Comments for synthetic zero

Comment on digital dualism, information physics, and natural process by Boaz

Boaz — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 05:25:08 +0000

Interesting commentary here and over on the Cyborgology site. I agree that introduction of digital communication systems doesn’t introduce fundamentally new things in the world, “ontologically”. I think the discussion about digital dualism goes a bit far however. The critique of a supposed digital dualist like Sherry Turkel seems to be attacking with a much too powerful tool, and sometimes not seeing what she is actually saying. She is concerned with some of the effects digital technologies have on us, and the cultural changes that may result. To try to invalidate this by saying she has a bad fundamental understanding of reality, seems not altogether fair.

I find discussion about digital physics and questions about fundamentals fun, however. I work at a synchrotron, and do physics related to electron beams and x-rays. Every now and then, I try to understand some of the different approaches to foundations of physics. I once spent some time trying to understand “bit string physics”…
http://arxiv.org/abs/hep-th/9707020
I found it fascinating, though still not very mature as a physical theory.

Comment on emptiness and buddhahood by Melinda Fleming

Melinda Fleming — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 22:41:12 +0000

This path feels like a mobius ring.

Comment on cathedrals of clouds by Melinda Fleming

Melinda Fleming — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 22:38:54 +0000

Some people are remedied by thunderstorms…

“Stories instantaneously bypass the ego. The ego cannot absorb the entire pith of story. The ego hears the story as a form of entertainment. While the ego is kept happy, thinking it is being entertained, the soul and the spirit are listening deeply. The flow of images in stories is medicine—similar medicine to listening to the ocean or gazing at sunrises. No direct interaction has occurred—the ocean did not jump into your body and fill you. But there is something about seeing, hearing, and smelling the ocean that has bypassed the ego, and straightened out many things that were in disarray within the psyche. Some people are remedied by thunderstorms, some by music, some by the voice of a person they love.”

- Clarissa Pinkola Estes: A Life Made By Hand

Comment on ways to help after Sandy by » Sandy Help in NYC area. Magdalena O!

» Sandy Help in NYC area. Magdalena O! — Mon, 05 Nov 2012 15:49:07 +0000

[...] *Mitsu posted this on his blog & reminded me why I love the NonsenseNYC email list. I know for some a donation or click is all they can do (because of health issues, location, and so on), but if you’re there, on the ground floor, go help. Nothing beats human hands if you are able to work them. RTs on Twitter mean shit to those most in need. Also: If you’re ever planning to be in NYC, I urge you to not just sign up, but donate to NonsenseNYC too. [...]

Comment on Memes vs discourse by meme rush | まだ分からへん

meme rush | まだ分からへん — Sun, 04 Nov 2012 17:51:01 +0000

[...] month, Mitsu Hadeishi of synthetic zero… Does the prevalence of popular memes in the social and political sphere disadvantage sincere [...]

Comment on mystery love by Magdalena O

Magdalena O — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 01:04:35 +0000

unless that just paralyzes us…

Comment on cathedrals of clouds by Magdalena O

Magdalena O — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 00:42:34 +0000

girls knows drama.

Comment on stopping the fight club by mitsu

mitsu — Sun, 10 Jun 2012 06:31:26 +0000

I think afterwards I thought a bit more about the potential danger involved. At the moment, I simply looked at the situation and assessed it sort of in an instant, and it felt manageable. I’ve been in countless martial arts classes and I could “read” to some extent the body language of the two men; neither seemed to be serious threats, the big guy was simply a belligerent drunk. I did briefly consider the risk to myself but it seemed incumbent upon me to step in and try to help. Of course, I didn’t really anticipate it actually coming to blows, I’d hoped it would defuse before that. When it escalated, however, there was nothing for it but to step in between them, had to act quickly to try to prevent a serious degeneration of the situation.

Later I think I considered the danger again more fully. However, I don’t regret what I did. I’d do it again, or so I hope.

