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Old 11-16-2013, 03:19 PM   #10
hughrbeyer
Dojo: Shobu Aikido of Boston
Location: Peterborough, NH
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 653
United_States
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Re: Biomechanics of simple throwing

Sorry, Mary, Krystal, and Walter. As an engineer myself I have a great affinity for what you're saying, but in this case I think it's self-limiting--by which I mean as long as *you* constrain yourselves to understanding Aikido from this perspective, you will be limited.

The trouble is, your interpretive frame doesn't apply. The first thing any engineer should know is the limits of the utility of their tools. The scientific method is hugely powerful in the domain of controlled, repeatable experiments--outside that domain, it's a set of blinkers.

You're putting yourselves in the position of a neuroscientist trying to understand consciousness by studying brain structure and chemistry. It doesn't matter how many dendrites you map--you simply don't have the right tools to examine the phenomenon you're studying.

The human body--and the interaction between two human bodies--is sufficiently complex that its behavior is emergent, in the same way that consciousness is emergent. It can't be predicted or studied by looking at the underlying physical substrate that supports it. That's why the metaphors and imagery exist--because they get us directly to the emergent phenomenon, without worrying about the physical substrate.

Switching fields, it's like a quantum mechanics physicist telling chemists that everything they do is defined by quantum mechanics, so the entire field of chemistry is mysticism and obfuscation. That's obviously wrong--but you are making the same kind of mistake.

So, I'm sorry, but regardless of your preferred learning style, I think that in order to truly grasp some of this stuff you have to let go of physical explanations. Our physics isn't powerful enough yet; our understanding isn't complete enough. Go with the metaphors and the imagery because that really is the most direct path to truth.

--
This post brought to you by La Fin du Monde triple golden ale--possibly a little over-spiced, but quite fitting for a fall evening... when we take over Canada, let's hope they aren't bought by Budweiser.

Evolution doesn't prove God doesn't exist, any more than hammers prove carpenters don't exist.
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