Psybertron Asks

Well maybe not. I picked-up on this paper on the “Technosophy” site of Terry Alden’s, because of a search hit on the 22 in my Catch-22, only to find a whole culture of synchronicity around the number 22 (and 23 ?). Anyway, some of it is probably too mystic and new age, but the particular paper linked has a neat folksy expose of first principles philosophy and its relevance to information, evolution and technology (McLuhan’s “Medium”), and in a religious context too. (Dualism of bio-info-mental technology and external technology too.)

Also has an essay called “Occam’s Electric Shaver” – though I can only find an outline, not the text ? Anyway, a neat turn of phrase and a neat concept – warning that complexity is a valid part of any world description, despite Occam’s original adage.

Following-up Alden, I see a crossover with Digital Falcon (in the side-bar), and links leading ever deeper into “occult” areas – aliens & reptiles etc – common references to the works of Robert Anton Wilson, Timothy Leary and Christopher Hyatt to name a few. Read with caution, but even this Reptilian Agenda (full of politically motivated paranoia) is built on germs of reality – the evolved brain having distinct animal (reptilian) lower stem, social (limbic) mid-brain and intellectual (cortex) higher brain motivations – this is Jung, Maslow, Pirsig, etc al.

Feel a bit like Josephson again and his paranormal interests. This stuff may well contain an overwhelming dose of bad science, and doubtful motives, but that shouldn’t make it taboo to study with an open mind. (The Nobel Prize-winning Josephson is campaigning against bad science used to refute paranormal phenomena, which expose prejudice in science itself – scientific propaganda in fact.)

…. were the words of Robert Kilroy-Silk leaving the UK Independence Party yesterday.

Don’t know why I blogged that, since I sympathise with neither he nor UKIP, but it’s a week or two since I blogged and I had to start somewhere …

Been a tough couple of weeks, not least because I had another Spyware / Trojan attack, that I could only fix by a complete re-build. Still, the home PC needed a bit of housekeeping.

Talking of which, my latest news is that whilst I have the same vision and strategy, the family and I have some new plans. I’m starting work with a new employer based in Perth, Australia, more on which later, but for now I have one or two things to get organised.

How to give people MP3 on your blog. [via Udell’s InfoWorld]

… and feed them to the Lesbians, went the line in “Jerry Springer – The Opera” screened on BBC2 last night. The tap dancing Ku Klux Klan probably took the biscuit in surreality though, that or the particular chorus line comprising entirely the c-word.

Obviously the humour is at the live alternative comedian level of right to offend, but the satire is clear and witty, and the performance and production quality excellent, so you’d have to be pretty repressed not to laugh and enjoy the experience. The satire is obviously aimed at the confessional TV culture represented by Jerry Springer, but it’s actually a pretty traditional Faustian morality play in there, and in places layed on a bit too thick, just in case the “tourists” don’t spot the moral of the story.

Those protesting strongly against it on grounds of offence and blasphemy have clearly only read the reports in the popular press concerning the f-word and c-word count and the fact that God, Jesus, Mary and Satan are all characters in the plot, but they are hardly the target’s of the satire. In fact a UK council of churches representative spoke before the transmission, to make this very point to his flock. This is real Divine Comedy. No absolute good and evil, just a daily fine line to be defended.

Carly Fiorina, CTO of HP says “The digital revolution is focused on letting people tell and share their own stories” [At Las Vegas CES, via BBC]

Obvious, but the telling point is the word “stories” – it’s not about data and information, even multi-media, it’s about stories. Part of the grand narrative view.

Some discussion on the MoQ Discussion Board about the wonder of maths underlying basic (quantum) physics and hence life, the universe and evrything else.

Picked up this link to Ray Girvan (Apothecary’s Drawer), on the wonder of maths (in real life) as an antidote to Billy Connolly’s rant about “f**ing algebra”.

Suspect his valid point may have been “Can anyone see the point of f**ing algebra – the way it is taught, as a subject disconnected from real life.”

Anyway, only just noticed today that Ray’s byline refers to “the triple point of science, arts, and culture” – I like that.

Some speculation, based on aparent coincidences concerning a series of earthquakes, whale beachings and oil industry seismic exploration around the Australian tectonic plate, that suggests the devastating earthquake and tsunami may not have been entirely natural. [Andrew Limburg of Independent Media TV via Robin Good].

Speculation only, but makes you think.

[Robin Good’s (Luigi Canali di Rossi’s) Master New Media is a feed I’ve been receiving only as an e-mail newsletter, but I’ve just added the blog link to the side-bar. He has a mind boggling number of different RSS feeds on many different topics.]

Last summarised here. I see the BBC is now reporting that

“The UN World Food Programme says it believes hundreds of Burmese fisherman died in the tsunami, unaccounted for in official government figures”

Recurring theme, here picked up from “Tripzine” by Corpus MMothra.

One quote relevant to the Pirsig story [Timeline, 1960] – [Quote] I had experienced with psilocybin mushrooms, or LSD. [DXM] was more like, “Here it is, this is the truth, do whatever you want with it”. [Unquote]

The full article ends with this [editor’s note: We have already contacted this individual and advised him to lay off the DXM for a while.] 🙂

Also like Corpus MMothras reminder from Mark Twain that truth also lies in madness (or vice versa) if you prefer – “When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained.” ? Samuel Langhorne Clemens, AKA Mark Twain.

Or was it a case of synchronicity ? You may recall I linked to Mark Richardson earlier in summer 2004, when he was re-tracing Robert Pirsig’s “ZMM” motorcycle trip from Minnesota to California as part of researching a book he is writing.

Using his column in the Toronto Star, he’s just posted an uplifting little story from the trip. Enjoy.