{ Saturday, November 29, 2003 }
It seems to me that one's brain is limited in what it is able to "know", and stays within that limit; that one thing remembered causes another thing to be forgotten; one's circumference of attention is finite, and that, try as one might, try as I might, that is, I cannot cram more understanding, more thinking, or more knowing into this limited Knowosphere. That someone else knows something and I don't doesn't cause me to relax into the noosphere, though there are certain things I am happy not to know, i.e. I haven't the faintest idea what football team is likeliest to triumph this year, and am satisfied that certain problems, (an understanding of cube roots, fathoming Kant) fall outside the realm of my concern. I have a vague horror of the Omega, or the Greeshka, or whatever you want to call it, very Western of me, transcended in occasional yogic moments.
It probably seems as if I've been smoking the green stuff (I haven't, though I have taken some Rebaxocet (?) a muscle relaxant Stewart swears by, for some debilitating neck and back pain that's caused me to spend most of the day in bed). Other mind-expanding activities I've been engaged in include listening to some black metal from my friend Forrest (whose definition of "attention" is "obsession", currently, getting a good shade of green for photos of grass) and reading some Dale Pendell. I find that the former activity requires some active mind expansion, notably reassuring myself that this is considered by many people to be music as I venture into the murkier, shriekier regions of metal, which Forrest assures me isn't "murky" but "heavy".
In the design of GNE we had long discussions about whether or not a player could max out her abilities in various areas, i.e. if one could become a Thief Class 1000, while at the same time maintaining one's skill levels as Scavenger Class 1000 and Shuffleboard Player Class 1000, and decided that, necessarily, her skills in one area would diminish as her skills in another area increased. Does this or doesn't this map to Real Life?
Even though I now have my landed immigrant status, I still can't legally work in this country until I get my SIN number, which isn't as fun as it sounds, standing for "Social Insurance Number", which I can't get until I get my Permanent Residence card, which will take 4-6 weeks to laminate and mail, hello bureaucracy. But forced idleness is a good thing, especially for a workaholic like I, and while I feel as if the knowledge I used to use at work, such as my ability to distinguish Jenson and Caslon (or Sunday and Monday), or the keystroke commands for Flash MX, are seriously diminished, it's been replaced by the weird farrago of art-making skills, writing skills, arcane interests (nuclear explosions, gnosticism, mycology) and stuff I read, not entirely a bad thing, but I've all but ceased to be professionally useful, and as someone said recently, happiness consists of knowing that one is safe, loved and useful.
I am of course exaggerating here; it would take only a week or a month or so to recover lost skills, but I find myself incurious about web design, which has me thinking that, given my recent idea of the finitude of brainspace introduced by the GNE skill level discussion, I am unnecessarily constraining myself, that we can all be Leonardos, or, more contemporarily, Martha Stewart, that specialization is for insects, etc.
LINK | 2:15 AM | TB
You might want to read this article on Autism.
The link below was broken, here it is again:
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.12/genius.html
Infinite is wrong? Don't know. Google "knowledge infinite finite." Still don't know.
Toph | November 30, 2003 5:42 PM>>Does this or doesn't this map to Real Life?
It does not. A hard-training Thief would find that her aptitude as Scavenger and Shuffleboarder would actually increase proportionally, because the skill sets overlap. Both a Thief and a Scavenger must be extremely alert to things that most folks ignore, and both a Thief and a Shuffleboarder must keep their nerves calm.
In your case, it sounds like your skill sets are discrete, so as you're getting stonger as a generalist, able to see odd connections, follow fruitful tangents, and make great dinner conversation, your skills at making quick selections from finite sets (which font, which keystroke, which stylesheet) have atrophied.
You have to bring yourself into phase. Start by musing about fontography and making spreadsheets of mushrooms, and go on from there.
What a great post.
The mind has infinite capacity. Imagine you learned everything there was to know about some topic, and then one day someone said in relation to your topic: "you know how A = B? well actually A = C." And next thing you know, your entire understanding of the topic is enriched immeasurably.
Applying physical metaphors, capacity, quantity, etc. to the mind or even human ability leads us to paradoxical conclusions. Information systems follow different rules than physical systems. In an information system, a single binary unit can change the entire organization.
Physical system versus information system explains why the concept of software engineering is absurd. You can't treat the construction of software or a web site like that of a bridge or a skyscraper. That's why most web sites suck beyond belief.
Information architecture is a step forward in thinking about the design of software or a web site, but still an inappropriate physical metaphor.
In the best world, a web site would be isomorphic with the organization of the human mind. Yet each mind is unique, therefore the presentation must conform itself to each person uniquely. I am certain this can be done.
