A dozen notes and quotes #2
July 31st 2007 09:21
Of course it's true that travel writing can reveal more about the traveller -- for the things you think to remark on are what's different from home -- the cleanliness of one city, the long fingernails of another -- and you thereby show what you take for granted.
... and you defamiliarize these matters to yourself, and yourself to yourself, and on returning home, then briefly all else is foreign also.
"Although the bowel’s main function is to digest food, bowel complaints often reflect what else is going on in your life. 'The bowel is very sensitive to changes in mood, diet, lifestyle and sleeping patterns,' says Professor Bolin. 'That’s why people often get constipated when they travel -- travel affects all those things?'"
-- from Cindy Pan (I think)
Humans are no more satisfied than any other animals -- perpetually extending power, perpetually eating.
Deformations are expressive -- especially human deformities. We invest so much in each body part -- eyes, fingers, lips, hair -- that mutation and violation are meaningful.
And the meaning is more specific than "perversion", depending on what's violated and how.
Just as the meanings, effects, symbolism of each animal are more specific the more common the animal.
The horror of age -- liver spots, eyes full of cataracts, peeling skin, broken veins, mental deterioration. The mutilation of the human being -- and the unavoidability of it -- that it lies in wait for you -- that you will become what abhors you.
There are strange questions here of the yoke and the right of the present. For why should a generation reduced to wormfood have any say in the affairs of the living? And how can the plenary power of a state or a god limit its future exercise?
But there are things that we want from our continuers regardless of their wants -- the selfishness and the paternalism of the present. And herein lies the rationality of suicide.
Not being at home with yourself...
So it may be that society gives you a you, treats you as a unity, fast-talks you out of your suspicions that you're not. -- "Pull yourself together!"
And how terrifying to be caught in an alien body -- the period blood rushing out of you, the uncontrollable shaking of Parkinson's, the humiliation of stuttering -- the disconnect between you and your flesh.
The sense of strangeness -- as you realize that what was once in your control is yours no longer.
The sense of injustice.
But such intrusions are common: the failure of muscles for strenuous poses or when carrying heavy objects; or the impossibility of not sneezing. And, for whatever reason, these everyday impotencies don't threaten our sense of self. We write them off as effects of the environment, unavoidable.
Just as, in the case of Parkinson's, the victim will normalize the symptoms, write them off as effects of the environment, unavoidable.
I can type up text without knowing what I'm typing. It's stimulus and response. It's automatic. Seeing the letter will provoke a finger to move in a certain way, and my conscious mind is bypassed entirely.
I can type up text while talking to you and listening to music.
The dislocation...
The insane notice when you look at them -- whereas normal people do not.
A sign of intelligence can be the lack of blinking while they speak -- as if they're somewhere else, or are looking intently at something somewhere else, or as if they're not missing anything.
Sensitivity to the appropriate...
You can usually listen without listening -- for you can manage on the basis of bits and pieces -- you can reconstruct -- you can guesstimate -- you can get the gist. And it's rare, in everyday life, to encounter the sort of dense text where you can't afford to miss anything.
But you can go further. You can fake it remarkably well without in any way knowing what the hell the other person is talking about. Because, to satisfy protocol, all you need do is pick up on appropriate behavioural cues -- and nod at the right time, laugh at the right time, express sympathy, express interest...
One communication skill is keeping tabs on cues -- to see if people are really listening, and, moreover, if they really do understand.
But the more profound ability is alertness to ambiguity and possible misinterpretation -- knowing this at the time of speaking -- knowing it in the first place.
And knowing how to return to such crossroads when needs arise.
In listening to a speaker, there's a question of how much to concentrate on content to the exclusion of anything else. For it's in your power to shift your focus.
But of course one can question to what extent form and content are separable. And how the speaker speaks, and what they're doing with the rest of their body -- these are certainly part of the information you can draw.
And there is a question for the listener, also, in how much notice to give that they're listening or that they understand.
People who are sincerely listening will sometimes indicate knowledge, understanding, familiarity before you've made the point, though they won't have formed even a suspicion of what you're about to say.
But one needn't presume conscious decision. For appropriate behaviour is more a matter of conditioning than control.
... and you defamiliarize these matters to yourself, and yourself to yourself, and on returning home, then briefly all else is foreign also.
***
"Although the bowel’s main function is to digest food, bowel complaints often reflect what else is going on in your life. 'The bowel is very sensitive to changes in mood, diet, lifestyle and sleeping patterns,' says Professor Bolin. 'That’s why people often get constipated when they travel -- travel affects all those things?'"
