Time's Fool

Meditation --rational or irrational? Stress, general physical health, mental health and balance. Essentially, any practice of meditation assists primarily in the development of two skills: concentration and awareness. Several other "contributory" skills may need to be developed as well, such as silence and physical stillness. Numerous ancilary benefits may occur as a result of the development and practice of these skills. The decision to engage in a practice of meditation may well be an extremely rational decision. Thinking about the practice may also be a very rational activity. Practicing meditation is itself, however, a non-rational activity (or inactivity). Furthermore, there is no doubt in my own mind whatsoever that a practice of meditation is likely to have as one of its benefits the enhancement of the practitioner's ability to think rationally.

INFORMATION WANTS TO BE FREE! (?) Editor's Note in 7/22/02 InformationWeek: "Indeed, blogs have great potential for personal productivity in the workplace as well as idea sharing and collaboration across boundaries." Of course, the term, "cooptation," comes easily to mind in this context. (My old organizational sociology professor, Phillip Selznick, first dramatized this term for me --in its meaning of "To neutralize or win over (an independent minority, for example) through assimilation into an established group or culture: co-opt rebels by giving them positions of authority. "--in his book, "TVA And The Grassroots".) "Expropriation" might be a more apt term for what's going on. Or, evaluating the process most neutrally, simply "appropriation". The "underground", or the "outsiders", have always been a major source of both cultural energy and formal variety for societies under environme...

Do thoughts have shapes? Are they structured, with distinct forms? Can we describe the forms of our thought? How? Do we naturally describe them? Or doesn’t the formal description of our thoughts come naturally to us? Linear? Direct and straightforward? Sharp and to the point? Or blunt, or vague, or ambiguous, multi-textured, or like a tapestry? Or a web. Back and forth, to and fro. Circular? Meandering? Treelike, branching? Fractal? Is to speak of thoughts having shape a metaphorical way of speaking? Or is it a literal way of speaking? Do thoughts literally take shape in our minds, in our speech and writing? Take form? Do thoughts take shape in discourse? Are the forms of discourse the shapes of thought? Is narrative a different shape of thought from argument? Is description a different shape of thought from explanation?