Monthly Archives: July 2012

ARK: The Transcendent Function

The Transcendent Function

2012 S.Calhoun – The Transcendent Function

…a concept from Analytical Psychology.

From the activity of the unconscious there now emerges a new content, constellated by thesis and antithesis in equal measure and standing in a compensatory relation to both. It thus forms the middle ground on which the opposites can be united. If, for instance, we conceive the opposition to be sensuality versus spirituality, then the mediatory content born out of the unconscious provides a welcome means of expression for the spiritual thesis, because of its rich spiritual associations, and also for the sensual antithesis, because of its sensuous imagery. The ego, however, torn between thesis and antithesis, finds in the middle ground its own counterpart, its sole and unique means of expression, and it eagerly seizes on this in order to be delivered from its division.[“Definitions,” C.G. Jung CW 6, par. 825.]

h/t lexicon, New York Association for Analytical Psychology

note on the art: this piece, when reproduced, will be quite large, and the intention is that it offer several viewer perspectives between the up-close and stepping-farther-back standpoint.

Archive of my visual experimentation.

Leave a Comment

Filed under analytic(al) psychology, visual experiments, my art

Science and Serendipity

clip serendipity

Not sure the exact date of this clip from an old issue of Science; (early twenties?)

The most robust concept of serendipity is found in the field of sociology of science. My opinion is that this provides, right now, the only robust treatment of serendipity.

Leave a Comment

Filed under my research, serendipity

Precisely

Romney and the Little People

But it sure helps to face a candidate as uncomfortable in his own skin, as likely to say by accident what he really means and as wrong for the times as Mitt Romney. In an era when even conservatives are populists, enraged about the favors granted the rich and well-connected, Romney is running as a CEO who thinks his taxes are too high. Voters just aren’t warming up to a guy who enjoys firing people and attempts to woo the people of Michigan by referring to his wife’s “couple of Cadillacs.” If Obama offers what well-paid elites call a “jobless recovery,” Romney offers the only thing worse: a promise to restore the policies that led to the joblessness that made a recovery necessary. Drew Weston, Washington Post, July 27, 2012

Will low-info voters in the ‘middle’ in the swing states voting for the Romdroid usher back into office a President and government built on the Bush II template?

Leave a Comment

Filed under current events

Correcting Everything

Martin Luther King

On the one hand, we are called to play the good smaritan on life’s roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole jericho road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life’s highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

“Power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve purpose. It is the strength required to bring about social, political and economic change. … What is needed is a realization that power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice, and justice at its best is power correcting everything that stands against love.”

~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Leave a Comment

Filed under current events, history

How Creativity Works

Okay, this presents a slim-downed version of a version of how creativity works.

Leave a Comment

Filed under adult learning

Repertoires & ‘truth willing out’

Repertoires

INTERPRETIVE REPERTOIRES A concept developed to aid the discourse analysis of talk and texts and most commonly used by social psychologists and other discourse researchers to summarize relatively global patterns in people’s sense making particularly around controversial issues and matters of public opinion. Interpretive repertoires operate at a broad semantically based level. They are recognizable routines of connected arguments, explanations, evaluations and descriptions which often depend on familiar anecdotes, illustrations, tropes or clichés. Interpretive repertoires are the building blocks through which people develop accounts and versions of significant events in social interaction and through which they perform identities and social life. The term ‘interpretive repertoires’ was first developed in 1985 by two sociologists of science, Nigel Gilbert and Michael Mulkay, to describe patterns in the discourse of the scientists they were studying. (Margaret Wetherell)

also: Interpretative Repertoires, Pamela J. MacKenzie (pdf)


Back in high school, on a weekend night, a friend and I were cruising for burgers. I was seated in the passenger seat of his mom’s Buick. Much to my shock but not surprise, he blew through a four-way Stop sign. I looked at sharply.

He reports, “Hoon, I saw the Stop Sign.”

TWOD=Truth Willing Out Device

Leave a Comment

Filed under education, sociology

Bucky

Bob Buckeye

Great picture of my dear friend Bob Buckeye. article

Leave a Comment

Filed under friends

The Sky Is Pink

Leave a Comment

Filed under current events

Richie Rich Living Differently

Romney

What a week Willard has put together! (Essential: Steve Benen’s Romney’s Lies)

Romeny NAACP (h/t Digby for pic.

If you’re looking for free stuff you don’t have to pay for? Vote for the other guy, that’s what he’s all about, okay? That’s not, that’s not what I’m about. Willard delivering a bold ‘southern strategy’ dog whistle to a group of donors the day after getting booed at the NAACP.

The problem is Romney needs a bit more than the racist vote to tip enough swing states into his column in November. In fact, Willard has got the racists and plutocrat lovin’ tea partistas and the 1% and their minions locked up.

