toward uncertainty of expression rather than a quick familiarity that puts others at ease.
On the other hand, as mentioned above, and without complementary awareness and perception of unique personal qualities, type association may lead to stereotyping and superficial understanding of people we meet.
Zest for Life
Originally published in my old blog in September 2008.
What is Zest? The word seems to have so much cash value that it screams to be captalized. Cash value not in the sense of material riches, but in the sense of exhilaration, exuberance, ecstaticness and emotional/intellectual/spiritual well-being. We all desire it. We all need more of it. Can I have another please(?) is our unaninimous reaction when confronted with full frontal versions of it.
I suppose Zest can be applied to anything, but the word itself seems to have such a general applicability that any specific instance immediately generalizes into Zest for Life. Unbridled enthusiasm. Insatiable curiosity. Laser focus. Prolific creativity All of these things are instances of Zest in action.
Perhaps we mere mortals can only hope to approach the kind of Zest with adjectives removed from the prior paragraphical examples. Maybe the unbridled, insatiable, laser, prolific-ness is only symbolic in nature along the lines of abstract types we can only hope to glimpse fleetingly a few times in a life.
If we cannot ever possess the ultimate Platonic abstraction of Zest, what can we do to continue as in Zeno’s paradox toward the goal in infinitely smaller increments without ever arriving so that the journey is an end in itself? What promotes it? What extends it? What broadens or deepens it? Whatever these things are, we need to maintain a constant, steady awareness so that we do not miss the rare opportunities that present themselves.
At the risk of sounding trite, a few examples: paint like a painter, run like a runner, play like a musician, dance like a dancer, speak like an orator, write like a writer, play like a child, lead like an executive. Do all these things from where you are right now with the ultimate abstract model firmly attached to your subconcious mind and you will sometimes discover Zest.
To explore the negative, how can we avoid killing Zest? Avoid negative thinking? Banish laziness? Kill superficial analyses? Spurn repetition beyond necessity and reasonableness? Assassinate hatred? Embrace spontaneity and change?
Writing this short essay has helped me realize my own Zest-ful shortcomings and helped me resolve to do better in the future. I hope reading it has done the same for you.
What is Zest? The word seems to have so much cash value that it screams to be captalized. Cash value not in the sense of material riches, but in the sense of exhilaration, exuberance, ecstaticness and emotional/intellectual/spiritual well-being. We all desire it. We all need more of it. Can I have another please(?) is our unaninimous reaction when confronted with full frontal versions of it.
I suppose Zest can be applied to anything, but the word itself seems to have such a general applicability that any specific instance immediately generalizes into Zest for Life. Unbridled enthusiasm. Insatiable curiosity. Laser focus. Prolific creativity All of these things are instances of Zest in action.
Perhaps we mere mortals can only hope to approach the kind of Zest with adjectives removed from the prior paragraphical examples. Maybe the unbridled, insatiable, laser, prolific-ness is only symbolic in nature along the lines of abstract types we can only hope to glimpse fleetingly a few times in a life.
If we cannot ever possess the ultimate Platonic abstraction of Zest, what can we do to continue as in Zeno’s paradox toward the goal in infinitely smaller increments without ever arriving so that the journey is an end in itself? What promotes it? What extends it? What broadens or deepens it? Whatever these things are, we need to maintain a constant, steady awareness so that we do not miss the rare opportunities that present themselves.
At the risk of sounding trite, a few examples: paint like a painter, run like a runner, play like a musician, dance like a dancer, speak like an orator, write like a writer, play like a child, lead like an executive. Do all these things from where you are right now with the ultimate abstract model firmly attached to your subconcious mind and you will sometimes discover Zest.
To explore the negative, how can we avoid killing Zest? Avoid negative thinking? Banish laziness? Kill superficial analyses? Spurn repetition beyond necessity and reasonableness? Assassinate hatred? Embrace spontaneity and change?
Writing this short essay has helped me realize my own Zest-ful shortcomings and helped me resolve to do better in the future. I hope reading it has done the same for you.
Free Jazzing and Riffing
Originally posted in my old blog in September 2008
What is free jazzing? What is riffing? What’s the difference? How many contexts can they apply?
Fundamentally, free jazzing is more open ended and perhaps more spontaneous than riffing. I free jazz in speech when I start to put forth a theory about something without giving more than a micro-second of thought as to what I am going to say. Something deeply internal prompted me to start speaking without knowing where I am going and the concepts, words and sentences come out as if from somewhere else, with little or no conscious thought behind them.
Free-jazzing in music (typically jazz or some other improvisational style) is very similar in that anything played is perhaps relative to the thing just played, but maybe not. Beyond some fraction of an idea that was inspired from what came before (or not), there is no pre-determined or planned structure.
Riffing on the other hand is based on a previous idea or agreed-upon structure. I riff in speech when I get in the groove with the conversation style and play directly off ideas of others in the conversation. My statements are variations, clarifications or similar to the general style of the conversation.
Riffing in music is best seen in traditional jazz where a specific harmonic structure and melody is stated followed by solo variations that re-state, re-phrase, invert, or create any number of combinations of the original melody OR jump completely away from the original melody with new melodies based on patterns, scales or musical quotes that fit within the original harmonic structure of the tune. In the best of improvisational skills the spontaneous melodies created are consistent stylistically and theoretically throughout all solos.
Things are much more interesting of course when we combine free jazzing and riffing. Each has its own attraction and stimulation, but when they are mixed, whether in speech, writing, art, music or live comedy/theatre, they can be very powerful exercises in living in the moment.
Just don’t let free-jazzing devolve into gaffes or let riffing devolve into mindless, trite repetition. Use that familiar inner voice to guide either expression to its natural goal, whatever that is. Above all, be spontaneous!
What is free jazzing? What is riffing? What’s the difference? How many contexts can they apply?
Fundamentally, free jazzing is more open ended and perhaps more spontaneous than riffing. I free jazz in speech when I start to put forth a theory about something without giving more than a micro-second of thought as to what I am going to say. Something deeply internal prompted me to start speaking without knowing where I am going and the concepts, words and sentences come out as if from somewhere else, with little or no conscious thought behind them.
