Wednesday, October 21. 2009
Serious Patterns
Have you ever realized that patterns are most important to us? They are so important that we could not have survived as a species if it wasn't for them.
What we don't know, or don't understand, is scary to most of us, but at the same time we are very curious and want to learn - i.e., of course, under ideal conditions, and as a whole species. For what is learning other than experiencing, connecting and finally memorizing? And how do we memorize? We have to categorize and integrate what we get in order to comprehend. The categorization therefore requires patterns that also support the memorizing part.
This is all very theoretical. Let's see how patterns guide us in our daily lifes.
You get to know someone. The other person is introduced. You take a look. The eyes, the nose, the mouth, the posture. You decide for yourself that this person is alright. How could you? You might have thought that she has got the same smile as you granny's best friend, a lovely and caring woman. Or that he is so silent and humble just like that guy from the bakery at the corner who always gave you one extra when you came for bread rolls. Patterns. You could not know nor judge the person in a sufficient way so you had to find something to go by.
What about movies? Try to remember a movie you like. Anything fimiliar about them what makes you like them in the first place? It doesn't need to be a person or a land you know and feel home with or at. Maybe it's an idea that was familiar to you, or the structure, the rhythm, or some melody you liked. That looks like - feels like - tastes like - who doesn't laugh about the "tastes like chicken" joke? Why is it funny? Because it plays with our urge to find a familiar pattern in just about anything.
Patterns also help us to deal with the negative spectrum of our life. An author once wrote a short story about a man with a red beard who gave a policeman a scornful look. Why did he do that? Because the policeman reminded him of an annoying relative that owed him a lot of money. That is it. Pattern. And what happened to the policeman? He had a nervous breakdown because of that scornful look, and so in this little town all read-bearded men were hunted down. Pattern! What a shame that our red-beard, because he'd found a new job in Istanbul, had his beard shaved off before he left the country.
So now, how are we gonna get through life without more patterns to compare to if not we find them in history or fiction, in music or art? Whereas the categories are not all sufficient here, because music and art, and even history to some extent, even though they are not literature they are also fiction.
What we don't know, or don't understand, is scary to most of us, but at the same time we are very curious and want to learn - i.e., of course, under ideal conditions, and as a whole species. For what is learning other than experiencing, connecting and finally memorizing? And how do we memorize? We have to categorize and integrate what we get in order to comprehend. The categorization therefore requires patterns that also support the memorizing part.
This is all very theoretical. Let's see how patterns guide us in our daily lifes.
You get to know someone. The other person is introduced. You take a look. The eyes, the nose, the mouth, the posture. You decide for yourself that this person is alright. How could you? You might have thought that she has got the same smile as you granny's best friend, a lovely and caring woman. Or that he is so silent and humble just like that guy from the bakery at the corner who always gave you one extra when you came for bread rolls. Patterns. You could not know nor judge the person in a sufficient way so you had to find something to go by.
What about movies? Try to remember a movie you like. Anything fimiliar about them what makes you like them in the first place? It doesn't need to be a person or a land you know and feel home with or at. Maybe it's an idea that was familiar to you, or the structure, the rhythm, or some melody you liked. That looks like - feels like - tastes like - who doesn't laugh about the "tastes like chicken" joke? Why is it funny? Because it plays with our urge to find a familiar pattern in just about anything.
Patterns also help us to deal with the negative spectrum of our life. An author once wrote a short story about a man with a red beard who gave a policeman a scornful look. Why did he do that? Because the policeman reminded him of an annoying relative that owed him a lot of money. That is it. Pattern. And what happened to the policeman? He had a nervous breakdown because of that scornful look, and so in this little town all read-bearded men were hunted down. Pattern! What a shame that our red-beard, because he'd found a new job in Istanbul, had his beard shaved off before he left the country.
So now, how are we gonna get through life without more patterns to compare to if not we find them in history or fiction, in music or art? Whereas the categories are not all sufficient here, because music and art, and even history to some extent, even though they are not literature they are also fiction.
might be
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