His appeal to the wishy washy middle, the amazing sweep of voters in but a dozen states unable make up their minds–as if there isn’t much with which to differentiate the two candidates–has depended on a counter-intuitive promotion of capacities and acumen forged at Bain to be just what the economy needs. This is a ridiculous appeal on its face! After all, there’s nothing about the mechanics of Bain’s mission that align with the boilerplate Reagonomics and supply-side confidence game Romney touts to be the solution. Reminder: solution to the devastation brought on by titans of finance, like Romney!

It’s easy to criticize Romney’s mendacity, vagueness about his future policies, and, the intense positioning and handling going on in the background. I would add to those considerations Romney’s twitchy hyper-active Joycean rambles, the increasing evidence of his thin skin, and, his overall ability to slip into fatuousness and inanity. His latter qualities are, to me, usually amusing, and, probably Romney’s narcissism insulates him from comprehending that he is a laughable/laughingstock figure.

For example, his racist dog whistle is not about all the free stuff the financial industry has received, and, we won’t be seeing Romney square tens of billions of dollars of welfare monies with trillions of dollars of bailout monies.

The controversy over when he left active duty at Bain is much more telling because he’s goes into it knowing he’s lying, anf knowing that the paper trail demonstrating his actions as CEO will grow quickly into a damning pile. Yet, Willard will plow ahead anyway, believing maybe as only a Mormon can believe, that the baloney he’s peddling for the lower orders does not infect the righteousness of his higher order sacred calling.

As his wife put it, “It’s Mitt’s turn.” Her observation should cover all sins, yes?

As for the tax returns, it’s lose/lose. Presumably, in their total sweep, five, ten, twenty, years of tax returns provide a comprehensive manual on how to financially front in the 1%. However, no matter how toxic this tale turns out to be–and I for one doubt Romney will be releasing anything–it is ironic to say the story the tax returns tell will damage Romney’s credibility as an economic white night and warrior for the populist cause.

If you think Romney cares anything about the middle class beyond caring that low-information and cognitively suspect voters give him their votes, I have a bridge to sell. Cheap.

 

Leave a Comment

Filed under current events

My Naive Art – some new experiments

Dogwood

Dogwood; photographic series, 2012, S.Calhoun – large version

Driveway Abstract #2

Driveway Abstract #2; photographic series, 2012, S.Calhoun – large version

Driveway Abstract #3

Driveway Abstract #3; photographic series, 2012, S.Calhoun – large version

Hibiscus Petals #3

Hibiscus Petals #3; photographic series, 2012, S.Calhoun – large version

Continuing apace with casual photographs taken on the iPhone and in these instances manipulated through Google editing FX and Photoshop. My G+ account is set-up to automatically upload my iPhone photos into a private album. From this album I can initiate an actual work flow in the cloud. I suppose this could be done with Facebook’s tools too, except I have gravitated toward and resonated much more strongly with the community of photographers and visual artists on Google+. This community is much more accessible on G+.

The archive.

Leave a Comment

Filed under visual experiments, my art

Mythological or Necessitarian Understanding?

The Church of the Latter Day Saints – Mormon Channel

Andrew Sullivan: The Line Between a Cult and a Religion

Question: Is literal belief in the truth of the account of the creation of the Mormon Church a necessary commitment for a doctrinal Mormon?

The Wentworth Letter

Following is the complete text of the Wentworth Letter, as written by the Prophet Joseph Smith:

“I was born in the town of Sharon, Windsor County, Vermont, on the 23rd of December, A.D. 1805. When ten years old, my parents removed to Palmyra, New York, where we resided about four years, and from thence we removed to the town of Manchester. My father was a farmer and taught me the art of husbandry. When about fourteen years of age, I began to reflect upon the importance of being prepared for a future state, and upon inquiring [about] the plan of salvation, I found that there was a great clash in religious sentiment; if I went to one society they referred me to one plan, and another to another; each one pointing to his own particular creed as the summum bonum of perfection. Considering that all could not be right, and that God could not be the author of so much confusion, I determined to investigate the subject more fully, believing that if God had a Church it would not be split up into factions, and that if He taught one society to worship one way, and administer in one set of ordinances, He would not teach another, principles which were diametrically opposed.

“Believing the word of God, I had confidence in the declaration of James—‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.’ I retired to a secret place in a grove, and began to call upon the Lord; while fervently engaged in supplication, my mind was taken away from the objects with which I was surrounded, and I was enwrapped in a heavenly vision, and saw two glorious personages, who exactly resembled each other in features and likeness, surrounded with a brilliant light which eclipsed the sun at noon day. They told me that all religious denominations were believing in incorrect doctrines, and that none of them was acknowledged of God as His Church and kingdom: and I was expressly commanded ‘to go not after them,’ at the same time receiving a promise that the fullness of the Gospel should at some future time be made known unto me.

