From: Colin Hales (colin@versalog.com.au)
Date: Fri Jul 04 2003 - 15:42:47 MDT
Ben wrote.........
>
> While researching mindplexes, I found this page on Theodore Sturgeon
>
> http://glinda.lrsm.upenn.edu/~weeks/sturgeon/williams.html
>
> which contains the following excellent quote:
>
> "The secret I am trying to tell here is the art of
> storytelling, at its
> highest -- how it's done. It's like Houdini getting himself
> locked in a
> trunk and thrown in the ocean. I don't think he knows
> beforehand how he's
> going to get out of that trunk. Rather, he's putting himself
> in a situation
> where he will be forced to focus every bit of his own strength and
> concentration on the problem at hand -- and he knows that under
those
> circumstances, and only those circumstances, he has the
> capability to find a way out. It's an act of faith.
>
> "The solution is: open the trunk. That's obvious. And the way
> to arrive at the solution is to lock yourself in the trunk. That's
not
> obvious at all. But it's beautiful."
>
> I am sure this dude is wrong about Houdini (who would have
> been dead far
> younger if this guy's theory were correct), but he's right about
> storytelling!!
More than story-telling, I think. When you think about it you can see
the pattern underlies most human creativity. I am in the Colin Hales
trunk. Ben and cohorts are in the Novamente trunk. Ben just put the
list in the word invention trunk.
It's trunks, all the way down (and up), I tell you!
or
Ready. Fire (DOH!). Aim.
IMO human creativity is more about egregious screwups. Edison and
light bulbs comes to mind...
:-)
speaking of egregious screwups, how about using the recent propensity
of Crick, Koch and now misc. other neuroscience involveds to use the
word 'coalition' when talking of mid-level (>1) cooperation
(coherence, resonance whatever) between neurons.
How about bastardising coalition into coality or the like.
cheers,
Col
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