Editorial: The Purposes of the Newsletter
The Purposes of the Newsletter
[Image: M.C. Escher’s self portrait.]
Publication date: 2022-02-23
A recently received message via this newsletter's Twitter handle suggested that I should provide a lesson on "how to understand X”.
While gratified, I respectfully denied the encouragement. However, I did begin ruminating on communicating with this newsletter's readership the purpose of the newsletter. Months ago at the newsletter’s birth an "About" section was penned, which largely remains unedited, to provide that content.
It is perhaps time for a "letting the hair down" moment, an explanation of intention, or a longer “About” section.
Purpose
Above all things the desire of this publication is to encourage people to seek wider sources of information. With an increased diversity of information it is hoped that people can gain a more nuanced understanding of history, geopolitics and global economics. It is the view of the author that these are the key influences upon ourselves, our families and communities, the most important elements in our lives.
Before descending into further verbiage on technical or political matters, I wish to highlight the "Culture" sections which are appended to many of the articles. These are by no way "appendices". Their intention is to highlight the essential importance of artistic creation. Our life is nothing without the fusion of science/engineering AND creativity. Take either away and we are impoverished, just as we are without family AND community. It is banal to state that one must embrace contradiction. Nonetheless, one element of wisdom is seeing through false contradictions.
Do I have political opinions? Am I trying to "impose" them on you? Yes. That is the entire purpose of rhetoric. If you are even reading what I publish I presume you are curious. I do not have the power of a dominant media cabal; I must convince you. I consider this a fair game from which you can disengage at any time. My success is measured in your interest in what I publish. To descend: I am far more interested in you reading/listening to my sources than what I have to write. Wot? Yes. To undermine my success I have already provided you with the identities of the commentators from which I mostly derive my content. This is not a "battle". I have already given you a map of the field. The real issue is time; how much can you invest and how can I best condense sources and argumentation to the satisfaction of your available attention? Children need food and gardens need to be tended. There is only so much time.
My personal intentions? I am and have always been a student. I've also been a teacher too. The Scandinavians have a collection of verbs which very much disillusion a series of "false contradictions" imposed on "the West" by its own languages. Using the Danish forms of some Scandinavian verbs for example, let us consider "teach". In Danish the term "to <verb>" is "at <verb>". For the 'teach' verb, it is 'at lære' (pronounce the words 'at lay-err'). The crucial understanding is that it does not just mean 'teach'. It also means 'learn'. As a 2 or 3 year old as you absorb the language your understanding of teaching and learning is deliberately one of inter-relationship, not of direction or position.
This is not a “disambiguation”, but a deliberate “ambiguation”, a merging of terms which seem diametrically opposed to “western language” trained minds. The process, and process is the concept here, is that learning/teaching is an exchange of ideas between two status sections in a classroom; the teacher and students. The key purpose of the verb/understanding is to break down the status levels. To a western audience this may seem very strange. Okay. Stick with me here. I say to you as someone who has taught Ph.D classes that if I could not admit my errors, or listen carefully to my students they would lose respect in me, at which point I have no authority and no ability to engage the class. Interestingly, the student is in a far stronger position, they can be disrespectful and not properly engage in the subject matter at hand and still have a status among their peers. The subtleties of the power dynamic are not the point. The point is the exchange; its all about exchange. This requires trust. The verb's dual use meaning breaks down the power relationship which creates the ground for the trust to be built. The west’s lack of nuance in conceiving these relationships is inimical to its ability to engage in the empathy required to attain cross-cultural compassion.
To continue on the Scandinavian verb front "at købe" could mean to buy/purchase, but also to sell. Its translation depends on context. It loosely means "trade". It embraces both halves of the interaction. The same is even more true for ‘loan’ and ‘borrow’. The Danes have only one verb for this; one and only one. It completely embraces the relationship; you are bound. You may have heard of Copenhagen, the Danish capital. The Danish word is København, which literally means "trading harbor". There are many other verbs which break power relationships to facilitate social interaction. Dominant western languages are sorely lacking in this embrace of relationship nuance.
Returning to my intentions. I've returned to being a student. I am trying to learn. The art of writing is a door through which I must pass. While I will never excel as a writer, there is a greater goal of "increasing diversity of opinion dissemination and consumption". Can I facilitate exchanges of ideas and opinion? I hope so. This is a return to my student/teacher existence; engaging in the exchange. This is what I do. Its the energy of my soul.
To those who wished for a simpler answer, sorry. Attempting to categorize life, humanity or culture into "us or them" dialectic boxes is not just a fool’s errand but actively dismantles the culture we have built. I reject it, utterly.
On that note, here's some Culture. Before you begin, I ask that you close your eyes and ask what images your ears are creating? How are you being drawn across a canvas? Are you being stressed or energized and where can you find respite or satisfaction in the soundscape created?
Culture
The Jimi Hendrix Experience - All Along The Watchtower [rtve/video]
Mozart Concerto for Flute Harp and Orchestra in C major, K 299 - complete - LIVE, Art Of Sound And Vision
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Copyright and Licensing
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