Jeff | December 1, 2003 7:06 PMVery interesting. I personally seek some kind of global maximum "skill" in the things that interest me. For instance, I was very good at chess and mathematics for a while and now I'm less good at those things and more good at writing and playing go. Overall, though, I think I'm more talented. Part of the reason I started my own company was because I refuse to just be a highly specialised organic robot working inside a giant machine - I want to do everything!
Another point made about was about the synthesis of knowledge. I think that in many ways the more you learn the more you are capable of learning. My knowledge of science and mathematics means that a great deal more of the world makes sense to me than to most people. I think we've all experienced those moments where things "fall into place" and we experience a moment of very profound enlightenment... If we're lucky, the world never looks the same again.
Jacob Martin | December 9, 2003 2:54 AMhttp://gay.anzwers.net/paysites/story/violent_rape_pics.html complimentwhosewondered
parlor | February 28, 2006 9:55 AMhttp://libra.sfsu.edu/~aappell/spring036801/messages/3570.html complimentwhosewondered
even | April 18, 2006 3:50 PMfree ringtones ringtones ringtones
free ringtones | May 14, 2006 11:29 AMonline poker online poker
online poker | May 14, 2006 4:23 PMbad credit payday loans bad credit payday loans
payday loan online payday loan online
payday advance loans payday advance loans
no faxing payday loans no faxing payday loans
no credit check payday loans no credit check payday loans
same day payday loans same day payday loans
cash advance payday loans cash advance payday loans
quick payday loans quick payday loans
online no fax payday loan online no fax payday loan
instant payday loans instant payday loans
bad credit payday loans bad credit payday loans
payday loan online payday loan online
payday advance loans payday advance loans
no faxing payday loans no faxing payday loans
no credit check payday loans no credit check payday loans
same day payday loans same day payday loans
cash advance payday loans cash advance payday loans
quick payday loans quick payday loans
online no fax payday loan online no fax payday loan
instant payday loans instant payday loans
dell computers dell computers
laptops laptops
laptop laptop
laptop computers laptop computers
dell computer dell computer
computer desks computer desks
computer parts computer parts
notebooks notebooks
dell laptops dell laptops
gateway computers gateway computers
apple computers apple computers
cheap laptops cheap laptops
laptop batteries laptop batteries
computer armoire computer armoire
computer cases computer cases
notebook notebook
computer memory computer memory
computer repair computer repair
top laptops top laptops
computer hardware computer hardware
notebook computers notebook computers
used laptops used laptops
laptop reviews laptop reviews
laptop battery laptop battery
refurbished laptops refurbished laptops
laptop computer laptop computer
laptop cases laptop cases
notebook computer notebook computer
best laptop best laptop
laptop ratings laptop ratings
discount laptop discount laptop
toshiba laptops toshiba laptops
acer laptop acer laptop
dell laptop dell laptop
gateway laptops gateway laptops
cheap laptop cheap laptop
laptop parts laptop parts
laptop sales laptop sales
toshiba laptop toshiba laptop
discount laptops discount laptops
notebook battery notebook battery
apple laptops apple laptops
sony laptops sony laptops
hp laptops hp laptops
notebook batteries notebook batteries
cheap laptop computers cheap laptop computers
laptop memory laptop memory
laptop rental laptop rental
online poker online poker
online poker | May 21, 2006 2:28 PMget loans online now - apply today get loans online now - apply today
get loans online now - apply today | May 31, 2006 8:28 AMsecured loans secured loans
secured loans uk secured loans uk
uk personal secured loans uk personal secured loans
secured personal loans secured personal loans
cheap secured loans cheap secured loans
bad credit secured loans bad credit secured loans
secured homeowner loans secured homeowner loans
secured home loans secured home loans
uk secured homeowner loans uk secured homeowner loans
low cost secured loans low cost secured loans
secured loans personal loans secured loans personal loans
best secured loans best secured loans
secured loans for home owner secured loans for home owner
fast secured loans fast secured loans
secured online loans secured online loans
fast secured loans uk fast secured loans uk
secured loans company secured loans company
un secured loans un secured loans
secured business loans secured business loans
consolidation loans secured consolidation loans secured
secured personal loans bad credit secured personal loans bad credit
secured loans rate uk secured loans rate uk
bank secured loans bank secured loans
secured loans for car secured loans for car
{ Post a comment }
i have been taking zanaflex, a muscle relaxer, to help deal with "the big f.". it has worked better than anything i've tried.
denise | November 30, 2003 5:13 AM