Article: Vitruvian Man Meets Da Vinci Girl by Ross Robertson

Discuss the article, "Vitruvian Man Meets Da Vinci Girl" by Ross Robertson here.

Article URL: http://www.aikiweb.com/columns/rrobertson/2004_03.html

Hi Ross!

Excellent! Bravo! I have a chemistry degree with much physics and math behind me. I also have a love for art. So, for me the article tied in quit nicely and makes perfect sense!

However, although I comprehend what you are saying, we need to discuss the nature of a thing that is true. Lets look at the six sources of truth. They are; sensation, intuition, introspection, reason, dreams, and revelation. If anyone wishes a definition or explanation of what these are (if you do not know)then please let me know and I will post them.

It seems that all 6 of these means can lead us to truth but each can also lead us to error. Examles are that a dream may be false and not true, intuition can be false when one has a wrong feeling or "sense" about something. Another example is revelation. Now, I am not referring to the revelation of God, I am referring to someone having a dream last night and I do not know what is was until that person reveals it to me. This can have error because that dream may not come true.

So, how do we descover what is true? We want knowledge of the truth which leads us to ask; What is knowledge? To sumarize acording to the justification theory of knowledge, there are 4 conditions that are necessary for you to have knowledge; (1) You must think that a specific proposition is true (2) that proposition must be true (3) you must have reasons which prove that proposition is trus (4) you must understand how those reasons prove that the proposition is true. Again if anyone needs exlanation of these let me know.

So, a long story short, one is not justified in knowing something is true unless all these conditions are met. Something to think about......you may apply this to all aspects of your life, training, whatever......it is universal.

Brad Medling

Hi Brad,

Ah, epistemology from a scientist! Should be fun!

Yes, there are many different kinds of truth, or many different aspects of Truth. Many roads there, many the path of delusion. Still, even a hallucination is a kind of truth. All experiences are real, but not all are consistent with each other.

For the scope of my article, I am simply interested in what is functionally true. That is, it should be empirically verifiable. Then, we will need tools that make that particular truth accessible to us. Visualization is one such tool. So, for example, many of the images we receive from our telescopes and microscopes may be enhanced with false color, to highlight details otherwise not visible. We know these colors, strictly speaking, are neither real nor true. Yet they may in some cases do a better job of communicating (a particular) truth than the unmodified image.

The truth is (sorry), all our means of apprehending reality are already filtered and modulated. Tuning our instruments may give us access to a broader spectrum, a narrower one, or selective bits across a range. This is fine when seeking truth, but very problematic practically and philosophically when seeking The Truth.

DaVinci Girl is a visualization, a pointer toward an unseen truth. Better ones are waiting to emerge, for whoever has the vision and the talent to realize it.

Thanks so much for the feedback!

Ross

Ross, what I enjoyed is not the idea of using this regularly as a tool per se, but that it does open the eye/mind to the reality of effective spaces in an amazingly clear way. cheers!

Hey,

I just want to say:Very nice piece indeed.

It opened my eyes to a new way of thinking about Aikido!

BRAVO!

Tiyler

Thanks, Janet and Tiyler.

If you find that you have any interesting experiences in training when using this visualization tool, I'd be interested to hear about them.

Best,

Ross

Ross,

Did you use Poser software for your article? Do you think it could really be used to improve one's Aikido.

I have just started learning to use this software and don't know much about it. It certainly looks interesting, although I don't know what it was originally created for. I especially like the option to only allow realistic movements.

Ross,

Have just skimmed the article.

Like it, but will post a more considered reply once I have time to read and consider properly.

But I like the sound of it.

Warmest,

Jamie Stokes

Taras,

Yes, Poser is the tool I used to make the images for the article. As a means of visualization, I certainly do believe it can be useful in learning aikido. But that will depend on the learning style of each individual, and naturally is no substitute for the physicality of the real thing.

My understanding is that Poser was originally conceived as a life-drawing modeling tool for digital artists, much the same way as a human model or a wooden posing doll are aids for traditional media.

I find that when I try to create a realistic scene in Poser for aikido stances and interactions, it forces me to stand up, pose myself, and analyze deeply the posture and geometry of a given stance. In that regard alone, Poser can serve as a mirror, better in some ways than photos or videos.

On the other hand, aikido has taught me things that are often difficult to teach or explain in words. Tools like Poser help me bring that inner vision out.

Ross

Ross, thanks ever so much for mentioning this tool, I am absolutely loving it. Although I've never been into 3D rendering I find Poser realy helpful so far in analysing stances and moves/ It's like teaching (when you have to re-think what you know and word it propperly to explain to others), only here you have more time to analyse everything.

Maybe it is not for everyone, like you said it depends on one's way of learning. I see it in a way as a virtual uke.

Thanks again