Free-jazzing in music (typically jazz or some other improvisational style) is very similar in that anything played is perhaps relative to the thing just played, but maybe not. Beyond some fraction of an idea that was inspired from what came before (or not), there is no pre-determined or planned structure.
Riffing on the other hand is based on a previous idea or agreed-upon structure. I riff in speech when I get in the groove with the conversation style and play directly off ideas of others in the conversation. My statements are variations, clarifications or similar to the general style of the conversation.
Riffing in music is best seen in traditional jazz where a specific harmonic structure and melody is stated followed by solo variations that re-state, re-phrase, invert, or create any number of combinations of the original melody OR jump completely away from the original melody with new melodies based on patterns, scales or musical quotes that fit within the original harmonic structure of the tune. In the best of improvisational skills the spontaneous melodies created are consistent stylistically and theoretically throughout all solos.
Things are much more interesting of course when we combine free jazzing and riffing. Each has its own attraction and stimulation, but when they are mixed, whether in speech, writing, art, music or live comedy/theatre, they can be very powerful exercises in living in the moment.
Just don’t let free-jazzing devolve into gaffes or let riffing devolve into mindless, trite repetition. Use that familiar inner voice to guide either expression to its natural goal, whatever that is. Above all, be spontaneous!
Information, Organization and Emergence
Originally posted in my old blog in September 2008.
One of the most interesting ideas to come out of 20th century science is the possibility that the Universe is information. Information organized into a particular format results in the emergence of a yet higher form of information and reality. Changing something about the fundamental organization of the information at a particular level of reality can destroy or change drastically the higher levels of reality built upon it. For example, imagine tweaking one of the 6 constant numbers responsible for the organization of our Universe. Reality as we know it would cease to exist.
Much of the important technology in the 21st century is information technology. This kind of technology is pure organization of information. Web technologies that did not exist 20 years ago are higher levels of information organization. New techniques for creating online applications are different ways of organizing information than those of creating desktop applications. The fundamental unit of currency is information.
Financial reality in the modern sense is all about information organization. I never see the millions of dollars I will make in my lifetime for the most part. It exists as an idea that is made concrete on a computer screen. Because of the numbers I may see in a particular organization on a web site (itself built by chains and levels of information organization) I may feel happy or sad, confident or insecure.
I may go to work and spend my days organizing information, creating new ways to organize information. At the end of the pay period other numbers are organized into a particular format of wages, tax deductions, retirement plans and health benefits. I organize information and I am paid by the organization of other information. I can eat because of these abstract ways of information organization that have emerged from lower level ways of concrete organization found in earlier economic systems that included bartering and exchange of gold.
Regarding emergence.
The spiritual emerges from the psychological which emerges from the physical organism which emerges from the laws of biology which emerge from the laws of chemistry which emerge from the laws of physics.
My blog emerged from web technologies which emerged from software technologies which emerged from hardware technologies which emerged from quantum physics which ultimately emerged from lower levels of information which constitute the fundamental fabric of the Universe.
One of the most interesting ideas to come out of 20th century science is the possibility that the Universe is information. Information organized into a particular format results in the emergence of a yet higher form of information and reality. Changing something about the fundamental organization of the information at a particular level of reality can destroy or change drastically the higher levels of reality built upon it. For example, imagine tweaking one of the 6 constant numbers responsible for the organization of our Universe. Reality as we know it would cease to exist.
Much of the important technology in the 21st century is information technology. This kind of technology is pure organization of information. Web technologies that did not exist 20 years ago are higher levels of information organization. New techniques for creating online applications are different ways of organizing information than those of creating desktop applications. The fundamental unit of currency is information.
Financial reality in the modern sense is all about information organization. I never see the millions of dollars I will make in my lifetime for the most part. It exists as an idea that is made concrete on a computer screen. Because of the numbers I may see in a particular organization on a web site (itself built by chains and levels of information organization) I may feel happy or sad, confident or insecure.
I may go to work and spend my days organizing information, creating new ways to organize information. At the end of the pay period other numbers are organized into a particular format of wages, tax deductions, retirement plans and health benefits. I organize information and I am paid by the organization of other information. I can eat because of these abstract ways of information organization that have emerged from lower level ways of concrete organization found in earlier economic systems that included bartering and exchange of gold.
Regarding emergence.
The spiritual emerges from the psychological which emerges from the physical organism which emerges from the laws of biology which emerge from the laws of chemistry which emerge from the laws of physics.
My blog emerged from web technologies which emerged from software technologies which emerged from hardware technologies which emerged from quantum physics which ultimately emerged from lower levels of information which constitute the fundamental fabric of the Universe.
Crispness
Originally posted in my old blog in September 2008.
What is it that separates the truly outstanding from the ordinary? We tend to throw around words like awesome, outstanding, genius and brilliant with too much abandon. We should save those words for what truly is.
When something deserves the use of the superlatives mentioned above and others, it has a degree of crispness that is the definition of the difference from lower expressions of the same thing. Crispness is more than pure accuracy. It is a wholistic quality that combines accuracy, expression, focus, vision and virtuosity into Style. The consistency of style exhibited by an outstanding event communicates an abstraction that touches us at a very deep level.
Whether an activity is physical, intellectual or artistic, crispness pervades the category of professionalism that is the highest expression of the activity. Articulation, consistency and creativity combine into a crisp instantiation of the particular class of activity. The sub-class is itself a crisp instantiation of the parent class and up the hierarchy to the ultimate abstract class.
It can be very difficult to recognize missing crispness. We tend to accept mediocrity as the normal state such that we mistake the merely good or excellent for the superb, exceptional and outstanding.
Constantly seeking crispness with persistence and focus helps to pull ourselves out of any mediocre wallowing that tempts our actions.
What is it that separates the truly outstanding from the ordinary? We tend to throw around words like awesome, outstanding, genius and brilliant with too much abandon. We should save those words for what truly is.
When something deserves the use of the superlatives mentioned above and others, it has a degree of crispness that is the definition of the difference from lower expressions of the same thing. Crispness is more than pure accuracy. It is a wholistic quality that combines accuracy, expression, focus, vision and virtuosity into Style. The consistency of style exhibited by an outstanding event communicates an abstraction that touches us at a very deep level.