“On the evening on the 21st of September, A.D. 1823, while I was praying unto God, and endeavoring to exercise faith in the precious promises of Scripture, on a sudden a light like that of day, only of a far purer and more glorious appearance and brightness, burst into the room, indeed the first sight was as though the house was filled with consuming fire; the appearance produced a shock that affected the whole body; in a moment a personage stood before me surrounded with a glory yet greater than that with which I was already surrounded. This messenger proclaimed himself to be an angel of God, sent to bring the joyful tidings that the covenant which God made with ancient Israel was at hand to be fulfilled, that the preparatory work for the second coming of the Messiah was speedily to commence; that the time was at hand for the Gospel in all its fullness to be preached in power, unto all nations that a people might be prepared for the Millennial reign. I was informed that I was chosen to be an instrument in the hands of God to bring about some of His purposes in this glorious dispensation.

“I was also informed concerning the aboriginal inhabitants of this country and shown who they were, and from whence they came; a brief sketch of their origin, progress, civilization, laws, governments, of their righteousness and iniquity, and the blessings of God being finally withdrawn from them as a people, was made known unto me; I was also told where were deposited some plates on which were engraven an abridgment of the records of the ancient Prophets that had existed on this continent. The angel appeared to me three times the same night and unfolded the same things. After having received many visits from the angels of God unfolding the majesty and glory of the events that should transpire in the last days, on the morning of the 22nd of September, A.D. 1827, the angel of the Lord delivered the records into my hands.

“These records were engraven on plates which had the appearance of gold, each plate was six inches wide and eight inches long, and not quite so thick as common tin. They were filled with engravings, in Egyptian characters, and bound together in a volume as the leaves of a book, with three rings running through the whole. The volume was something near six inches in thickness, a part of which was sealed. The characters on the unsealed part were small, and beautifully engraved. The whole book exhibited many marks of antiquity in its construction, and much skill in the art of engraving. With the records was found a curious instrument, which the ancients called ‘Urim and Thummim,’ which consisted of two transparent stones set in the rim of a bow fastened to a breast plate. Through the medium of the Urim and Thummim I translated the record by the gift and power of God.

“In this important and interesting book the history of ancient America is unfolded, from its first settlement by a colony that came from the Tower of Babel, at the confusion of languages to the beginning of the fifth century of the Christian Era. We are informed by these records that America in ancient times has been inhabited by two distinct races of people. The first were called Jaredites, and came directly from the Tower of Babel. The second race came directly from the city of Jerusalem, about six hundred years before Christ. They were principally Israelites, of the descendants of Joseph. The Jaredites were destroyed about the time that the Israelites came from Jerusalem, who succeeded them in the inheritance of the country. The principal nation of the second race fell in battle towards the close of the fourth century. The remnant are the Indians that now inhabit this country. This book also tells us that our Savior made His appearance upon this continent after His resurrection; that He planted the Gospel here in all its fulness, and richness, and power, and blessing; that they had Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers, and Evangelists; the same order, the same priesthood, the same ordinances, gifts, powers, and blessings, as were enjoyed on the eastern continent, that the people were cut off in consequence of their transgressions, that the last of their prophets who existed among them was commanded to write an abridgment of their prophecies, history, &c, and to hide it up in the earth, and that it should come forth and be united with the Bible for the accomplishment of the purposes of God in the last days. For a more particular account I would refer to the Book of Mormon, which can be purchased at Nauvoo, or from any of our Traveling Elders.

“As soon as the news of this discovery was made known, false reports, misrepresentation and slander flew, as on the wings of the wind, in every direction; the house was frequently beset by mobs and evil designing persons. Several times I was shot at, and very narrowly escaped, and every device was made use of to get the plates away from me; but the power and blessing of God attended me, and several began to believe my testimony.

“On the 6th of April, 1830, the ‘Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ was first organized in the town of Fayette, Seneca county, state of New York. Some few were called and ordained by the Spirit of revelation and prophecy, and began to preach as the Spirit gave them utterance, and though weak, yet were they strengthened by the power of God, and many were brought to repentance, were immersed in the water, and were filled with the Holy Ghost by the laying on of hands. They saw visions and prophesied, devils were cast out, and the sick healed by the laying on of hands. From that time the work rolled forth with astonishing rapidity, and churches were soon formed in the states of New York, Pennsylvania[,] Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri; in the last named state a considerable settlement was formed in Jackson county: numbers joined the Church and we were increasing rapidly; we made large purchases of land, our farms teemed with plenty, and peace and happiness were enjoyed in our domestic circle, and throughout our neighborhood; but as we could not associate with our neighbors (who were, many of them, of the basest of men, and had fled from the face of civilized society, to the frontier country to escape the hand of justice,) in their midnight revels, their Sabbath breaking, horse racing and gambling; they commenced at first to ridicule, then to persecute, and finally an organized mob assembled and burned our houses, tarred and feathered and whipped many of our brethren, and finally, contrary to law, justice and humanity, drove them from their habitations; who, houseless and homeless, had to wander on the bleak prairies till the children left the tracks of their blood on the prairie. This took place in the month of November, and they had no other covering but the canopy of heaven, in this inclement season of the year; this proceeding was winked at by the government, and although we had warantee deeds for our land, and had violated no law, we could obtain no redress.

