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February 11, 2008
Symmetry: paradoxical in nature, yet amazing in practice!
So, I guess the primary topic of discussion this week is symmetry and its paradoxical nature declaring that every structure is in a state of flux, or as one of my Communications classes deemed, "permanently beta." The expanses over which structures have the capabilities of traveling are infinite due to their flexible, evolving, decentralized, and adaptable natures depending on the influences of outside stimuli. While it seems justified to hypothesize that continuously moving structures and activities affected simultaneously by different factors within different time scales could not possibly work in tandem to efficiently evolve, this is not the case. Somehow, in one way or another, things are symmetrical. This fact fascinates me. Things that seem so intrinsically opposed are always somehow linked, though some connections are more visible on the surface than others. Take language, for example. Usually, when examining forms of communication, different languages are seen as divisive constructs calling to mind the cultural differences amongst people of different backgrounds. However, while the phonetics and phonologies of different languages are distinct, messages have the capacity to be, for the most part, the same depending upon the context of the situation in which one is living. Different letters and symbols can transmit the same meaning; although verbal, textual, and pictoral representations of meaning differ, they remain only barriers in symbolic representation. The symmetry of meaning aligns. “Significa el mismo sentido en ingles y espanol” “means the same thing in English and Spanish.”
Okay, rapid change of thought. Aman just came over here and started questioning my logic about the whole symmetry deal and I was explaining to him my belief that everything is symmetrical. He went on to say that everything is not initially symmetrical, but can be manipulated to be that way. For example, in “A Geologic Survey of Appetite” in Tokyo Butter, these lines are one after another:
The taste of life in dead meat.
Is what she wanted.
Some rev.
These lines, in themselves, have no symmetry, but if you move “Some rev.” up a line directly after “wanted.” And then move that entire line next to “The taste…,” the 1st sentence and the combination of the next two are approximately the same length separated by a space that acts as the symmetrical divider. That might not have made much sense, but the basic gist is that everything can be made symmetrical. If one has the capability and creativity to approach a structure with an open mind, order can be achieved amongst the jumble that is life.
Posted by thulyk at February 11, 2008 07:48 PM
Comments
I like "permanently beta."
Yes; yes; yes --I love this post --how can I not;
for I am linked to it, my theory, my making
--and, I have to admit this, right now also
my beliefs.
Yes; yes; yes --oh my: everything can be made symmetrical --you bet, a mirror can be placed wherever I need to place it, whenever; means of extending, of mapping likeness, of configuring and reconfiguring on multiple scales --just a mapping of distribution of chemical elements throughout the universe --they're here, here, here, here, here.
Yes.
And i "Tokyo Butter," I try to expose the beautiful transcending/linking powers of (forms of) symmetry just in the Search results page --which admits to a seeking of symmetry,
which insists on a seeking of something the search also insists can be found, is findable.
Posted by: thyliasm at March 10, 2008 12:38 PM
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