|
14 sep 06 "Is everything an equation to you?" i'm not entirely sure what you mean, although i can hazzard a guess. see, in hazzarding a guess, i'm proving that everything is indeed not an equation to me. if everything were an equation, i'd note that "everything" consists of one entity, and in order for there to be an equation, there would need to be two components. but i'm sure that's not what you meant. because i have my psychic powers, and don't have to rely on the rationality of language, i can assume (correctly) that you meant "are all experiences and all objects to you framed with cold logic?", or some reasonably similar paraphrase. but isn't it interesting how answering this question one way or another determines whether or not "everything is an equation to me"? if i interpret the question literally, rationally, then my answer is obviously "no" -- how can "everything" be an equation? what is its equal? however, when i answer this way, with "absurd rationality" (because i know what the asker really meant), then i prove to the asker that i do, indeed, see everything as an equation (but of course not literally, because literally this is not possible). on the other hand, if i figure that the asker meant something else, based on the sum of my knowledge of language-use and colloqialisms, and answer his question with a "yes", then i prove that no, indeed the universe is not an equation to me. furthermore, by talking about this in the first place, i've demonstrated that everything is an equation to me. basically, you want to know if i'm "mr. spock". no! of course not; i often talk about the "absurdly rational" (probably mis-applying it whenever i don't feel like working someting out), and i carry on with my daily affairs with anything but logic. my writing is often logical, but a lot of the times it's just babbling. however, it's very prosaic, although not really in a bad way, i hope. i try to be as descriptive and clear-headed as i possibly can in my writing, and avoid poetry and metaphors, which confuse people because they aren't sure that they're understanding the same thing the writer (i) was talking about. that's supposed to be part of the fun, but i generally don't want anything to do with that approach. by the way, this question has been, if not answered, at least touched upon significantly. but i'll give the asker the benefit of the doubt, as i so often do, and assume that he or she had just read that other answer, and then asked this question because he or she wanted to know how i felt about everything being explainable with "numbers", regardless of whether or not everything can be explained with "numbers". do i see the world as an intricate tapestry of logic? i come closer when i'm writing. when i'm writing, the world seems to make sense to me, except that i'm really rusty because i haven't answered any questions in a few days. it's going to be a bitch going back over this text to correct the grammar, fix up the sentences, put in better words, tighten things up, etc. maybe i won't even do it. but if my writing is sloppy and bad, then no one will read it. oh well. i set a high standard for myself with the "hester prynne" question. i was pleased with my answer, and think it's one of the best responses on this site. arrrrg, i need to go to bed soon! i'm going to see if i can crank out three responses in half an hour, including fixing them up so they aren't quite so terrible as they are now. and believe you me, they are terrible. but no -- i don't see everything as an equation, because 1) the statement is meaningless to begin with, and 2) even if i interpret your words as "do you use solely logic to perceive the world?", the answer is still no. for instance, when i can't find my keys, i quite seriously start to consider that supernatural forces might be responsible. also, i curse at god. i'm really anything but a rational guy, except i sometimes come across that way in my writing, if i'm in a certain mood. my personality on "paper" is a lot different from my personality in real life, i think. or maybe it's not terribly different. i don't know. it's hard to assess. |
ask a question