jbml 12 t&hln_002m physicists considering ordinary
GRAVITY
AS THE GEOMETRY OF A FOUR-
dimensional space time, possibly imbedded
in a series of higher dimensional universes, occasionally experience a similar bewilderment.
I recently confronted another form of this tension while preparing a lecture on information theory for undergraduates in computer science.
Computation-based communication technologies are often designed to mimic the externally observable features of human language, and these algorithms can be reasonably well understood, even when the details of the original human "implementation" are only vaguely known.
After I remarked on the seemingly "miraculous" quality of human communication, Janet (the wise woman in my [ml's] life) quipped, "Only a man would call it a miracle that people communicate. Women communicate all the time!"
[Wellicht OOK iets typisch 'evolutionairs': vrouwen moesten de beste omstandigheden creëren om kinderen te kunnen baren, voeden, opvoeden, begeleiden, grootbrengen & onderhouden, wat idealiter 't best kon geschieden via mimiek, gebaar, geluid, zang, taal/begeleidende/soortgelijke kopiërende voorbeeldige verbale activiteiten?
Mannen
daarentegen waren ondertussen oorspronkelijk veel meer gebaat
bij jagen, vangen, produceren, imiteren, doen & denken, dus in stil & gedegen handelen/argumenteren/(be)lerend/converserend/acterend:
"Handelend/dominerend/ontdekkend/herhalend/beheersend"
besturen?!
Ogenschijnlijk 'ongeveer hetzelfde', maar wel degelijk met grote accentverschillen als je kijkt naar kinderen (m/v) en huishoudens als 'anders' dan gewelddadiger, ingrijpender, oppervlakkiger ondernemend behandelen 'onderweg op jacht' en/of intensief bezig met constructief bouwen!
Hoe dan ook: in alle gevallen in aanvang vooral kwestie van evolutionair overleven, hormonale aanzetten van genetisch verworven voordeel?
Was dat in feite ook al niet zo afhankelijk van de (milieu)omstandigheden bij vrouwelijke/mannelijke planten en dieren: functionele hardware
die programmerende software behoeft om fijner af te stemmen op omstandigheden, evolutionaire veranderingen & nadere aanpassingen!?]!?!
Having thus gendered this discourse,
I admitted that invoking the category of the miraculous
implied no appeal to a supernatural explanation, but was an expression of spontaneous awe at how much communication is not currently (or perhaps, in principle) amenable to scientific ana-lysis, despite the heavy reliance on communication in the scientific method. Science loves fables of sudden insight such as Jonathan's ~ Archimedes running naked from his bath shouting "eureka" or Isaac Newton hit on the head by a falling apple - because the first revelations of the deep scientific truth are generally found in seemingly trivial, yet empirically undeniable, observations about the small & the local, those com-monplace shared experiences that are precisely the field of applicability of the scientific method! Like Archimedes's buoyancy & Newton's gra-vity, language represents a profound dynamical universe, & for all the difficulty in explaining those dynamics, science (like 'woman'
accepts language and communication as mundane,
observable fact, readily taken for granted,
and empirically indisputable.
Therefore,
the logical inferences drawn from language
by linguistics, psychology, and other disciplines, rest on a firm foundation
(a response to those who would dispute the existence of language from outside the context of language
is beyond the scope of this work), & are themselves a reliable basis for technological application in fields from speech therapy to computer architecture. In plain language, the implications of verbal communication regarding the nature of human beings & their relationships cannot be dismissed as "junk science" or "only" a theory. To take seriously the inter-subjectivity of speaker & listener
is not an academic parlor game to be safely ignored
by determined men with
"other priorities."
When we ig-
nore Benveniste's insights into
the personal pronouns, we consequently think & plan poorly,
and we ignore at our own peril (f.e.) Jessica Ben-jamin's observations about the traumatic effect
of being left to feel unrecognized.
The cozy habits of hegemony
that deny the unbalanced symmetry inherent in relationship,
and deprive the other of any standing from which to appropriate the word I
& address authority as you,
are the "quaint" & "obsolete" notions, in an age when the risk of epidemic & climate disaster
makes no exceptions for the powerful, & threats of over-whelming military force do not intimidate,
but are met with an almost joyful willingness to depart this world
in at least desperate attainment
of parity in death.
The basic logical inferences
that derive from the nature of human communication
provide us with more than a romantic sense of awe about what it means to be human -
they also provide guidelines
for how we must behave
if we wish to survive!
[Zó gezien
ìs myDi of 'iets dergelijks'
al die tijd dus nu voor menigeen soms
dag in dag uit 'n soort van reddingsboei, lifeboat, ankerlijn, 'veilig thuis',
vraagbaak en all that kind of (mainly good) shit that saves, carries US
across THE oceans, houvast, inner security, open discussie
& vrijhaven tegelijk
~~~
En nu móet ik echt weer stoppen want m'n ogen worden té móe, pijnlijk droog & die achterliggende grijze massa
doet 'n lampje branden dat meestal betekent 'even uitrusten', 'laten bezinken',
verandering van lichaamshouding, uitrekken, plassen
& 'nu even iets anders'!]
Misschien al met al wel tot straks,
of later?
Slaap zacht,
droom zoet & please
DO Tell Us All About IT!

Asih, man, 80 jaar
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