"stimulating thought, getting closer to reality..." That's a good way to put it. Becoming closer to the present, more aware of reality, is, I think, the essential movement of art, science, religion, and culture generally. We do it through models that use language, mathematics, violin strings, chisels on stone, drama, etc., trying to keep in mind that "the map is not the territory" (Von Clausewitz reminding his generals on the eve of battle). Thanks for your reply. We're all in it together.
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I always wondered who it was that said the map is not the territory 🤔 the idea that you can get closer to reality by using models is interesting and I enjoy that kind of dichotomy⏰ what would we do if we didn't have are addictions to keep us busy? Some might find themselves at a loss, but then we can always help someone else until we find what it is we would prefer to be doing🎭🎪 art science religion and culture are devices for getting closer to reality🎠📺🚀 is that what you're saying?
Yes, that's what I think. Our models are real, too. But their reality is as models; no matter how useful or approximate, they are not The Truth. I wish that our schools taught from this point of view: language & numbers as modeling tools, improving models as a teaching tool (local history, local environmental data, agricultural practices, medical surveys, whatever grabs a teacher's interest that can be improved and can sharpen student skills (tools).
I first encountered the border between model and reality in a high school physics experiment that involved measuring how far a ball bearing flew when you released a spring that was coiled behind it. I think that was it. Anyway, I calculated my answer out to four or five decimal points. Significant Digits!! I could only measure to the nearest tenth of an inch, so the extra decimals were meaningless. Any formula is only as accurate as the least accurate measurement involved. What??? It took me weeks to get my head around that. (Years later I found a significant digit mistake in an Air Force weather calculation and got into all sorts of trouble trying to make it right (I failed, another lesson learned)).
Significant digits is where the rubber model hit the reality road. Those beautiful clear calculations were limited by my eyesight and a ruler. It took me a while, but when I got it, I got it. Life is fun sometimes.
My friend the tribalist would say that we have walked away from reality by using the maps of art science religion and culture and that for millennia before these inventions we lived close to Nature and reality in our tribal state 🌅💡 I tend towards being a modernist in that I believe for want of a better word that the devices of modern culture are natural and evolving towards a world consciousness emergent from complex Networks🤔⏰ and that the psychic archetype of the spiritual world is a sort of meta blueprint for what is occurring in the technological world of the present 🌊🐳🕶️ all the same it seems to be a race between the forces of creation and destruction💣🍼👼
well said!