THE NAME OF THE THING AND THE THING ITSELF
1.1 Driving a land rover on an exercise while I was in the army, my co-driver taught me about rally driving.
1.2 He told me how in rally driving corners are graded according to how tight or open they are. If a corner had a higher number it meant that it was tighter, a lower number meant that the corner was more open. The lower the number the faster we could go around it. Other information that the navigator gave the driver was the direction of the turn, left or right, and the time to the turn, a countdown.
1.3 Looking ahead he told me the direction and the grade of each turn and gave me a countdown to it. I focused on listening and adjusting my speed appropriately. As we rounded each corner I found that his grading felt very natural so that it was easy to trust his assessment of each corner.
1.4 I think part of the comfort level was the way he described each turn. It was unambiguous and natural and direct. Because he was describing exactly what he was seeing, he was providing me a direct view of the way ahead. And I was allowing him to give me that view. Neither one of us second-guessed the other. He focused on navigating and I focused on driving and together with the vehicle we were in we made the idea of driving real. And even though we weren’t actually rallying, all we were doing was that he was seeing and I was doing, it felt good to work with him in this way and I got a sense of what actual rallying and teamwork could be like.
1.5 I had a similar experience with another friend. Chatting on the phone with her as she drove to a race track, she described the route to me as she experienced it. I wrote the details down and the next day was able to follow it without a problem. This was in direct contrast to the previous morning when trying to pick her up I got lost five times and a trip that should have taken 40 minutes took 2 hours.
1.6 A long time ago as one of my oriental calligraphy projects I tried to come up with my own translation of the first verse of “The Dao De Ching.” One line in particular I found troublesome and interesting. “The name of a thing is not the thing.”
1.7 Thinking back to the time I was rallying with Taff I began to understand one possible translation of that verse. When we know what it is we are talking about, if we say what we see, plainly and clearly, so that the person listening can see what we mean then the name becomes the thing. If we express our truth so that the person is listening can see our true selves, the words become the thing we are talking about. When we understand something completely, so that it is a part of our experience, then the name becomes the thing.
1.8 So how is this relevant here? When Taff told me exactly what he saw and I understood him it was so easy to connect to him and trust him, easy to let go. And I imagine that with a good lead that is how a partner feels when they are dancing, like she can let go. And perhaps it is a letting go on both parties parts, the navigator relaxing enough, trusting that their driver will understand and so saying what they see without modification, the driver relaxing enough to trust implicitly what his or her copilot is saying.
1.9 Zero parallax, words reflecting their meaning for both the person saying the words and the person listening to them.
Showing posts with label zero parallax. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zero parallax. Show all posts
Monday, June 23, 2008
Maximizing Possibility
MAXIMIZING POSSIBILITY
1.1 Flying a plane and not understanding that we are sitting to one side in a plane we will have difficulty flying the plane straight, or trying to land along the center of the runway. We could be flying the plane so that it is skewed, and landing like that would be like skidding it on the tarmac instead of rolling along and using the brakes to stop.
1.2 If we are conscious of where we are in relationship to the plane, then we can fly it straight. We know where we are in relationship to it and the earth and we can make it go exactly where we are looking. We can make the plane do what we want safely without it bumping into the earth.
1.3 Fishing with a spear, not understanding that light refracts we won’t catch any fish unless the fish is a very big fish. Conscious that light refracts when it moves from water to air we can look straight down at the surface of the water so the image of a fish lines up with the actual fish and we can hit what we are aiming at.
1.4 Sometimes we have no choice but to be off center, but then being conscious of our relative position we can make allowances so that we can act centered even if physically we are not.
1.1 Flying a plane and not understanding that we are sitting to one side in a plane we will have difficulty flying the plane straight, or trying to land along the center of the runway. We could be flying the plane so that it is skewed, and landing like that would be like skidding it on the tarmac instead of rolling along and using the brakes to stop.
1.2 If we are conscious of where we are in relationship to the plane, then we can fly it straight. We know where we are in relationship to it and the earth and we can make it go exactly where we are looking. We can make the plane do what we want safely without it bumping into the earth.
1.3 Fishing with a spear, not understanding that light refracts we won’t catch any fish unless the fish is a very big fish. Conscious that light refracts when it moves from water to air we can look straight down at the surface of the water so the image of a fish lines up with the actual fish and we can hit what we are aiming at.
1.4 Sometimes we have no choice but to be off center, but then being conscious of our relative position we can make allowances so that we can act centered even if physically we are not.
Words Matching Meaning
WORDS MATCHING MEANING
1.1 If two people are flying or driving together, one flies, working the controls of the plane; connected to the plane, the other does the navigating; connected to the earth. And they connect to each other by working out a means of communicating so that they can share information, when it is needed. If the connection, the language they use, is good, then they can communicate with zero parallax, zero error. The words match the same meaning for both the sender and the receiver. The words become their meaning. So that when the navigator tells the pilot where they are or which direction they need to go, the pilot has an image of what is coming up as if they are seeing it with their own eyes. And when the pilot asks the navigator for a specific piece of information, the navigator knows, exactly what the pilot needs.