Leave a Comment

Filed under current events, Religion

Cat Flyin’

Sonny Flies

Kizzy Flies?!

Kizzy Flies

bonus:

Leave a Comment

Filed under cats, humor

Diamonds Are Forever

Richer and richer

But several media outlets — including the Times, CNN, and the British newspaper The Telegraph have reported that Mitt Romney will in fact take time from the campaign to attend the opening ceremonies of the Olympics with his wife on July 27 (the Romney horse’s event begins Aug. 2). He was, after all, head of the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games. And an appearance at the opening, filled with extravagant special effects, music and patriotic flag-waving for the U.S. team, is safer than showing up at an event where your wife’s horse is worth several times the mean yearly per capita income for individuals in the United States.

So family loyalty is trumped by political expedience, but while in London, Romney will find time to attend — you guessed it — a private fundraising dinner. According to The Telegraph, “The price of invitations dwarfs the amounts paid for such fundraisers in British politics. Each guest must pay between $25,000 (£17,000) and $75,000 (£50,000) for a seat at the dinner, which will be hosted by Bob Diamond, the chief executive of Barclays.”

Bob Diamond? Why is that name familiar? Oh right, it was announced this week that Barclays would pay American and British authorities $453 million in fines as a settlement over allegations that the financial giant manipulated international interest rates, causing millions of borrowers to pay the wrong amount on their loans. The New York Times reports, “At the height of the financial crisis, regulators say, the big British bank reported bogus figures that in some cases had influenced a benchmark for student loans, credit cards and mortgages.”

An ongoing Justice Department investigation of Barclays — as well as of other banks, including Citigroup — could lead to criminal charges. Calls have come for Diamond’s resignation. He responded by announcing that he would forego his annual bonus for the year — in 2011, Diamond received $4.2 million.

In a speech, British Labour Party leader Ed Miliband said, “This cannot be about a slap on the wrist, a fine and the forgoing of bonuses… When ordinary people break the law, they face charges, prosecution and punishment.”

But of course, ordinary people don’t host $75,000-a-plate dinners for the man who may be the next president of the United States. via Salon

After a certain point and after enough ‘inovative’ rent seeking, moral hazard fades to zero and the worst thing that could happen to you when your thuggery is exposed is you bravely give up your annual bonus, or become governor of Florida, or spend more time in St. Barts, etc..

citizens plutocracy

Leave a Comment

Filed under current events

Those HOTS again

Creationist

We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority. (excerpted from current State of Texas Education Standards)

My presentation was titled “An Information-Theoretic Proof of God’s Existence,” in which I showed how the type of information we find in living systems is beyond the creative means of purely material processes, so that if we backtrack this information in time, the amount of information that needs to be accounted for only intensifies. This leads to a regress of information that naturally points to some ultimate source of information. Who or what is such an ultimate source of information? From a naturalistic perspective, such a source remains a mystery. But from a theistic perspective, such an information source would presumably have to be God. (William Dembski, providing link between intelligent design and at least a nominally theistic entity.)

Creationists do not present arguments about the possible operational workings of supernatural intervention in natural mechanics. This has always surprised me because their other arguments, finally, are contingent on an intervention of some sort. Dembski writes with a straight face about information sourced in a domain ascertainable from the theistic perspective making its way to the domain in which its requisite informed operations occur and are ascertainable from a naturalistic perspective. He does not suggest how information ultimately arises in one domain and goes on to penetrate the other domain. He does suggest one could backtrack as if such information sets out a trail of crumbs!

so that if we backtrack this information in time

There’s a certain unintentional symmetry in Dembski hanging category errors on each side of this bridging idea, to backtrack.
GAllup 2010 Evo Poll

78% of American adults according to this poll have some substantial deficit in their Higher Order Thinking Skills.

1 Comment

Filed under science

Teaching Cartoon: What Everyone Has In Common

Normal parents

My wife discovered a folder with syllabi for a course she taught on social work with couples. The alternative syllabus includes cartoons and this comprised a gold mine of material in the teaching cartoon vein.

This cartoon has long been one of my favorites and yet I had never made a copy for my collection until she produced her find.

Leave a Comment

Filed under adult learning, humor