Valentinny

There should be no argument about whether people are becoming more alike, on the planet.  I mean a lot more than the ascendance of western civilization,  That is not the theme in today's post. In honor of the holiday I will point out that Jan said once, that harmonious couples had a much in common with each other.  Again, all this is peripheral, though not irrelevant.

Today's theme is the audible evidence of humanity's evolution. The media commentators previously had a certain timbre in their voices. This is referenced by the phrases 'radio voice', and 'universal accent.' Cronkite had it, and you still hear today in the United States, especially in veterans at NPR. 

But that deeper tone, more measured enunciation, on the air waves is disappearing. It is replaced by a jauntiness, a tendency to sarcasm, and a higher pitched voice, from on air sources we assume to take themselves seriously. We can hear in the voices we hear, that man is living more in his imagination. A necessary step for the growth of humanity as a whole. Not so good for real romance, but that is slim price to pay, for the quicker action and consensus on issues that a more evolved humanity allows. We speak of course about an ongoing drama. 

Scandal on the planes of intellect

How man came across the idea of deity can profitably be imagined. Of many scenarios, one that has an appeal is that students on a path of learning, must notice the state of their minds, what the eastern sages call monkey mind. To discipline these automatic thoughts is so rare among men, so unlikely an even very brief, accomplishment, that if one assumed some interference, aid, from another realm, that may seem very plausible. And so the face-saving idea that man must fail, were it not for god, gained traction. 

Perhaps all the stories have some validity. Surely that is a reasonable perspective, as annoying as that thought, 'well all the theories are correct,' might be to man's binary intellect. 

Jan Cox referred to this binary intellect  (everything is either this or that)  when he joked that "scientists can only count to two." Sober soldiers suck it in -- why else does man have twenty digits, if not to count at least twenty right answers. 

The rocks by the shore

The rocks by the shore are safe, you pick your steps and progress comfortably. Rocks in my picture, are words. The water is what you suspect must be there, everybody has some sense of that reality surely. Don't look to the horizon, or even the shoreline. The water is closer. 

And furthermore

It could be words are floating leaves, falling on, following on, a sea of numbers. This is one picture of the relation of words and numbers, a relation, -- involving the question of the ontological status of mathematics --that no one claims to finally, clearly, incontrovertibly, understand. The interesting history of 20th century philosophy involves a strained focus on words. But if you don't understand numbers, how could you claim to know what words are?

About Nelson Mandela....

Listen and you can hear the uncomfortable shuffling of people in positions of power subsequent to the news of Mandela's death. 

And another thing to consider: The bravery and integrity of such a man --- not forgetting his fame reflects how rare that is -- is still a shadow of the silent stature of the real teachers in history -- those figures who point to an invisible border. 

Why are plane crashes newsworthy

We do hear about plane crashes in the news, and I have to assume most people do, since my locale is a backwater. Yet I hear about helicopter crashes, on up to jet liners. Big planes you can kind of understand because the potential death rate number could be quite high. Yet even then, the number would not be a tiny fraction of the population of the planet. Car crashes don't make the international news often, though they can be quite dreadful. 

The answer came to me, AN answer, shortly after the question. Planes make the planet smaller in a way which may reflect the dimensions of Humanity. The fact we are all, as people,  part of something larger grates on the nerves of some scholars, yet the fact peaks out (peeks out) when you look at the question I posed. The plane crashes are universal in a way, affecting perhaps a large portion of the planet. Plane make the planet smaller and larger at the same time. Smaller because people can arrive at far places quicker. Larger because Humanity becomes aware of itself when news items about crash events are broadcast. Aware of itself as a single unit, as Humanity. You are alert to news about aerial crashes because you, unwittingly often, are aware, it is news about yourself. 

Thorn gardens

Conspiracy theorists declare nothing except their unwitting belief in binary logic. Their assumption in fact is that reality can be swept up and recounted from tiny boxes. The whole billowing and irreducible human ignorance and majestic uncertainty that we know is a factor in everything cannot sway their need to assert. Not that the academics have therefore a compelling explanation -- that would be a binary conclusion. Theorist versus theoretician --- just another binary gap to raise suspicions.