The Club

I was told on several occasions in the recent past that I could not do certain things because I was not a member of a certain club.

Well...
You see...
I have many ambitions in life, but becoming a member of a club has never been high on the list.
It’s because you usually have to do stuff to become a member...

Pay money...
Believe in holy scripture or some other form of fairy tale...

Usually both.
My goddess Aergia forbids me to do stuff anyway.

Now.
There are also clubs that do not really require you to invest money or faith, but that require a sequence of certain rites to be performed, preferably ancient ones. Those clubs are the most difficult to become a member of. Not because those rites are impossible to perform, but because the members who have gone through the ordeal of becoming a member, want something in return...

Membership exclusivity and all the power of authority that comes along with that.

That’s all fine... roll through the mud if you must, learn those secret handshakes (don’t forget to wash). Just don’t tell me I cannot do certain things ignoring the quality of those things, just because I am not a member of your club. I have a complementary secret salute to your handshake for you to learn.

So I did, what most people apparently do in such a situation, I started a new club.

Anyone can join
Anyone can start their own

Membership is automatic on attendance

The only requirement is that you have to be prepared put your ideas through some rigorous and ruthless testing. To see what they are worth.

We especially like big and wild ideas

Check it out!


 




 

 

 

 

 

 

 

day 14: OMNE INITIUM EST DIFFICILE

“A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct.”

- Fom Manual of Muad’Dib by Prinses Irulan

Ok, so it turned out I had some settings wrong in InDesign. Haven’t got the time to tweak it all now, but here are some tastes... just the first page spread.

[still so impressed by Peter Gabriel I will reflect on it later, oh wow!]

First chapter is done



天
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day 13: The Void

Tomorrow is the last day and I’ll post a draft of the introductory chapter...

Here’s a concept for the cover I made this evening. While writing the introduction I was looking for a good example to explain that the questions you can ask of reality depend on what you believe to exist in reality. The four elements and the four humours are always a good example, but you can read about that later.

The interesting thing is of course that there are five elements in almost all cultures. The Chinese have: wood, fire, earth, metal, water. The Japanese: air/wind, fire, earth, water and void. Pagan: air, water, fire, earth and spirit/soul. The Greek had Æther as the 5th element.

The question of the existence of Æther has been an important subject in physics for a very long time. In short: when something moves in the univers, it has to move relative to something, and this is the Æther. Einstein's theory of relativity appeared to have made the final point against the existence of Æther. Well not quite, because in 1951 the brilliant Paul Dirac who is one of the fathers of modern quantum mechanics publisheda paper in Nature called: “It there an Æther?” in which he suggests there might actually be such a thing!

Ok, I think this it is safe to say it is not a concept, but the real thing, what do you think?

Thank god for the web!
I found a quote by Henry Poincaré from the days before 1905, before Einstein's publication on special relativity. He describes the position I think is necessary to advance science, be aware that any theory and ontology is just a means to an end: Trying to understand phenomena. If it turns out you were wrong, well, then you were wrong! What remains however will always be some useful insights, some lawful behaviour or first principles that may be integrated into a new theory or ontology.

Here is the quote from the 1905 translation (out of French from 1889):

“Whether the ether
exists or not matters little – let us leave that to
the metaphysicians; what is essential for us is, that
everything happens as if it existed, and that this
hypothesis is found to be suitable
for the explanation of phenomena.”

天
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day 2: The snail And the butterfly

[caption id="attachment_195" align="alignleft" width="720" caption="Base Camp"][/caption]

Thank you all for your support!

Many have asked how the snail is doing and I’m pleased to say that the chickens aren’t hungry anymore.

The butterfly caused a storm in the glass of Grog I prepared for it. Apparently it worked because I haven’t seen it since.

I came up with a layout using InDesign:

Most people would do this at the end, or just not at all...
For me it’s a start!

day 1: Welcome to the jungle

 

[caption id="attachment_189" align="alignleft" width="450" caption="Meyboske"][/caption]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am on a two week mission to finish up on some writing that is due almost 5 years now.

I headed out into the Dutch jungle also known as the Achterhoek (which roughly, yet appropriately translates to “rear-corner”).

Surrounded by corn fields, some chickens and a whole lot of nothing, I put up camp in the backyard of an old farm. I let the locals carry the frozen rations, the local brewski and all the coffee I brought with me.

For they dared not touch the devilish technologies I wanted to set up so close to their lodgings.

“How can a piece of aluminum be a controller
for a computer that is itself just a piece of aluminum?”

Black magic indeed, all without wires.

...But there is a magical nothingness here
I can even see the grass grow...

...just heard a snail trip over a grain of sand...

...the sneezing of a butterfly...

... may cause a storm in a glass of water
on the other side of the globe ...

Yeah, I think I’m getting in the right mood here.