Friday, September 22, 2017

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Pot to Kettle

It is so easy to be politically correct and adored. It is so easy to say the right things so no one gets bored. But the mind plays tricks when it comes to passion and lust. The mind plays tricks when greed and avarice overcomes trust. We cannot be completely honest for it is not a must. What we must do is be honest with ourselves for who else can we trust? Multitasking is required in our hectic lives. Separating work from home like worker bees in hives. When we separate good from bad, exchange morality for sad. We are but a sham, a hapless ham, and have been had. Might as well admit, what no oath will get. We are a hypocrite.
- Ronald W. Hull, "Hypocrisy" (2006)

Friday, July 28, 2017

Saturday, March 18, 2017

Destructing Heterotopia

from Wikipedia
Heterotopia is a concept in human geography elaborated by philosopher Michel Foucault to describe places and spaces that function in non-hegemonic conditions. These are spaces of otherness, which are irrelevant, that are simultaneously physical and mental, such as the space of a phone call or the moment when you see yourself in the mirror.
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Foucault uses the term "heterotopia" (French: hétérotopie) to describe spaces that have more layers of meaning or relationships to other places than immediately meet the eye. In general, a heterotopia is a physical representation or approximation of a utopia, or a parallel space (such as a prison) that contains undesirable bodies to make a real utopian space possible. Foucault uses the idea of a mirror as a metaphor for the duality and contradictions, the reality and the unreality of utopian projects. A mirror is metaphor for utopia because the image that you see in it does not exist, but it is also a heterotopia because the mirror is a real object that shapes the way you relate to your own image. Foucault articulates several possible types of heterotopia or spaces that exhibit dual meanings: A ‘crisis heterotopia’ is a separate space like a boarding school or a motel room where activities like coming of age or a honeymoon take place out of sight. ‘Heterotopias of deviation’ are institutions where we place individuals whose behavior is outside the norm (hospitals, asylums, prisons, rest homes, cemetery). Heterotopia can be a single real place that juxtaposes several spaces. A garden can be a heterotopia, if it is a real space meant to be a microcosm of different environments, with plants from around the world. 'Heterotopias of time' such as museums enclose in one place objects from all times and styles. They exist in time but also exist outside of time because they are built and preserved to be physically insusceptible to time’s ravages. 'Heterotopias of ritual or purification' are spaces that are isolated and penetrable yet not freely accessible like a public place. To get in one must have permission and make certain gestures such as in a sauna or a hammam. Heterotopia has a function in relation to all of the remaining spaces. The two functions are: heterotopia of illusion creates a space of illusion that exposes every real space, and the heterotopia of compensation is to create a real space—a space that is other. Foucault's elaborations on heterotopias were published in an article entitled Des espaces autres (Of Other Spaces). The philosopher calls for a society with many heterotopias, not only as a space with several places of/for the affirmation of difference, but also as a means of escape from authoritarianism and repression, stating metaphorically that if we take the ship as the utmost heterotopia, a society without ships is inherently a repressive one, in a clear reference to Stalinism.

Sunday, January 1, 2017

Talent vs Genius

When I was in high school our physics teacher gave us a challenge that involved making a paper air plane of any shape. The only objective was to get it to fly as far as possible. I had some paper air plane making skills so I made the best plane I could and it flew pretty far.
One guy made the greatest, yet simplest paper airplane of all time. He stood there at the starting line with a regular piece of paper. Some classmates scratched their head while silently chuckling to themselves. Moments later he took the flat piece of paper, crumpled it up, and threw it down the hall way. He beat the class with ease.
Some of the students got mad and said that he cheated. The physics teacher said, "How so? I said it could be any shape. A paper ball is indeed a shape." He won the contest with flying colors.
"Talent hits a target no one else can hit; Genius hits a target no one else can see."— Arthur Schopenhauer
I still regard this classmate as a genius.
from Quora