Whether an activity is physical, intellectual or artistic, crispness pervades the category of professionalism that is the highest expression of the activity. Articulation, consistency and creativity combine into a crisp instantiation of the particular class of activity. The sub-class is itself a crisp instantiation of the parent class and up the hierarchy to the ultimate abstract class.
It can be very difficult to recognize missing crispness. We tend to accept mediocrity as the normal state such that we mistake the merely good or excellent for the superb, exceptional and outstanding.
Constantly seeking crispness with persistence and focus helps to pull ourselves out of any mediocre wallowing that tempts our actions.
Understatement
Originally posted in my old blog in September 2008.
Yesterday I was thinking about crispness. I think one thing left out of that conversation with myself was the concept that understatement may be an important component of crispness. What does this mean, you say?
Well, let’s explore the opposite of understatement for a moment. Overstatement is gaudy, superfluous, sometimes even crass or gauche. Overstatement breathes insecurity. Even in the milder forms, overstatement is a bit sloppy. It goes at least a baby step past what needs to be said, played, acted or expressed.
One aspect of crispness is that it says exactly what needs to be said. Nothing more. Nothing less. Overstatement is never a possibility. Never too many notes. Never too many words. Never too much paint. Never too much light. Never too many possessions. Never too many friends. Never too many enemies.
Why is this measured expression understatement? Shouldn’t it be called equi-statement or simply statement? I have to admit that the concept of understatement is susceptible to being colorless, boring or bland. But “statement” does not get the point across. Understatement must reign because going one step past is too much.
Doesn’t the worship of understatement eliminate the wonderful unbridled emotion of a romantic event? Romantic art, literature and music were backlashes against the measured rationalism of the classic era. Life without romance and a little emotional craziness is narrow and dry.
I say no. Reason? Understatement is contextual. It follows the Universal rules of relativism by understating within context. A dozen roses, candlelight dinner and seranades are an overstatement on the third date. They are understatement par excellence when sprinkled at the appropriate milestones or special moments of a relationship. Extreme chromaticism is overstatement in classical music, but is welcome in romantic music.
Understatement falls just short of that last word, phrase, brushstoke or kiss that is the first step into overstatement. Understatement, properly understood, states the necessary, avoids the gratuituous and leaves the receiver wanting more.
Yesterday I was thinking about crispness. I think one thing left out of that conversation with myself was the concept that understatement may be an important component of crispness. What does this mean, you say?
Well, let’s explore the opposite of understatement for a moment. Overstatement is gaudy, superfluous, sometimes even crass or gauche. Overstatement breathes insecurity. Even in the milder forms, overstatement is a bit sloppy. It goes at least a baby step past what needs to be said, played, acted or expressed.
One aspect of crispness is that it says exactly what needs to be said. Nothing more. Nothing less. Overstatement is never a possibility. Never too many notes. Never too many words. Never too much paint. Never too much light. Never too many possessions. Never too many friends. Never too many enemies.
Why is this measured expression understatement? Shouldn’t it be called equi-statement or simply statement? I have to admit that the concept of understatement is susceptible to being colorless, boring or bland. But “statement” does not get the point across. Understatement must reign because going one step past is too much.
Doesn’t the worship of understatement eliminate the wonderful unbridled emotion of a romantic event? Romantic art, literature and music were backlashes against the measured rationalism of the classic era. Life without romance and a little emotional craziness is narrow and dry.
I say no. Reason? Understatement is contextual. It follows the Universal rules of relativism by understating within context. A dozen roses, candlelight dinner and seranades are an overstatement on the third date. They are understatement par excellence when sprinkled at the appropriate milestones or special moments of a relationship. Extreme chromaticism is overstatement in classical music, but is welcome in romantic music.
Understatement falls just short of that last word, phrase, brushstoke or kiss that is the first step into overstatement. Understatement, properly understood, states the necessary, avoids the gratuituous and leaves the receiver wanting more.
Understatement
Originally posted in my old blog in September 2008
Yesterday I was thinking about crispness. I think one thing left out of that conversation with myself was the concept that understatement may be an important component of crispness. What does this mean, you say?
Well, let’s explore the opposite of understatement for a moment. Overstatement is gaudy, superfluous, sometimes even crass or gauche. Overstatement breathes insecurity. Even in the milder forms, overstatement is a bit sloppy. It goes at least a baby step past what needs to be said, played, acted or expressed.
One aspect of crispness is that it says exactly what needs to be said. Nothing more. Nothing less. Overstatement is never a possibility. Never too many notes. Never too many words. Never too much paint. Never too much light. Never too many possessions. Never too many friends. Never too many enemies.
Why is this measured expression understatement? Shouldn’t it be called equi-statement or simply statement? I have to admit that the concept of understatement is susceptible to being colorless, boring or bland. But “statement” does not get the point across. Understatement must reign because going one step past is too much.
Doesn’t the worship of understatement eliminate the wonderful unbridled emotion of a romantic event? Romantic art, literature and music were backlashes against the measured rationalism of the classic era. Life without romance and a little emotional craziness is narrow and dry.
I say no. Reason? Understatement is contextual. It follows the Universal rules of relativism by understating within context. A dozen roses, candlelight dinner and seranades are an overstatement on the third date. They are understatement par excellence when sprinkled at the appropriate milestones or special moments of a relationship. Extreme chromaticism is overstatement in classical music, but is welcome in romantic music.
Understatement falls just short of that last word, phrase, brushstoke or kiss that is the first step into overstatement. Understatement, properly understood, states the necessary, avoids the gratuituous and leaves the receiver wanting more.
Yesterday I was thinking about crispness. I think one thing left out of that conversation with myself was the concept that understatement may be an important component of crispness. What does this mean, you say?
Well, let’s explore the opposite of understatement for a moment. Overstatement is gaudy, superfluous, sometimes even crass or gauche. Overstatement breathes insecurity. Even in the milder forms, overstatement is a bit sloppy. It goes at least a baby step past what needs to be said, played, acted or expressed.
One aspect of crispness is that it says exactly what needs to be said. Nothing more. Nothing less. Overstatement is never a possibility. Never too many notes. Never too many words. Never too much paint. Never too much light. Never too many possessions. Never too many friends. Never too many enemies.
