Adam Blatner
Words and Images from the Mind of Adam Blatner
Trying to Explain
(An occasional paper of the Journal of (Very) Speculative Philosophy) Adam Blatner, Confabulologist Extraordinaire May 31, 2011 For more fun, see Fractal Metaphysics; or No. 2 of this Journal See other papers on Confabulology at the bottom of my papers webpage above. The Problem of Mind The dimension of mind is not just vast, but profoundly […]
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Confabulations 5: Trans-Dimensional Metaphysics 1
A Note on Translation: In the upper right is a picture of a vaguely Hebrew-like group of figures. In some dimensions, the sounds behind the sounds reflect certain vibratory energies that organize our world. In Sanskrit, the syllable Om and other syllables are believed to have that quality, and in mystical Judiasm the letters of […]
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Does the Universe Have a Purpose?
Stimulated by some friends alluding to the discussion posted at http://www.templeton.org/purpose/ , contemplating their responses, here’s mine: It’s a misleading question. It assumes that there’s a “there” there, that there is an objective reality apart from what we are co-creating. In that sense, it may be a mistaken assumption that anything can “have” a purpose […]
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Confabulations 10: The Latest Theory
It May Be More Like This (see diagram above) Or perhaps more like what is shown here to the left. If sentences can be diagramed in terms of their grammatical structure, why not theories? Of course, theories involve many world-views, basic assumptions, sets that operate at a meta-level, hinted at by this picture on the […]
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Increasing Sensitivity
I’m happy to realize that even at the age of going-on-74, I am still learning. Times change and so does sensitivity to things that I had taken for granted. Around 1976 my daughter, then not-yet-eight, called to my attention in a rather stark fashion, in all innocence and love, smelling my tobacco-infused beard, “You stink, […]
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On Loneliness
At first, I think of being lonely in terms of the popular songs, focused on yearning for a true love, romance. But then I realize this is just the most appealing format, the type where we’re more likely to feel sympathy for the yearning person. However, there are other, far more pervasive types of loneliness. […]
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Overwhelmed as a Diagnostic Category
Consider that being “overwhelmed” is a valid diagnostic description. It happens frequently in mild ways: The person feels, “I don’t know what to say, I don’t know how to respond. I may not be clear what is happening, I’m a bit disoriented.” It can be felt but not yet given words. The person may just […]
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Confabulations 9
What’s It All About? Well may you ask. Human minds are limited. Even when they’ll have evolved significantly (if we don’t extinct ourself—yes, let’s use the word extinct as a verb!), we’ll still be limited. Alas for dreams of grasping the whole and understanding it. I may allow for the idea that some few people […]
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Non-Rational Mind
Reading a book (A Perfect Fit, by Jenna Weissman Joselit) about fashion changes in clothing (mainly women’s) in the period of the late 19th through the early 20th century: I’m impressed with the symbolic power of dressing smart, the boundaries of femininity, modesty, and the depths of feeling evoked by those who felt these changes […]
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What’s Up This Month
Oh, my, sometimes I think my mind is like an artist’s studio, an “atelier,” with various papers or books, presentations being prepared or books someday to write or revise, blogs to post, papers to complete on my website. It’s not one thing after another, it’s a little bit of this, and then, now that I […]
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