Reading and Writing.
Jul. 29th, 2007 01:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wolven7I finished Crooked Little Vein, yesterday. Two days, because I couldn't just sit and read, all day, Friday. Very good book. A bit episodic, and definitely a case of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
warren_ellis writing in the vein and spirit of Dante, Pirsig, and Kerouac. Travelling encounters, and a descrioption of the way the world is seen by the traveller, and an emerging understanding of that world. The episodic nature can be a little off-putting, in some of the scenarios presented, because it stands out very clearly. The structure belies Ellis' roots in comic, burst, and short fiction forms, in their framing and narrative composition, and the parts, though clearly existing as parts, create a rather nice pictoral of the limits and lminality of the mainstream/underground dichotomy, and may even go so far as to say that that dichotomy is a false one.
So, yes, worth the money. Take a look.
Now I'm continuing my reading of I Am A Strange Loop, and I'm very much enjoying his discussion of complexity and the contextual and syntactical nature of human concept formation and expression. He has not (yet) gone as far as Dan Wegner, who says that the consciouness that arises out of complexity is illusory and that that illusory nature has no reflexivity. Hm. Let me restate: Hofstadter hits the "illusory" marker and then veers off into another direction, taking into account the fact that our consciousness does have a reflexive quality. What I mean is, that which we consciously apprehend can then be turned around applied to unconscious processes. What I know can affect what I don't know that I know. What I don't know that I know can become what I know, and I can then know-- and Do-- more. Not to mention that the likelihood of natural selection developing a purely illusory sense of Selfhood is extremely low, because a sense of self seems to lead to about the same amount of conflict, killing each other, and loss of survival, as it does increased likelihood of competition and increased diversity. Which, again, requires a reflexive action in order to operate, properly.
Anyway, I've probably bored the shit out of you, I'm hungry, and I have several things to get written, today.
I'm out.
warren_ellis writing in the vein and spirit of Dante, Pirsig, and Kerouac. Travelling encounters, and a descrioption of the way the world is seen by the traveller, and an emerging understanding of that world. The episodic nature can be a little off-putting, in some of the scenarios presented, because it stands out very clearly. The structure belies Ellis' roots in comic, burst, and short fiction forms, in their framing and narrative composition, and the parts, though clearly existing as parts, create a rather nice pictoral of the limits and lminality of the mainstream/underground dichotomy, and may even go so far as to say that that dichotomy is a false one. So, yes, worth the money. Take a look.
Now I'm continuing my reading of I Am A Strange Loop, and I'm very much enjoying his discussion of complexity and the contextual and syntactical nature of human concept formation and expression. He has not (yet) gone as far as Dan Wegner, who says that the consciouness that arises out of complexity is illusory and that that illusory nature has no reflexivity. Hm. Let me restate: Hofstadter hits the "illusory" marker and then veers off into another direction, taking into account the fact that our consciousness does have a reflexive quality. What I mean is, that which we consciously apprehend can then be turned around applied to unconscious processes. What I know can affect what I don't know that I know. What I don't know that I know can become what I know, and I can then know-- and Do-- more. Not to mention that the likelihood of natural selection developing a purely illusory sense of Selfhood is extremely low, because a sense of self seems to lead to about the same amount of conflict, killing each other, and loss of survival, as it does increased likelihood of competition and increased diversity. Which, again, requires a reflexive action in order to operate, properly.
Anyway, I've probably bored the shit out of you, I'm hungry, and I have several things to get written, today.
I'm out.
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Date: 2007-07-29 06:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 03:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 04:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 04:57 am (UTC)Bastard.
Eh, it's okay, though. I've had awesome correspondence with him about of Leaves, so it evens out. :)
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Date: 2007-07-30 05:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 01:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-29 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-29 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-29 07:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 03:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 06:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 06:47 pm (UTC)That's... completely ridiculous...
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Date: 2007-07-30 06:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 09:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 09:45 pm (UTC)It came in the mail a little while ago. Yay.
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Date: 2007-07-30 09:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-29 09:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 03:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 12:35 pm (UTC)your
"Not to mention that the likelihood of natural selection developing a purely illusory sense of Selfhood is extremely low, because a sense of self seems to lead to about the same amount of conflict, killing each other, and loss of survival, as it does increased likelihood of competition and increased diversity" was nicely synchronized with my latest thoughts:)
no subject
Date: 2007-07-30 01:54 pm (UTC)