Why is this measured expression understatement? Shouldn’t it be called equi-statement or simply statement? I have to admit that the concept of understatement is susceptible to being colorless, boring or bland. But “statement” does not get the point across. Understatement must reign because going one step past is too much.
Doesn’t the worship of understatement eliminate the wonderful unbridled emotion of a romantic event? Romantic art, literature and music were backlashes against the measured rationalism of the classic era. Life without romance and a little emotional craziness is narrow and dry.
I say no. Reason? Understatement is contextual. It follows the Universal rules of relativism by understating within context. A dozen roses, candlelight dinner and seranades are an overstatement on the third date. They are understatement par excellence when sprinkled at the appropriate milestones or special moments of a relationship. Extreme chromaticism is overstatement in classical music, but is welcome in romantic music.
Understatement falls just short of that last word, phrase, brushstoke or kiss that is the first step into overstatement. Understatement, properly understood, states the necessary, avoids the gratuituous and leaves the receiver wanting more.
Alternate Realities
Originally posted in my old blog in September 2008.
What is the alternate reality buzz about? I’m talking about the claim by proponents of hallucinogenic drug use as gateways into alternate or higher realities. Why am I spun up about this?
Last night I was watching a documentary on the History International channel about the history of hallucinogens. This included a very broad survey of the use of those drugs in spiritual or cultural rituals for remote clans of people spread across the world. I never realized how many hallucinogenic plants exist. And that’s just the beginning. Apparently it is estimated that we have only discovered less than 1% of plant species that currently exist.
At any rate, one of the segments was about the drug movement in the 20th century that included the discovery of LSD and the relatively wide usage of a variety of hallucinogenic drugs incluging LSD, psylocibin and mescaline. Other segments included an exploration of peyote and magic mushrooms in other central American and south American cultures.
The more interesting points were not about a lot of mainstream college-age people abusing these drugs in ridiculous quantities. The shamans or people who pursued this path for further enlightenment and perspective were far more interesting. What is this enlightenment?
It seems that all the drugs really do is cause a chemical change in the brain. This will, of course, cause the user to perceive reality differently. How do we know if this perception is better, higher, significant, or simply distorted? How can this be a true alternate reality? The user is still standing, sitting and existing in the same time sequence and spacial reality as before the drug was ingested. Only his perception of reality has changed.
Now, even though the actual reality has not changed, does this change in perception count as an experience of an alternate reality? If we believe that reality is a synthesis of actual reality with our perceptions, then yes, this has to count as an experience of an alternate reality. If the experience of the alternate reality has a permanent effect on the user’s outlook, world view or daily perception, it counts as a valid experience that has now become part of that person’s fundamental personality.
This kind of experience is simlar to any vicarious experience or perhaps the experience of another culture and country. It is simply another learning experience. After any vicarious or travel experience, typically our imaginations are stretched beyond their pre-experience state. This is the same for a chemically-induced experience.
The risk/reward ratio question regarding chemical experiences is something I don’t have time to explore right now. However, any experience that involves physical movement or change brings risks along with it. How does the risk of physical damage from a chemical experience compare to the risk of injury or death from travel?
That said, I guess the risks from watching a documentary on TV (a vicarious experience) is pretty close to zero compared to the chemical or physical equivalent. However, the priinciple of moderation may still apply, since daily use of all-day TV couch-potato-ism can still lead to physical degeneration over time.
What is the alternate reality buzz about? I’m talking about the claim by proponents of hallucinogenic drug use as gateways into alternate or higher realities. Why am I spun up about this?
Last night I was watching a documentary on the History International channel about the history of hallucinogens. This included a very broad survey of the use of those drugs in spiritual or cultural rituals for remote clans of people spread across the world. I never realized how many hallucinogenic plants exist. And that’s just the beginning. Apparently it is estimated that we have only discovered less than 1% of plant species that currently exist.
At any rate, one of the segments was about the drug movement in the 20th century that included the discovery of LSD and the relatively wide usage of a variety of hallucinogenic drugs incluging LSD, psylocibin and mescaline. Other segments included an exploration of peyote and magic mushrooms in other central American and south American cultures.
The more interesting points were not about a lot of mainstream college-age people abusing these drugs in ridiculous quantities. The shamans or people who pursued this path for further enlightenment and perspective were far more interesting. What is this enlightenment?
It seems that all the drugs really do is cause a chemical change in the brain. This will, of course, cause the user to perceive reality differently. How do we know if this perception is better, higher, significant, or simply distorted? How can this be a true alternate reality? The user is still standing, sitting and existing in the same time sequence and spacial reality as before the drug was ingested. Only his perception of reality has changed.
Now, even though the actual reality has not changed, does this change in perception count as an experience of an alternate reality? If we believe that reality is a synthesis of actual reality with our perceptions, then yes, this has to count as an experience of an alternate reality. If the experience of the alternate reality has a permanent effect on the user’s outlook, world view or daily perception, it counts as a valid experience that has now become part of that person’s fundamental personality.
This kind of experience is simlar to any vicarious experience or perhaps the experience of another culture and country. It is simply another learning experience. After any vicarious or travel experience, typically our imaginations are stretched beyond their pre-experience state. This is the same for a chemically-induced experience.
The risk/reward ratio question regarding chemical experiences is something I don’t have time to explore right now. However, any experience that involves physical movement or change brings risks along with it. How does the risk of physical damage from a chemical experience compare to the risk of injury or death from travel?
That said, I guess the risks from watching a documentary on TV (a vicarious experience) is pretty close to zero compared to the chemical or physical equivalent. However, the priinciple of moderation may still apply, since daily use of all-day TV couch-potato-ism can still lead to physical degeneration over time.
Hurricanes, Blogs and PHP
Archived from my old blog site from September, 2008.
Oh well. Hurricane Ike appears to have bypassed DFW for the most part. I am sitting here watching the drizzle and fizzle of the remnants of Ike out my condo window. It may have been more exciting if high winds and massive thunderstorms had developed, but at least I did not have to move any patio furniture in the house.
