That, if a straight line falling on two straight lines make
the interior angles on the same side less than two right angles, the two
straight lines, if produced indefinitely, meet on that side of which are the
angles less than the two right angles.
In a diagram
this is easy to visualise as it’s a roundabout way of saying the two lines
incline toward’s eachother (not away or parallel).
Postulates are
not axioms, which are really blindingly obvious, but they seem axiomatic. Why
am I bothering with this? Only because it boosts my ego to say these things!
Even though it’s nothing to do with me and happened about 350 BC. For someone
working professionally with geometry – Newton, Einstein et al – the
correctness of what they do just has to boost the ego. It’s human nature.
Any geometrical
theory of the universe – like Einstein’s warped structure of spacetime – is
therefore helpful to the ego of those who work with it.
That’s all I’m
saying as spacetime is non-Euclidean and over my head. There are other things
that aren’t geometrical and therefore can’t be understood in the same sense.
Symmetry, balance (prev.), something a priori, but not a straight line
or a circle. It could be a vibration, a musical chord (who knows?)
Proportion in
animal figures has to be related to symmetry and balance.
While geometry
can boost the ego (of the head), the human figure can’t do that as its ideal
proportions aren’t axiomatic propositions. For an artist they just have to be
learnt by rote, there’s no real brain work (eg. about 8 heads fit one body
height).
I suppose
Leonardo hazards a type of geometrical relationship in Vitruvian Man, but it’s
frankly not terribly convincing. That’s quite a strong indication that the
human figure develops spontaneously from primordial forces of dynamic balance.
All I’m saying
is the spontaneity of nature is outside of human ego – as it can’t be
understood mathematically, by the mind. I know you could say artists who deal
in the human figure have egos, but they don’t have acolytes. Science is built
like a sort of inverted pyramid where multiplicities of acolytes live off the
theorems of previous ones.
This is why I
say a sorcerous order replaces reality with logical propositions. One could
trace a relatively direct sequence to the present day starting with geometry
(Euclid 350 BC) to Newton’s Principles to Darwin’s competitive order (in a
universe of straight lines, or the industrial order) to Tim Berners-Lee’s
invention of the net.
All this
progression constitutes ego-overload, otherwise known as AI. At the other end
of the spectrum, I came across this enhanced photo of London from 1880
The copy on DT
says “Dickensian” and they’re certainly archaic looking and non-progressive. Is
there an innate tendency to be non-progressive in human behaviour (and why)?
First of all,
it’s a safeguard of identity (origin).
Going by Biblical authority, when the Jews were captives in Babylon, King Nebuchadnezzar set up a
..giant statue
and ordered each captive nation to send representatives. When his band struck
up a tune, everyone was supposed to bow to the statue; those that refused would
be tossed into a fiery furnace. Hananiah, Mishael, and
Azariah, the Jewish delegates, consulted the prophet Ezekiel as to the
proper course of action. Since the statue was not erected for idolatrous
purposes, but only to honor the king, it would seem that Jewish law permitted
bowing to it. However, the three Jews decided that they would demonstrate that
only G‑d possesses unlimited power. Their plan was to refuse to prostrate
before the statue, thereby defying Nebuchadnezzar publicly. Ezekiel, however,
knowing that the punishment for such actions was death, instructed the three
not to be present at the ceremony; if they went, he said, they should not
expect G‑d to save them miraculously. Nevertheless, the three appeared, and
when they proudly stood tall as everyone else bowed down, they were cast into
the furnace. A spectacular miracle occurred, witnessed by the vast multitudes:
the three walked out of the furnace without even being singed! After witnessing
this great Kiddush HaShem, the nations
of the world gained a new respect for G‑d and the Jewish people.
The motto is that
identity is combatively non-progressive b ordering on reactionary. It has the
quality of a triumphant song, such as the eon-spanning folk-anthem
Folk and the
people can exist alongside progressive industry, and the most obvious example
is Motown (Drama3) which grew up alongside Detroit’s car industry and
declined along with it. By “folk” I guess I mean the family-oriented identity
of Motown that brought the street into the studio – with ambiance.
Ambiance is lost
in the modern world because the self-organization of places
gives way to progressive organization – which is the opposite thing. A place
that is self-organizing will run down and will not rebuild – as happened in
Detroit. It will self-regenerate through decay (rugged revival). Dirt and
ambiance.
And life
stories. By contrast, hip-hop is basically banal and born of boredom, rather
than the reality of communal living. After all, Kanye West’s big hit is Runaway
which says it all, really.
Living things
are not progressive – which is a straight line. They are a dance of different
things. A progressive system has to lead to straight line rule, essentially
electro-impulses (sun or ego). Living things will rebel against this if they
wish to self-rule, since this is a dance of the body.
That is the
coming battle as one is to do with information (DNA, algorithms) and the other
is to do with physical ambiance, spontaneous gaiety, unthinking acts (hygiene
versus dirt and cleanliness; weakness versus strength; immaterial order versus
physical and psychic reality).
Which will win?
I don’t know the answer to that question, but it’s conceivable that the
straight line progression of Newton-Darwin- Net is starting to show signs of
wear. The reputation of God has suffered in the process. I remember writing a
school essay about a global computer the last words of which were: As the
last relay was closed, a fiery glow erupted in letters ten feet high: There Is
Only One God. (I think I ripped-off Arthur Clark).
But it seems
that living things are symmetrical, balanced and proportionate for a reason.
Because it would be unthinkable to come into this world unless blessed by those
attributes. It’s the ultimate non-progression since it has to apply to every
living thing there’s ever been (even atoms, actually.)
This goes back
to the idea of aether (Hyborian Bridge 48) which even Einstein was minded to support. Basically, the
modern order replaces a universal aether with induction in laboratories (DNA,
algorithms). Induction by “them” replaces the subtle vibrations of gravity in
aether; order replaces spontaneity (the gods?) Greek myths of the wilful
deities; Poseidon and Ulysses; water and H-bonds in the womb.
It’s a blessing
that is supplied by the physical universe, and it can have nothing to do with
fact or planning or routine as that applies to the ego. It is instead a dance
in time of primordial forces (see Bruce Lee prev.)
The fact that
the universe is spontaneous lends space for introspective reflection on meaning
and morality.
