Thread: Tapestry
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Old 01-07-2011, 10:52 AM   #23
Keith Larman
Dojo: AIA, Los Angeles, CA
Location: California
Join Date: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,604
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Re: Tapestry

Matt, glad you're enjoying Feynman. He was a blast in person. My father was heavily involved in the space program at JPL in Pasadena. So as a kid our family friends were scientists, engineers, and all the associated nutcases. I knew Dr. Feynman, but mostly just as Carl's dad (Carl was a year ahead of me in school with his little sister Michele a bunch of years behind if memory serves). I got into a "discussion" with Dr. Feynman about the twin paradox one late night at a party (I had to be maybe 13 or so having just read up on relativity). I was adamant that it simply made no sense. He just smiled, explained it a few times and let me struggle with it. Someone else told me I should probably listen to Dr. Feynman as he is a pretty well respected physics guy...

Just a short tangent.

One issue I wanted to raise with this thread. When the world holds such amazing connectedness and order, why are we so quick to make up mystical stuff rather than marveling at the natural world? The whole discussion of "ki" befuddles me sometimes. People ain't shooting ki balls out of their hands. They're not projecting "energy". There are so many possible explanations that rest on anatomy, neurology, etc. so why is it people insist on going into new age explanations so quickly? There is so much *right here* in front of us to figure out yet we want to "become one with the universal mind through ki projecting kindness and non confrontational spirit yada yada".

Maybe it is the fact I was raised in a world surrounded by scientists. But I marvel at the complexity and beauty of chaos theory. I marvel at non linear systems. I marvel at nature's "ability" to create amazing things. And I marvel at our ability to do amazing throws and movements that seem to defy physics. But... They don't defy physics. "It's not just a good idea, it's the law..." So we make up fantastic flights of fancy and come up with poetic streams *rather than* trying to really understand what is going on...

Okay, yeah, I'm kinda tired and frustrated with where some other threads here went. I live in a weird world in my head I suppose. Strict and rich scientific background, philosophy degree, then worked in psych research. And now I work basically in the arts. But I see such beautiful things *right in front of our faces* and yet we still look for magic.

So much potential... And yet so many end up swirling away surrounded by poetic words, nice sounding platitudes, and great sound bites that in the end signify nothing. So much to see *right here*. So much to learn *right here*.

Spirituality. Delusion.

Must take a vicoden for the migraine and stop posting for a while...

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