Two things I’ve learned in the past week that place me squarely on the trailing edge of technology are blogs and PHP. It was dirt simple setting up a blog on my web site and it has been fun experimenting with it. Please add comments to any posts that interest, entertain, annoy or disgust you so that I can make sure comment posting by random visitors is working.
PHP was an early language used to add server-side interactivity to web pages. It has been supplemented and in some cases bypassed by reportedly cooler technologies such as Flash, Flex, ASP, .NET and probably many others. Since my web hosting provider only supports PHP right now, I decided to play around with it. Pretty simplistic so far.
L8r…
Oh well. Hurricane Ike appears to have bypassed DFW for the most part. I am sitting here watching the drizzle and fizzle of the remnants of Ike out my condo window. It may have been more exciting if high winds and massive thunderstorms had developed, but at least I did not have to move any patio furniture in the house.
Two things I’ve learned in the past week that place me squarely on the trailing edge of technology are blogs and PHP. It was dirt simple setting up a blog on my web site and it has been fun experimenting with it. Please add comments to any posts that interest, entertain, annoy or disgust you so that I can make sure comment posting by random visitors is working.
PHP was an early language used to add server-side interactivity to web pages. It has been supplemented and in some cases bypassed by reportedly cooler technologies such as Flash, Flex, ASP, .NET and probably many others. Since my web hosting provider only supports PHP right now, I decided to play around with it. Pretty simplistic so far.
L8r…
Puppy Smiles and Eyes
What is the saddest thing in the world? Puppy eyes. What is the happiest sight you can find west of the Mississippi? Puppy smiles.
Add to that puppies dreaming and playing and you have a ball of pleasure that is hard to beat. Even grownup dogs can go from the saddest of facial expressions when they are bored to a completely carefree, joyous expression when they think they are getting to do something, anything, other than lay around the house.
What is the toddler gene that most or all dogs seem to have in common with us humans? Dogs remain toddlers until the onset of old age. Even then, unless physically incapacitated, they can summon the toddler-ness if stimulated in just the right way.
If you could, for one afternoon, be a dog running free and frisky in perfectly crisp autumn weather in an open unleashed environment, carefree from the over-analysis and petty worries of humankind, would you ever want to become human again? Maybe so at meal time when the same old dog food greeted you for dinner as usual.
What do dogs think about? Are they driven completely by chemical instincts or do they see images? Can they think in images? Do they have image memories or just sensual memories?
What do they dream? I ask this because I can watch my doggie lying there asleep, making puppy sounds, twitching and moving his legs. What is he doing? Is he reliving a past running adventure from the dog park? Is his little brain merging images together randomly into some new experience in his dream?
Too many questions. Too few answers. Maybe the all-knowing Internet can help me answer some of these canine wonderings.
Add to that puppies dreaming and playing and you have a ball of pleasure that is hard to beat. Even grownup dogs can go from the saddest of facial expressions when they are bored to a completely carefree, joyous expression when they think they are getting to do something, anything, other than lay around the house.
What is the toddler gene that most or all dogs seem to have in common with us humans? Dogs remain toddlers until the onset of old age. Even then, unless physically incapacitated, they can summon the toddler-ness if stimulated in just the right way.
If you could, for one afternoon, be a dog running free and frisky in perfectly crisp autumn weather in an open unleashed environment, carefree from the over-analysis and petty worries of humankind, would you ever want to become human again? Maybe so at meal time when the same old dog food greeted you for dinner as usual.
What do dogs think about? Are they driven completely by chemical instincts or do they see images? Can they think in images? Do they have image memories or just sensual memories?
What do they dream? I ask this because I can watch my doggie lying there asleep, making puppy sounds, twitching and moving his legs. What is he doing? Is he reliving a past running adventure from the dog park? Is his little brain merging images together randomly into some new experience in his dream?
Too many questions. Too few answers. Maybe the all-knowing Internet can help me answer some of these canine wonderings.
Hubris
Is hubris really dangerous or just an entertaining or annoying personal and social phenomenon?
What are the characteristics of hubris? Blindness, self-absorption, arrogance just to name a few.
It is more annoying when it is limited to the personal sphere. However, when it is expressed in a professional or political medium it can be dangerous. Since it is blind, it does not know that it is headed in the wrong direction. Since it is self-absorbed, it is fundamentally interested only in personal advantages. Since it is arrogant, it will not listen, or at least not understand, alternate opinions or critiques.
When hubris is fully expressed in a major leadership role it may result in failed companies, countries or other types of demoralization.
What are the characteristics of hubris? Blindness, self-absorption, arrogance just to name a few.
It is more annoying when it is limited to the personal sphere. However, when it is expressed in a professional or political medium it can be dangerous. Since it is blind, it does not know that it is headed in the wrong direction. Since it is self-absorbed, it is fundamentally interested only in personal advantages. Since it is arrogant, it will not listen, or at least not understand, alternate opinions or critiques.
When hubris is fully expressed in a major leadership role it may result in failed companies, countries or other types of demoralization.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Quantity or Quality
There is the age-old debate of Quantity vs. Quality.
Today I was thinking about this in relation to reading books. Especially the non-fiction kind that really explore a particular topic or intellectual area. These books usually stretch your imagination or bring you knowledge that changes or enhances your perspective on the new subject. Depending on how new or complex the topic, the book may require serious concentration. After plowing through hundreds of pages that may have stretched over several days or weeks, you may think that you have not comprehended or synthesized the information to your satisfaction.
I have moved between the two poles of quantity vs. quality in reading informative material by either:
Today I was thinking about this in relation to reading books. Especially the non-fiction kind that really explore a particular topic or intellectual area. These books usually stretch your imagination or bring you knowledge that changes or enhances your perspective on the new subject. Depending on how new or complex the topic, the book may require serious concentration. After plowing through hundreds of pages that may have stretched over several days or weeks, you may think that you have not comprehended or synthesized the information to your satisfaction.
I have moved between the two poles of quantity vs. quality in reading informative material by either:
- Re-reading or scanning the book a second time to tie together the major concepts (3 is the magic number but I have never taken the time to read 3 times).
- Writing a short paper, review or blog on the book.
- Moving on to the next book and assuming synthesis will take care of itself.
