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Literary alchemy: what literature does to meaning
How does literature revitalise our connection to words?
- Language can be seen as a binary system of signifiers (words) and signifieds (concepts words allude to). A “ternary regime” exists where words connect to both concepts and actual reality.
- Modern discourse often treats words as having fixed meanings (a sign is “nothing more than what it says“). But literature serves as a sanctuary for “the living being of language” where meanings remain fluid.
- Through dense, sensory-rich descriptions, literature manipulates the signifieds of reality and enriches our experience and our ability to think and describe it.
- This creates an “point of equilibrium of literary alchemy” where reality and signifieds influence each other.
Literature preserves language as a living entity by refusing to fix definitions, instead allowing words to breathe, expand, and maintain a dynamic relationship with both concepts and reality.
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When are we going to do actual magic? Some points where magic and technology meet
Exploring the relationship between magic and technology. What are key points of convergence and divergence?
- Magic follows a basic syntax: intention + simple action with an implement = effect at a distance
- Three fundamental differences distinguish magic from technology:
- Causal discontinuity: In magic, implements produce effects unrelated to their physical properties
- Effect autonomy: Magic doesn't require external "effecting machines"; effects manifest directly
- Simple resource singularity: Magic requires only one energy source rather than multiple technical components
- Technology is converging with magic through increasingly intuitive interfaces that simplify complex actions
- What kinds of future technologies might approach something like magic?
They might still be lines forever approaching but never crossing. Magic could represent an unattainable ideal that guides technological development
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The invisible value lurking in our consuming choices
Where does our evolving relationship with money and purchasing decisions evolve?
- Most people base purchasing decisions on three basic variables: affordability, comparative price, and perceived need/desire
- Maturity in our relationship with money involves recognising additional "invisible value tags" beyond the price tag:
- With self-understanding, we develop a "personal ledger" where money becomes just one of many value signals
True financial maturity means seeing beyond price tags to the full spectrum of personal value a purchase provides, aligning consumption with authentic self-fulfilment rather than manufactured needs.
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Muddying ratios: intended meaning vs. unintended associations in what we say
- How do we get closer to communicating the things we cherish to others?
- Do we ever find the perfect words for it?
- “Muddying ratios”: the ratio between what we want to say / the unintended associations that words bring with them.
- We can bring it closer to 1:0 - more of what we want to say and less unintended associations.
- But the task is never over ; the reward is in the traces we leave in our continued attempts.
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The floating feet talisman: presence through the passage from bored tranquility to the uncomfortable exciting
An analysis of Bowie's metaphor to wade "a little bit further into the water than you feel you are capable of being in" .
- A powerful metaphor for growth: that precise threshold moment when your feet no longer touch the bottom.
- Perfect readiness is an illusion ; we rationalise staying in our comfort zone by believing we need "just a bit more preparation".
- Being present in these moments, rather than just enduring them, builds confidence for future challenges. It creates rich and accurate memories of past uphill battles instead of catastrophising them.
- Metaphors like these can become a mantra, a "talisman" we can summon when facing new thresholds.