quick update...

[cybermule]

Had a really busy day yesterday. Managed a whole morning gardening before heavy rain (and a dead frog :() put me off, but I now have a tidy front garden, no collapsed tomato plants and a bunch of drying herbs. Moved my attention inside: neat freaks are coming to tea tomorrow!

*quick break to hyperventilate*

Cleared all my parent's rubbish into the cupbboard under the stairs, and took about 20 empty cardboard boxes to the tip. Other than a quick flick of hte hoover after work, that will have to do.

Finished my Iris Murdoch book. I really liked that - I think I'll go and check some more out of the library. It was fairly gloomy and intense, but kind of worked out all right in the end. Started a book on General Semantics. So far, pretty interesting. Lots of stuff on the nature of sanity and reality, and on the three levels of society. Maybe I'll make notes one day - right now I'm waiting to play UT with my friend from work *drums fingers impatiently*

Oh - went to see Finding Nemo in the evening. Very fun, very trippy. I love cartoons :)

EDIT: cthulu stuff that I want to read some time.

Comments

[unsane1.livejournal.com]

Started a book on General Semantics. So far, pretty interesting. Lots of stuff on the nature of sanity and reality, and on the three levels of society.


the latter part sounds interesting, but general semantics sounds boring... what field is it in, psychology?


went to see Finding Nemo in the evening. Very fun, very trippy. I love cartoons :)


i just saw that last week too, really neat movie. i'm no big fan of cartoons, too unrealistic for me: i wish i could enjoy them like a child does, but i'm unable to suspend disbelief watching them now. gotta work on that.

[cybermule.livejournal.com]

the latter part sounds interesting

Yeah - that was the bit I was hooked by. Basically there are these three levels: intracapsular (non-speaking), encapsular (now) and extracapsular (potential). The idea so far is that we're stuck on the second one because our language system was set up to exclude many aspects of reality. If we could get beyond this, we could develop a perfect world system, progressing on to the extracapsular stage.

but general semantics sounds boring... what field is it in, psychology?

Heheh - I think I only ever use the word "semantics" when I'm trying to dismiss some boring, nitpicking argument. But it's the study of realtionships between signs and symbols, so mostly linguistics with a bit of anthropology and psychology thrown in.

but i'm unable to suspend disbelief watching them now

I'm lucky - if I like something, I get totally immersed in it and reality isn't really a question. But then I find it hard to discipline myself to anything that doesn't grab me like that.

[unsane1.livejournal.com]

Actually I was talking about this as well:


stuff on the nature of sanity and reality


But now that you explained the 3 levels of society thing that sounds somewhat intriguing. I definitely agree that our language is very limiting. But that it limits us from developing a perfect world system, I'm unsure.


intracapsular (non-speaking)


Reminds me of Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes. How basically after many generations of being oppressed by the apes, the humans eventually would lose all language while the apes continued to evolve. An interesting reversal, and makes one realize it's not too farfetched to think that apes and other animals could evolve complex language/communication (or already have).

We think we're oh so special, but the more I study the differences between humans and animals, the less special we seem.

[cybermule.livejournal.com]

Actually I was talking about this as well:stuff on the nature of sanity and reality

heh - it did sound interesting, but I think I mentioned elswhere that I was finding the book as a whole kind of boring. If I ever get around to reading any more, I'll let you know. As it is, I decided to read some fiction for a bit - I just finished And the Ass Saw the Angel, which was neat, if somewhat gloomy.

Reminds me of Tim Burton's Planet of the Apes.

I've not seen that - is it similar to the original?

[unsane1.livejournal.com]

I've not seen that - is it similar to the original?


I haven't yet seen the original. :P From what I hear though, they are both quite different. Tim Burton made his take on it.

[cybermule.livejournal.com]

Tim Burton made his take on it.

Yeah - his stuff's kind of risen in my estimation over the years. I guess it must age well. Looking forward to his remake of Willy Wonka with Johnny Depp *bounce*

[quercus.livejournal.com]

I've got doznes of books here with "semantics" in the title. From Semantic Web stuff (which is what I'm really interested in) to "The Semantic Theory of Evolution". I think it's turning into the next "paradigm" - a general buzzword for all occasions. What does "Geneal Semantics" actually mean ? It's probably a good read, but it doesn't give away its content from the title.

And soon there'll be a book on "General Ontologies" to go with it.


Mind you, I've been reading Swedenborg of late. Now there's a chap who was properly barking. An Enlightenment philosopher who nailed himself firmly back into the Medieval world view of non-observational mental hypothesis as way to do cosmology.

[cybermule.livejournal.com]

*grins*

This book can probably be forgiven for the wishy-washy title - it was published in 1957 - but yeah, "semantics" does seem to be "word o' the week". Which is irksome, as I actually find the subject quite interesting.

Mind you, I've been reading Swedenborg of late. Now there's a chap who was properly barking. An Enlightenment philosopher who nailed himself firmly back into the Medieval world view of non-observational mental hypothesis as way to do cosmology.

I don't know much (anything?) about him to be honest. Plus my brain is reaching the end of the working week and is thinking through treacle - does that last part = was trying to understand cosmology by imagination rather than observation?

[quercus.livejournal.com]

[Swedenborg] It's a Greek idea originally, but the Medieval monasteries probably took it to its farthest conclusion. At its best, you create Dante's logically self-consistent Mount Purgatory. At the worst, it's psychosis.