Any of these is probably just fine. If you read enough books over time, many concepts will repeat from different perspectives and this should allow your brain to put things together in your own personal way, but still retain the core information in some way. However, I think that the act of summarizing or presenting the material is an important part of internalizing the information and re-inventing it in your own image.
Even though I was thinking in terms of books, this quality vs. quantity thing applies to all aesthetic, intellectual and personal experiences of course. After any of those experiences, the simple act of writing a blog can help solidify your thoughts, opinions and feelings about the experience. More privately, a journal works of course.
Even though Dave Winer has put forth some rules of thumb for good blogs (one is that good blogs have subjects in which the writer knows a lot about), I believe there is value in blogs like I write that are personal impressions of experiences. Of course, I don't have a readership, and maybe that is one reason :) So, maybe I am blogging to myself. But hey, its good therapy, right?
This is a long-winded way to say: experience, reflect, expand produce.
Ten Trends for the Long Term
1. China, India and other recently strong economies will continue to grow and gain momentum.
2. The best blue chip companies are not necessarily in the US anymore.
3. The world is becoming older and wealthier.
4. The future will have higher inflation that we have been accustomed.
5. The world will run out of cheap oil.
6. Commodities will become more expensive.
7. Food is the new Oil.
8. The state of the environment will continue to gain in importance.
9. New technological innovatoins will shift from information to energy, healthcare and the enviroment.
10. Countries and institutions with a higher stability premium will command higher returns.
These are the 10 trends in a nutshell proposed by Jim Jubak in his latest book, "Juback Picks". Whether or not you buy into his premises, I believe (like George Carlin and the 10 commandments), that these can be boiled down into a smaller set.
1. Globalization
2. Aging Demographics
3. Energy and Environment Crisis
4. Financial Volatility
Jubak takes an investment perspective on these trends. The concept is that you should research the trends, find companies that support those trends, determine which of those companies have the best fundamentals, then use technical indicators to guide entry and exit points for both the trends, sectors and individual investments. Makes sense, right? Easier said than done? Yes.
To his credit, Jubak ends each trend chapter with a list of trend breakers and makers for each category. This further underscores the complexity of validating and timing the trends outlined. This sounds fun as a full-time occupation, not so much if you have a day job that requires the same degree of attention, intention and research.
Nevertheless, the concept is sound and can perhaps be helpful to investors. It is also interesting to speculate on the 10 trends or my 4 reductions from other perspectives that include the sociological, psychological and scientific.
It might be fun (yes, depends on how much of a geek you are) to set up a framework for tracking these trends as an exercise in following world events. Sometimes just reading the news and watching history unfold can have such a reactionary flavor. We can easily get eye-glaze from sifting through the many headlines of information that bombard us every day. Might it be more interesting and more educational to follow world events with a particular orientation in mind? To some degree this could be automated. Maybe it has been automated already.
IOW, can I set up a tracking mechanism based on the trends of my choice where I (or my trusty robot) analyze unfolding world events, map them into the appropriate trend category and rate them based on how much they support or diminish the trend in question? This could be hooked up to a web-based dashboard displaying the trends and have a real-time display of the state of the trends to the day or hour depending on how fine a granularity is desired. Color-coding with white(lack of evidence), yellow (weak support), orange (medium support), green (strong support) could allow you to visit the site and, at a glance, see what the current state of the trends are.
Better yet, allow the addition of new trends as they become identified. This trend-tracker web site has to exist already. Surely it does in this day and age. I think I will look for it as soon as I finish this blog.
Whew... Back to the original idea for this blog, which was to do a mini-review of the Jubak book. Oh well, I have lost interest now. You can easily find a review for yourself in other places on the net including Amazon.
Now, off to see how many other people on the planet have already implemented this idea multiple times :) Update: Found one here. Not exactly what I was looking for, but I am sure there are tons more.
2. The best blue chip companies are not necessarily in the US anymore.
3. The world is becoming older and wealthier.
4. The future will have higher inflation that we have been accustomed.
5. The world will run out of cheap oil.
6. Commodities will become more expensive.
7. Food is the new Oil.
8. The state of the environment will continue to gain in importance.
9. New technological innovatoins will shift from information to energy, healthcare and the enviroment.
10. Countries and institutions with a higher stability premium will command higher returns.
These are the 10 trends in a nutshell proposed by Jim Jubak in his latest book, "Juback Picks". Whether or not you buy into his premises, I believe (like George Carlin and the 10 commandments), that these can be boiled down into a smaller set.
1. Globalization
2. Aging Demographics
3. Energy and Environment Crisis
4. Financial Volatility
Jubak takes an investment perspective on these trends. The concept is that you should research the trends, find companies that support those trends, determine which of those companies have the best fundamentals, then use technical indicators to guide entry and exit points for both the trends, sectors and individual investments. Makes sense, right? Easier said than done? Yes.
To his credit, Jubak ends each trend chapter with a list of trend breakers and makers for each category. This further underscores the complexity of validating and timing the trends outlined. This sounds fun as a full-time occupation, not so much if you have a day job that requires the same degree of attention, intention and research.
Nevertheless, the concept is sound and can perhaps be helpful to investors. It is also interesting to speculate on the 10 trends or my 4 reductions from other perspectives that include the sociological, psychological and scientific.
It might be fun (yes, depends on how much of a geek you are) to set up a framework for tracking these trends as an exercise in following world events. Sometimes just reading the news and watching history unfold can have such a reactionary flavor. We can easily get eye-glaze from sifting through the many headlines of information that bombard us every day. Might it be more interesting and more educational to follow world events with a particular orientation in mind? To some degree this could be automated. Maybe it has been automated already.
IOW, can I set up a tracking mechanism based on the trends of my choice where I (or my trusty robot) analyze unfolding world events, map them into the appropriate trend category and rate them based on how much they support or diminish the trend in question? This could be hooked up to a web-based dashboard displaying the trends and have a real-time display of the state of the trends to the day or hour depending on how fine a granularity is desired. Color-coding with white(lack of evidence), yellow (weak support), orange (medium support), green (strong support) could allow you to visit the site and, at a glance, see what the current state of the trends are.
Better yet, allow the addition of new trends as they become identified. This trend-tracker web site has to exist already. Surely it does in this day and age. I think I will look for it as soon as I finish this blog.