-- from Cindy Pan (I think)
***
Humans are no more satisfied than any other animals -- perpetually extending power, perpetually eating.
***
Deformations are expressive -- especially human deformities. We invest so much in each body part -- eyes, fingers, lips, hair -- that mutation and violation are meaningful.
And the meaning is more specific than "perversion", depending on what's violated and how.
Just as the meanings, effects, symbolism of each animal are more specific the more common the animal.
***
The horror of age -- liver spots, eyes full of cataracts, peeling skin, broken veins, mental deterioration. The mutilation of the human being -- and the unavoidability of it -- that it lies in wait for you -- that you will become what abhors you.
There are strange questions here of the yoke and the right of the present. For why should a generation reduced to wormfood have any say in the affairs of the living? And how can the plenary power of a state or a god limit its future exercise?
But there are things that we want from our continuers regardless of their wants -- the selfishness and the paternalism of the present. And herein lies the rationality of suicide.
***
Not being at home with yourself...
So it may be that society gives you a you, treats you as a unity, fast-talks you out of your suspicions that you're not. -- "Pull yourself together!"
And how terrifying to be caught in an alien body -- the period blood rushing out of you, the uncontrollable shaking of Parkinson's, the humiliation of stuttering -- the disconnect between you and your flesh.
The sense of strangeness -- as you realize that what was once in your control is yours no longer.
The sense of injustice.
But such intrusions are common: the failure of muscles for strenuous poses or when carrying heavy objects; or the impossibility of not sneezing. And, for whatever reason, these everyday impotencies don't threaten our sense of self. We write them off as effects of the environment, unavoidable.
Just as, in the case of Parkinson's, the victim will normalize the symptoms, write them off as effects of the environment, unavoidable.
***
I can type up text without knowing what I'm typing. It's stimulus and response. It's automatic. Seeing the letter will provoke a finger to move in a certain way, and my conscious mind is bypassed entirely.
I can type up text while talking to you and listening to music.
The dislocation...
***
The insane notice when you look at them -- whereas normal people do not.
***
A sign of intelligence can be the lack of blinking while they speak -- as if they're somewhere else, or are looking intently at something somewhere else, or as if they're not missing anything.
***
Sensitivity to the appropriate...
You can usually listen without listening -- for you can manage on the basis of bits and pieces -- you can reconstruct -- you can guesstimate -- you can get the gist. And it's rare, in everyday life, to encounter the sort of dense text where you can't afford to miss anything.
But you can go further. You can fake it remarkably well without in any way knowing what the hell the other person is talking about. Because, to satisfy protocol, all you need do is pick up on appropriate behavioural cues -- and nod at the right time, laugh at the right time, express sympathy, express interest...
***
One communication skill is keeping tabs on cues -- to see if people are really listening, and, moreover, if they really do understand.
But the more profound ability is alertness to ambiguity and possible misinterpretation -- knowing this at the time of speaking -- knowing it in the first place.
And knowing how to return to such crossroads when needs arise.
***
In listening to a speaker, there's a question of how much to concentrate on content to the exclusion of anything else. For it's in your power to shift your focus.
But of course one can question to what extent form and content are separable. And how the speaker speaks, and what they're doing with the rest of their body -- these are certainly part of the information you can draw.
And there is a question for the listener, also, in how much notice to give that they're listening or that they understand.
***
People who are sincerely listening will sometimes indicate knowledge, understanding, familiarity before you've made the point, though they won't have formed even a suspicion of what you're about to say.
But one needn't presume conscious decision. For appropriate behaviour is more a matter of conditioning than control.
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Comment by Louie
Climate Forum
Climate Red
randomthoughts
Phil's Wellness Tips
cheers
Comment by Adrian
Philosophy Blog
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Absolute classic of a line. I have heard people having breakdowns complaning that everyone is looking at them and judging them.
Excellent quotes
Comment by Louie
Climate Forum
Climate Red
randomthoughts
Phil's Wellness Tips
Some of those fragments in the post are really cool....and if I had of added the S to points what I was trying to say would have made sense to you.
Comment by Miswanderlust
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
In listening to a speaker, there's a question of how much to concentrate on content to the exclusion of anything else. For it's in your power to shift your focus.
But of course one can question to what extent form and content are separable. And how the speaker speaks, and what they're doing with the rest of their body -- these are certainly part of the information you can draw.
And there is a question for the listener, also, in how much notice to give that they're listening or that they understand.
Very interesting! I speak all over the states for a living. This is wonderful and so true! Great post!
Mis