1.2 If we want to communicate with zero parallax then we shape our words to suit the receiver. At the same time if we are listening then we shape our listening according to who is sending the information. It’s like devices in a computing system that talk to each other and understand each other because the device sensing the information also sends the receive information on how to decode the information. At the same time the receiver reads this decoding information so that it knows how to read what it receives.
1.3 Zeroparallax is sending information in such a way that it can be understood, and it is understanding how to decode information that we receive.
1.4 Understanding a clock, the old fashioned kind with hands that stand proud of the clock face, we know that for the most accurate time telling we have to stand directly in front of the clock and level with it to eliminate parallax. But understanding the clock and knowing where we are in relation to it, if we are standing to the side we can take our position into account when we check the time. As so standing to the side even though the clock looks like it says 12pm from our point of view we know that it really is about 12:05.
1.1 If two people are flying or driving together, one flies, working the controls of the plane; connected to the plane, the other does the navigating; connected to the earth. And they connect to each other by working out a means of communicating so that they can share information, when it is needed. If the connection, the language they use, is good, then they can communicate with zero parallax, zero error. The words match the same meaning for both the sender and the receiver. The words become their meaning. So that when the navigator tells the pilot where they are or which direction they need to go, the pilot has an image of what is coming up as if they are seeing it with their own eyes. And when the pilot asks the navigator for a specific piece of information, the navigator knows, exactly what the pilot needs.
1.2 If we want to communicate with zero parallax then we shape our words to suit the receiver. At the same time if we are listening then we shape our listening according to who is sending the information. It’s like devices in a computing system that talk to each other and understand each other because the device sensing the information also sends the receive information on how to decode the information. At the same time the receiver reads this decoding information so that it knows how to read what it receives.
1.3 Zeroparallax is sending information in such a way that it can be understood, and it is understanding how to decode information that we receive.
1.4 Understanding a clock, the old fashioned kind with hands that stand proud of the clock face, we know that for the most accurate time telling we have to stand directly in front of the clock and level with it to eliminate parallax. But understanding the clock and knowing where we are in relation to it, if we are standing to the side we can take our position into account when we check the time. As so standing to the side even though the clock looks like it says 12pm from our point of view we know that it really is about 12:05.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Zero Parallax, Knowing where we are in relation to Straight Ahead
STRAIGHT AHEAD
1.1 Flying a plane the pilot has to align it via instrumentation and using their eyes. In some planes their position is not centered. Because of that their view out of the window is skewed. They can’t just point the plane in the direction they want to go, they have to set up points of reference that take account of their position in the plane so that they can fly the plane straight.
1.2 Life is easier when we are actually centered instead of having to account for being off center. How much easier would it be to fly if the pilot sat along the center-line of the plane? How much more efficient and elegant not having to account for parallax. But learning to deal with being off center we attain a higher degree of freedom. Being conscious of when we are not centered we can take it into account and deal with situations effectively even when we are at a slight disadvantage.
1.3 Say we are learning to fly and we get comfortable flying from the left side of the plane. What happens when we have to learn how to fly from the other seat? Not only do we have to reverse for parallax but now we have to re-adjust reactions for our new position in the plane. We have to relearn the planes center and its orientation. But, with practice, flying from both sides becomes second nature. We expand our range of possibilities. No longer limited to flying from one seat, now we can fly from either effectively. And that’s freedom, being able to act no matter what the circumstances.
1.4 Aware of where we are in the plane, we get to see as if we are the plane, from the plane’s point of view, so that we know when the plane is aligned with it’s direction of travel and when it is not. So even when we are not physically centered, being aware of where we are in relation to center can allow us to fly as if we are.
1.5 Zero parallax, knowing what side of the plane we are flying from. Knowing where we are in relation to “Straight ahead.”
1.1 Flying a plane the pilot has to align it via instrumentation and using their eyes. In some planes their position is not centered. Because of that their view out of the window is skewed. They can’t just point the plane in the direction they want to go, they have to set up points of reference that take account of their position in the plane so that they can fly the plane straight.
1.2 Life is easier when we are actually centered instead of having to account for being off center. How much easier would it be to fly if the pilot sat along the center-line of the plane? How much more efficient and elegant not having to account for parallax. But learning to deal with being off center we attain a higher degree of freedom. Being conscious of when we are not centered we can take it into account and deal with situations effectively even when we are at a slight disadvantage.
1.3 Say we are learning to fly and we get comfortable flying from the left side of the plane. What happens when we have to learn how to fly from the other seat? Not only do we have to reverse for parallax but now we have to re-adjust reactions for our new position in the plane. We have to relearn the planes center and its orientation. But, with practice, flying from both sides becomes second nature. We expand our range of possibilities. No longer limited to flying from one seat, now we can fly from either effectively. And that’s freedom, being able to act no matter what the circumstances.
1.4 Aware of where we are in the plane, we get to see as if we are the plane, from the plane’s point of view, so that we know when the plane is aligned with it’s direction of travel and when it is not. So even when we are not physically centered, being aware of where we are in relation to center can allow us to fly as if we are.
1.5 Zero parallax, knowing what side of the plane we are flying from. Knowing where we are in relation to “Straight ahead.”
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