Whew... Back to the original idea for this blog, which was to do a mini-review of the Jubak book. Oh well, I have lost interest now. You can easily find a review for yourself in other places on the net including Amazon.
Now, off to see how many other people on the planet have already implemented this idea multiple times :) Update: Found one here. Not exactly what I was looking for, but I am sure there are tons more.
The Spiritual Universe
Spirit is an infinite dispersion across infinite time and space, the vibrations of nothingness.
Soul is the reflection of spirit at nodes of time.
Matter is the reflection of Spirit at nodes of space.
Self is the reflection of the one Soul in Matter.
These are the four definitions that are the focus of "The Spiritual Universe" by Fred Alan Wolf. Wolf explores concepts from ancient Western philosophy to Eastern religious thought. These explorations are viewed through a framework of modern physics to produce connections and support for his particular brand of Idealistic Realism. Idealistic in the sense that the Universe is fundamentally Spirit, but Realistic in the sense that this underlying Spirit reveals itself in the physical laws, particles and relationships we have only begun to understand with the dawn of modern physics.
From Wolf's perspective, Spirit inhabits the underlying void or nothingness. It is infinitely potential. It knows no bounds. However, this infinite nothingness reflects itself into the one Soul and into Matter. The dual reflection into time and space is instantiated most specifically into the Self of a living being.
Some of his more interesting insights are in the area of communication between Soul and Self. He explicitly rejects the notion of multiple Souls. There is only one Soul. This one Soul reflects into an infinite number of Selves. It is Self that is multiple, not Soul. The duality of Universal Soul and Individual Self are in constant dialog. This dialog can be enhanced or suppressed.
The reflection of the Soul into Self (hence, also Matter) can result indirectly into addictive behavior. The Soul has an infinite, all-encompassing perspective. The Self is very local in perspective. The yearning of the Soul for infinity expressed through its reflection into the Self can be distorted into addiction to Matter. The Self must listen to the Soul (which speaks through intuition and feeling rather than concrete logic) in order to avoid this addition to Matter.
The Soul's persuasions have the best interests of the Self in focus. The Soul knows where the ship should be going. The Self is locked in the inner hull of the ship. The Self can feel around in the dark, learn to navigate the ship from experience, but never know in a totally clear sense where the ship is going. The Soul sits on deck, yelling to the Self instructions for sending the ship in the right direction. The Self can not hear this clearly because of the thickness of the hull of the ship, but sometimes gets tidbits of information that help the Self steer the ship toward the right direction.
The Soul is experienced when the Self communicates with a child, sees a newborn, talks intently to an old person about their life, hears beautiful music and many other life experiences. The Soul can be shut out entirely and replaced with the addiction to Matter that makes the Soul's influence diminish and eventually stop.
The Soul is expanded when the Self is conscious of the world surrounding it and expands the Self's boundaries outward under influence of the Soul. The Soul is continually trying to further reflect itself into the locality of the Self. This continuous inner dialog, and the relative quality of it, determines what actualities are produced in the Universe.
Wolf diligently ties everything here that is summarized and more to the quantum physics framework that is the underlying thread throughout the book. The concepts of Quantum Physics have taught us that there is not a lot of solid foundation to the physical Universe as we think we experience it. Wolf argues that the underlying Quantum world that gives rise to the macro-Universe that we experience is in fact the underlying Spiritual Reality of everything.
Personally, I did not have the background or attention span to be a good critic of his Quantum-Spirit analogies. However, the poetic insights mentioned here as well as many other gems in the book make it worth a read even if you gloss over much of the more detailed Quantum passages.
Soul is the reflection of spirit at nodes of time.
Matter is the reflection of Spirit at nodes of space.
Self is the reflection of the one Soul in Matter.
These are the four definitions that are the focus of "The Spiritual Universe" by Fred Alan Wolf. Wolf explores concepts from ancient Western philosophy to Eastern religious thought. These explorations are viewed through a framework of modern physics to produce connections and support for his particular brand of Idealistic Realism. Idealistic in the sense that the Universe is fundamentally Spirit, but Realistic in the sense that this underlying Spirit reveals itself in the physical laws, particles and relationships we have only begun to understand with the dawn of modern physics.
From Wolf's perspective, Spirit inhabits the underlying void or nothingness. It is infinitely potential. It knows no bounds. However, this infinite nothingness reflects itself into the one Soul and into Matter. The dual reflection into time and space is instantiated most specifically into the Self of a living being.
Some of his more interesting insights are in the area of communication between Soul and Self. He explicitly rejects the notion of multiple Souls. There is only one Soul. This one Soul reflects into an infinite number of Selves. It is Self that is multiple, not Soul. The duality of Universal Soul and Individual Self are in constant dialog. This dialog can be enhanced or suppressed.
The reflection of the Soul into Self (hence, also Matter) can result indirectly into addictive behavior. The Soul has an infinite, all-encompassing perspective. The Self is very local in perspective. The yearning of the Soul for infinity expressed through its reflection into the Self can be distorted into addiction to Matter. The Self must listen to the Soul (which speaks through intuition and feeling rather than concrete logic) in order to avoid this addition to Matter.
The Soul's persuasions have the best interests of the Self in focus. The Soul knows where the ship should be going. The Self is locked in the inner hull of the ship. The Self can feel around in the dark, learn to navigate the ship from experience, but never know in a totally clear sense where the ship is going. The Soul sits on deck, yelling to the Self instructions for sending the ship in the right direction. The Self can not hear this clearly because of the thickness of the hull of the ship, but sometimes gets tidbits of information that help the Self steer the ship toward the right direction.
The Soul is experienced when the Self communicates with a child, sees a newborn, talks intently to an old person about their life, hears beautiful music and many other life experiences. The Soul can be shut out entirely and replaced with the addiction to Matter that makes the Soul's influence diminish and eventually stop.
The Soul is expanded when the Self is conscious of the world surrounding it and expands the Self's boundaries outward under influence of the Soul. The Soul is continually trying to further reflect itself into the locality of the Self. This continuous inner dialog, and the relative quality of it, determines what actualities are produced in the Universe.
