rattus rattus’ blog

You see, one thing is, I can live with doubt and uncertainty and not knowing. I think it’s much more interesting to live not knowing than to have answers which might be wrong. I have approximate answers and possible beliefs and different degrees of uncertainty about different things, but I am not absolutely sure of anything and there are many things I don’t know anything about, such as whether it means anything to ask why we’re here… I don’t have to know an answer. I don’t feel frightened not knowing things, by being lost in a mysterious universe without any purpose, which is the way it really is as far as I can tell. It doesn’t frighten me.

Richard P. Feynman, from a transcript of BBC television program Horizon in 1981. To be found in Jeffrey Robbins (ed.): The Pleasure of Finding things Out: The Best Short Works of Richard P. Feynman. Allen Lane 2000. Also in: James Gleick: Genius: Life & Science of Richard Feynman. Pantheon 1992.

the truth remains a whore, and whores are honest even if some may be conniving, but such is the nature of truth. in other words, truth is illusive.

— cairo otaibi, 2006-08-02

If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it,
does it make a sound?
— George Berkeley (1561-1626)

Enough people, it might seem, wrote about the term attention whore. The Urban Dictionary expressively explains attention whore. The Uncyclopedia shows some imagery. Wonderful writer Cairo Otaibi pretended to out herself in a comment to No comment is a comment. Google lists a gazillion of results, and even more so, quite a number of people say: We are all attention whores.

I agree!
For it is such a nice example of a lying liar. And of course, we are all attention whores. Assuming some aren’t we wouldn’t know about them, would we?

Attention! A digression: If we are all attention whores, and if we cannot know about those who aren’t, might this prove that we are all liars because we wouldn’t know of people who tell the truth?

Attention again! An answer: Truth is that those telling the truth are the actual liars. — I wonder who could read this out of George Berkeley’s writings.

Thinking of perception, like in how we perceive a tree, does the tree create a mental notion, or does our mind create the tree? Is attention an attention whore’s service, or is she paid by it?

Ouroboros, you are her mother.

Can a single question make change? Ask yourself!
— dropping knowledge, 2006-09-07

On 2006-09-09, dropping knowledge shall bring together some 100 people from all over the world to “engage in the most pressing questions of our age”. Their answers shall be recorded, and they may become seeds of a new “knowledge portal and dialog platform” starting 2006-09-10.

Here are some of the questions which have been submitted and which are likely to be discussed:

• Is resistance a new form of revolution? Between non-violent resistance and armed struggle where do we go? What is effective? What is the right thing to do? Or do we need a biodiversity of resistance? Is change possible without violence?
• What is worse, death or everlasting silence and solitude?
• Is sustainability a luxury of the developed world?
• What is the most important unreported story?
• Can the world ever agree on the meaning and implementation of democracy?
• Are we ready to change anything in case we get answers to our questions?
• Do you think anything will change by donating questions here?
• Why do human beings agree to evil?
• What is God’s religion?
• Permaculture has solved sustainability, Moshé Feldenkrais has solved the physical problems of the human body, Krishnamurti has solved wisdom, what problems doesn’t the planet know how to solve?
• What does every human being on this planet agree on?
• What is the global definition of freedom?
• Why am I me and not you?
• Is there at least one basic truth, we all can agree on?
• What is consciousness and how do we observe the observer?
• Do you trust your government?
• Why don’t you do something?
• How can consciousness be increased in the world?
• How can we discuss global problems even when we are not able to solve our local ones?
• How does any of this affect me?
• Why do we believe mankind is something apart from nature, and therefore, not bound by its laws?

Hugh MacLeod provides us with a first pretty ingenious answer: The untitled pyramid.

There are probably many aspects to the double bind illustrated in “It hurts me, too“. Here is what it boils down to for me:

Someone says: Never do I want to hurt anyone.
Someone else replies: By this you do. The way you are hurts.

Finding particular reasons is left as an exercise for my dear readers.

In his comment on Trust not truth, Michael points us to Jenny Holzer‘s Truisms, see for instance the long list of truisms or Jenny Holzer’s on-line edition Please Change Beliefs. Many truisms are wonderful examples of self-referential lies or nontrivial trivialities.

Fortunately, people living in Vienna currently can see street posters with texts of Jenny Holzer in the central districts. They are part of the exhibition Jenny Holzer XX which is still shown at the MAK until September 17, 2006.

More of Jenny Holzer:

• Jenny Holzer @ äda ‘web
• Jenny Holzer @ artsy.net
• Inflamatory Essay
• Pictures: At Flickr and at Google

A friend of mine, after we had been together for about 3 years, once wrote to me:

Why do you react like I am playing an important role in your life? I don’t know but I guess there must be a reason. Anyway, the way you are hurts me, and it puts me off.

I don’t know either, but I think we can call this some painfully sad words. I am afraid, they can make even a liar cry for the hidden double bind. If someone who we do not want to hurt tells us that we do
we are cursed.

Here is one more quote about public opinion:

Die öffentliche Meinung ist der Lärm, der entsteht, wenn die Bretter aneinanderschlagen, die die Leute vor dem Kopf haben.

— Volkmar Muthesius

Wenn wir uns als Teil der “Leute” sehen, so können wir das Zitat auch als eine grobe Variante des Lügner-Paradoxons sehen, abgesehen davon, dass Sehen mit einem Brett vor dem Kopf möglicherweise schwierig ist. Aber so sehe ich das eben.

[According to my available sources there is no English phrase or saying that literally translates German “ein Brett vor dem Kopf haben”, meaning “having a board before your head”. Can anyone help with a translation of the above quote?]