Welcome everybody to my commentary


I've got so much talent, it's a little scary

Is my every random thought insightful? Very

Not just entertaining- I'm a luminary

Neil Patrick Harris- Commentary! The Musical





Sunday, August 30, 2009

And you thought football was boring

Hello ScoFans!

Remember a week or so ago when I posted something I said I would discuss later? I did get a few people concerned after that post, and thank you for that, but the post was actually originally written in October 2006 so I'm all good (all of the time)

For those of you who have already forgotten, first of all shame on you, and secondly this was the post...

Awake. Groggy. Eyes open. There he stands. His outstretched arm beckons me. I begin to move towards his dark silhouette. He looks as tales have always described with his black cloak and scythe. I know this can not be my hour. He will never take me! I offer exchanges. Sadness overwhelms. Acceptance. Darkness.

So what could that post possibly be a prelude to? A post about death? A post about loss? No.. a post about math.

That's right, today and today only I'm going to be your own personal (but shared among my other readers) Professor Charlie Eppes.. because I'm not bad ass enough to be Don


So.. math and death.. how did I manage to relate the two (at least in my mind.)

Well, it started with the Tool song "Lateralus", which I realized one day contains an extra layer to what I had previously thought. It's all in the opening lyrics...

Black
Then

White are
All I see
In my in-fan-cy.
Red and yel-low then came to be,
Reach-ing out to me.
Lets me see.


As be-low, so a-bove and bey-ond, I im-a-gine
Drawn bey-ond the lines of rea-son.

Push the env-el-ope.
Watch it bend.

Do you see it? I've broken it down into syllables so that should help. (Oh, and I bolded the last bit because that was the title of the post) Anyway, let's have a look through the syllables in each line..

Black (1)
Then (1)

White are (2)
All I see (3)
In my in-fan-cy. (5)
Red and yel-low then came to be, (8)
Reach-ing out to me. (5)

Lets me see. (3)

As be-low, so a-bove and bey-ond, I im-a-gine (13)
Drawn bey-ond the lines of rea-son. (8)

Push the env-el-ope. (5)

Watch it bend. (3)


Anyone who is as obsessed with the Fibonnaci sequence as I am should spot it there very clearly now. For those of you who have forgotten it's joys, I won't go into too much detail about it here (if you want to do that click the link above to Wikipedia) other than to say it is a very simple mathematic sequence where each number equals the two numbers that came before it (ie 0+1 = 1, 1+1=2, 1+2=3, 2+3=5, 3+5=8 and so on)

So inspired was I when I first realized that layer in the song, I decided to try and bring it to a blog. Don't worry about scrolling up to check it now.. I'll put it below..

Awake.
Groggy.
Eyes open.
There he stands.
His outstretched arm beckons me.
I begin to move towards his dark silhouette.
He looks as tales have always described with his black cloak and scythe.
I know this can not be my hour.
He will never take me!
I offer exchanges.
Sadness overwhelms.
Acceptance.

Darkness.


So why did I write the post about death? Well, because I saw a show about the five stages of grief at about the same time I wrote this and wanted to take on the additional challenge of fitting a third layer in there.

I know this can not be my hour. Denial
He will never take me! Anger
I offer exchanges. Bargaining
Sadness overwhelms. Depression
Acceptance. Acceptance (Duh!)

So, I guess for me those 53 words were a simple tribute to a fantastic song, and a nice creative challenge (I know what you're thinking.. a tad complex for a creative challenge, why couldn't I have simply done more backwards blogging?). My own way of saying that while on the surface you might see one thing, often in life if you look deeper there could be three or four layers.

If you take the time to stop and appreciate the little things in life, you might find a whole deeper meaning which blows your mind more than what you discovered on the surface had (at least that's what I found with the song)

Anyone who wants to check out the song or learn more about Fibonacci and how it relates to the song (and has a spare nine and a half minutes on their hands) should take a look at hte video below.



For those of you who didn't check out the video, I'll share with you just a small piece of what it says..

"
The song suggests living life much like the Fibonacci spiral. Constantly growing and spiraling out; exploring and reaching toward the unknown."

And that concludes today's lesson on Fibonacci.

But I'm not finished yet...

What kind of a teacher would I be if I didn't leave you with some humor? And what kind of humor is better than Venn Diagram humor? That's right, no humor.

Krystal posted this on her blog a few weeks back and I've been enjoying it ever since. It tickles me in all the right place.

Since then I have been enjoying the Venn Diagram and I have told a few of you that I would be preparing some.. most of which I've now forgotten, but I do remember telling SleepyJane I would be doing one.

She posted a few weeks ago saying that anyone who has never thought about murder has never been in love. I agreed with her that that was true, but I also argued that love was not necessary for thoughts of murder. I said anyone who has been to high school would have thought about murder.. but then I realised even people who hadn't been to high school would have also considered it.

Confused?

Then let me make things clear through the magic that is the Venn Diagram.

If I owe you a venn diagram let me know and I will right the wrong.