Wolf diligently ties everything here that is summarized and more to the quantum physics framework that is the underlying thread throughout the book. The concepts of Quantum Physics have taught us that there is not a lot of solid foundation to the physical Universe as we think we experience it. Wolf argues that the underlying Quantum world that gives rise to the macro-Universe that we experience is in fact the underlying Spiritual Reality of everything.
Personally, I did not have the background or attention span to be a good critic of his Quantum-Spirit analogies. However, the poetic insights mentioned here as well as many other gems in the book make it worth a read even if you gloss over much of the more detailed Quantum passages.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Super Bowl Sunday at the DSO
The DSO concert Sunday afternoon was great. Hungarian dances by Brahms and a Bartok classic were the orchestral pieces while the featured Liszt piano concerto was awesome.
I had never heard most of the Dances by Brahms. I am very familiar with many other Brahms works including the symphonies and a piano concerto or two. These works are cornerstones of abstract Romantic literature and exemplary works of all of music history. The Hungarian Dances are billed as light orchestrations, which they are. However, Brahms, being the master composer he was, found a way to weave profundity with levity in the right proportions to avoid any hint of triteness.
Historically, I have been negative toward hearing live concertos. Generally I prefer more balanced orchestral works where instrumental lead is shared across many orchestral sections, dictated by the abstract needs alone. Concertos seemed to artificially put the spotlight on one instrument and favor virtuosity over pure truth and beauty.
However, Sunday's performance of the Liszt concerto may have changed my mind. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing a 21 year old Russian pianist perform masterfully. Perhaps the concerto itself was more integrated with the orchestra than typical classical concertos. Whatever the reason, the piano was blended as a perfect complement to the orchestra and the solo sections were virtuosic, yet musical. Maybe I will retain my discrimination toward violin or other concertos, but bend a bit for piano concertos, since the piano is like a mini-orchestra itself.
The Bartok composition was a great contrast to the Romantic orchestrations that came before. Nothing like a little early 20th century expressionism to sanitize any hint of schmaltz that might have been felt during the Romantic music portion (Romantic with a capital R as a classical period, not romantic with a little r that might resemble a soap opera :))
I had never heard most of the Dances by Brahms. I am very familiar with many other Brahms works including the symphonies and a piano concerto or two. These works are cornerstones of abstract Romantic literature and exemplary works of all of music history. The Hungarian Dances are billed as light orchestrations, which they are. However, Brahms, being the master composer he was, found a way to weave profundity with levity in the right proportions to avoid any hint of triteness.
Historically, I have been negative toward hearing live concertos. Generally I prefer more balanced orchestral works where instrumental lead is shared across many orchestral sections, dictated by the abstract needs alone. Concertos seemed to artificially put the spotlight on one instrument and favor virtuosity over pure truth and beauty.
However, Sunday's performance of the Liszt concerto may have changed my mind. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing a 21 year old Russian pianist perform masterfully. Perhaps the concerto itself was more integrated with the orchestra than typical classical concertos. Whatever the reason, the piano was blended as a perfect complement to the orchestra and the solo sections were virtuosic, yet musical. Maybe I will retain my discrimination toward violin or other concertos, but bend a bit for piano concertos, since the piano is like a mini-orchestra itself.
The Bartok composition was a great contrast to the Romantic orchestrations that came before. Nothing like a little early 20th century expressionism to sanitize any hint of schmaltz that might have been felt during the Romantic music portion (Romantic with a capital R as a classical period, not romantic with a little r that might resemble a soap opera :))
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Dallas Theatre Center "In the Beginning"
"In the Beginning" is a Dallas Theatre production whose subject matter is the first 10 chapters of the book of Genesis. Vignettes of selected stories are interspersed with commentary representing views of a variety of theological leaders in the Dallas area.
The program starts with a preview of what is to come with the entire cast. Spread across the width of the stage, each cast member speaks a line or two or three that explains the background and intent of the production. Throughout the show, cast members appear in various roles, with the role of God being shared across at least half a dozen actors including men and women.
Starting with the Garden of Eden, the presentation is that of literal biblical interpretation (with the addition of a couple of strategically placed g-strings) mixed with the commentary that expresses a variety of theological perspectives on the particular scene just enacted.
Some of the commentary is traditional and predictable, while some of it is credible questioning of the mainstream party line. Very little of it is particularly original or indicative of a broader cosmological perspective. However, this is acceptable, given the stated boundary of bible stories and Judeo-Christian perspective.
The second part of the show is intended to be an audience participation where members of the audience comment on questions asked by some of the actors. This seemed very shallow the night I was there. The Q&A only lasted about 10 minutes(instead of the planned 20) and seemed to die due to lack of original thought. Pat answers were offered by a few audience members who did not try to say anything provocative or hint at any scope beyond the level of a child Sunday school class.
All in all, the show was interesting and stimulated some individual introspection and questioning. However, given our current 21st century understanding of science, evolution, and world religions, the level of breadth and abstraction in the professional commentary and audience participation seemed to be timid and landlocked.
The program starts with a preview of what is to come with the entire cast. Spread across the width of the stage, each cast member speaks a line or two or three that explains the background and intent of the production. Throughout the show, cast members appear in various roles, with the role of God being shared across at least half a dozen actors including men and women.
Starting with the Garden of Eden, the presentation is that of literal biblical interpretation (with the addition of a couple of strategically placed g-strings) mixed with the commentary that expresses a variety of theological perspectives on the particular scene just enacted.
Some of the commentary is traditional and predictable, while some of it is credible questioning of the mainstream party line. Very little of it is particularly original or indicative of a broader cosmological perspective. However, this is acceptable, given the stated boundary of bible stories and Judeo-Christian perspective.
The second part of the show is intended to be an audience participation where members of the audience comment on questions asked by some of the actors. This seemed very shallow the night I was there. The Q&A only lasted about 10 minutes(instead of the planned 20) and seemed to die due to lack of original thought. Pat answers were offered by a few audience members who did not try to say anything provocative or hint at any scope beyond the level of a child Sunday school class.
All in all, the show was interesting and stimulated some individual introspection and questioning. However, given our current 21st century understanding of science, evolution, and world religions, the level of breadth and abstraction in the professional commentary and audience participation seemed to be timid and landlocked.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)