Comment on Giving voice by Melinda

Melinda — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 16:40:57 +0000

Like the beautiful, glowing, alabaster egg (floating in mid-air and covered in “ancient script”) that was “given into my care” by a disembodied voice.

Multi-faceted indeed.

Comment on stopping the fight club by Melinda

Melinda — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 16:30:33 +0000

On behalf of every living thing (including those two men) that might have had to suffer the cascade of consequences that could have followed upon a full-blown fight, I thank you.

It could have turned out worse for you. But it didn’t. Did you go through any sort of deliberation before you acted so beautifully?

What, do you think, was the impetus behind your action? It’s important for me to understand these things.

Comment on life during dreamtime by k

Sun, 11 Mar 2012 19:47:01 +0000

this is wonderful and it made me laugh. i’ve not yet tried to google anything while asleep.

Comment on life during dreamtime by Magda

Magda — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:27:27 +0000

I am so happy to see you posting again.

Comment on OWS by aunt esther

aunt esther — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 03:06:36 +0000

The GA tonight agreed to limit the drumming during the day. This is a disappointment. What the Community Board done for us, and why should we listen to it? I think this decision is BS and counter to the objectives and spirit of OWS.

Comment on OWS by Kimberly

Kimberly — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 19:32:16 +0000

Thanks so much, Mits. I enjoyed your account of the goings-on.

Comment on Can video games be art? by Worth Thinking: The Future of Text? | cw4

Worth Thinking: The Future of Text? | cw4 — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:46:08 +0000

[...] article lead to some worthwhile discussion, in particular a commenter’s earlier post that engages the games as art conversation (set in motion years ago by Roger Ebert) The problem, it [...]

Comment on compassion by Cal Godot

Cal Godot — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 18:10:13 +0000

I am nothing but the empty net which has gone on ahead
of human eyes, dead in those darknesses,
of fingers accustomed to the triangle, longitudes
on the timid globe of an orange.

I walked around as you do, investigating
the endless star,
and in my net, during the night, I woke up naked,
the only thing caught, a fish trapped inside the wind.

–from “The Enigmas” by Pablo Neruda, translated by Robert Bly

Comment on liberals vs radicals? I think there’s a third alternative by mitsu

mitsu — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 20:40:39 +0000

Thanks for reading all this time, Melinda! Unfortunately I haven’t been writing here as much as I’d like, though I constantly have things to write about, a big backlog. Part of the difficulty is that some of my latest ideas and thoughts will take some time to distill into a blog post. I’m always curious to hear from readers, however: I welcome your comments and thoughts.

Comment on liberals vs radicals? I think there’s a third alternative by Melinda

Melinda — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 15:18:45 +0000

I’m primarily a lurker on the internet. Visiting my favorate spots & scanning for new ones all the time. No blog of my own, though. Synthetic Zero has been a fave for years - since 2001 or so. What amazes me about your blog (besides the good ideas expressed here) is that it is not the hub of a vibrant commenting community. The ideas you express here, by nature quite personal and tentative, are excellent starting points for all sorts of amazing explorations. I’m extremely surprised that no one takes up the thread here. It even brought me out of lurker status for a while!

This post reminds me of Einstein’s famous remark that everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler. It’s a life skill.

Comment on compassion by Melinda

Melinda — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 05:25:42 +0000

I’ve always felt that, no matter what I’m interested in, no matter what I do: somewhere, somehow, the end-result of all my efforts must have a positive effect on the immense suffering going on outside myself. Not much else matters.

Comment on In defense of the liberal arts by chaosmose

chaosmose — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 20:56:35 +0000

Yes…the future of technology will be like the old days… of the renaissance where science, technology, philosophy, magick, literature and poetry were all One liberal arts practice called “natural philosophy”; Leonardo and Newton being the best examples of this tradition…the irony being is that technology by solely being focused on technology will be the “entropy” of technology, itjs truly creative inspiration comes from elsewhere…Impossible to imagine Einstein’s mathematics of relativity without the “liberal arts” of Spinoza…