Anyway, I'll leave it to Weird Al and the boys from "The Big Bang Theory" to let you know what the extra layer under this weeks post was.



For anyone who hasn't seen the show, check it out.. really. It's hilarious. For anyone who has checked out the show I've often wondered which character I have the most in common with and after much thought I've decided my intelligence lies somewhere between Howard and Penny's and my social skills somewhere between Sheldon and Raj's.


Leonard: We need to widen our circle.
Sheldon: I have a very wide circle. I have 212 friends on myspace.
Leonard: Yes, and you’ve never met one of them.
Sheldon: That’s the beauty of it.
(The Big Bang Theory- Pilot)


Oh wait! Just to show you how white and nerdy I really am, as anyone who took the opportunity to add me to Facebook or Twitter will have noticed, I was recently scolded for being such a rebel..

13 comments:

  1. Erm...I have no idea what to say. I hated maths at school. So much so that I used to spend the entire lesson just winding my teacher up. He hit me round the head with a textbook once - but in a 'jokey' way so I didn't report him or anything.

    I'll talk about The Big Bang Theory now, as I actually like that, lol. I used to hate Sheldon but then realised it was because I was so like him. You know how he's really OCD and pedantic and territorial. So then I laughed at myself and now I like him. (What a boring story that was. I'm so sorry.)

    ReplyDelete
  2. This was so much better than football. Just sayin'.

    Thanks too for dumping the popup player. My net connection is so blasted it confused my poor little computer. So thanks!

    I liked your venn diagram.

    I like TBBT. I would LOVE to think of myself like Penny (*read* cute).... In fact I think I am actually more like Howard (*read* creepy)

    I dont like to compare my intellegence with those on TBBT because I would like to think of myself as people smart over book smart. I like to think of myself as a lot of things. I would also double bonus join your grou had it still been available.

    ReplyDelete
  3. when i see numbers my mind goes all fuzzy and i get all confused!!!

    if i didn't hve fingers and a calculator on my mobile i'd be completely lost!!

    in other news i love big bang theory...nerds hve never been cooler!

    ReplyDelete
  4. What's up with the comment before me?

    So anyway, I think of myself a lot like Sheldon from Big Bang Theory. Almost did a post awhile back but opted out. I have this thing that I must sit in the same spot on the couch. People must not move my things. +)

    Math was never my strong suit. In fact, when I build things I let my hubs measure things out or whatever I'm creating ends up crooked. I still use my fingers and toes to count. =)

    Football is only okay if my sons playing it. Then I'll pay attention and learn the rules.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anyway, I thought the picture of the guy was you, Sco. I was really sleepy reading this and was like "OMG IS THAT SCO" and I couldnt help thinking about you THAT WAY.

    Hahahahahaha.

    Something must be really wrong with me :P

    ReplyDelete
  6. The Big Bang Theory is pretty rad.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow, I would have never caught that pattern in that song. Usually when I listen to music, I only focus on the lyrics, rhythm and instrument, never the amount of syllables in them. Of course, you are a math/numbers guy and I would expect nothing less from someone who's job is to focus on the details hidden in the numbers. Good work!

    ReplyDelete
  8. As much as I love the show 'Numb3rs', I'm fed up to the bloody eyeballs with the mathematic explanations that bore me to the point where I want to kill Charlie Eppes!

    And yes, I love Don!!!

    And yes, I'm seriously pissed off at channel 10 for constantly putting it on then taking it off. Channel 10, you need to stop it.

    Seriously!!!!!

    I failed maths badly at school, but am suprisingly good at it.

    Go figure!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Math!!!! Or "maths" as you aussies call it. What a fabulous post!! I completely agree with you that taking the time to look for deeper and hidden meanings can be enlightening and enriching.

    Brilliant btw - the use of the stages of grief while maintaining a Fibonacci sequence - brilliant. I love layered work and the idea of adding psychology as well as math!!! NICE!!!!

    Like the diagrams too :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. i thought it was SOO awesome when i learned lateralus was done in fibonacci sequence! did you actually figure it out or did you hear about it? a friend told me.. and your poem/creative challenge thing is BRILLIANT! love the extra layer of the 5 stages. and of course <3 fibonacci

    ReplyDelete
  11. There's an episode of Criminal Minds that focuses on the Fibonacci. Jason Alexander guest stars and is not at all like the George Costanza I thought I knew. I like poetry and knowledge, but hate the maths although I think this would greatly inspire my biomedical engineer ex. So consider this praise lukewarm due to conjurations of an ex and no fault of your own.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I first read about the Fibonacci on the Da Vinci Code, of course, but at the time, it was just a mathematical nonsense to me. I already feel a bit smarter after reading your post.I hated any Math subject. I just felt there was very little practical application.

    ReplyDelete
  13. As I stated on Twitter - if I was on 'face brothel' I'd have joined your group :)

    Facebook should be renamed - Stalker central : Find that ex that put an AVO on your arse 5 years ago and start stalking them again!

    ReplyDelete

Every time you comment, I love you a little more...