Skip to main content

Binary Schminary!

Friends,
Our analog world is filled with endless possibilities. While a fancy digital computer monitor's 1.07 billion colors may seem like overkill, there are infinitely more colors in nature. The number of hues is only limited by our ability to perceive them. Similarly with sound. While we may hear up-to 10 octaves, the 120 chromatic scale notes contained therein are merely arbitrary stops in an unlimited array of possibilities. Skeptical? Try tuning a guitar by ear --or listening to a Bollywood movie soundtrack. And that’s just the audible range. There's a black hole playing B flat a whole 57 octaves below middle C. Right?

Pick any topic and the number of possibilities is similarly boundless. Resolution? Subatomic particles to super galactic clusters. Time? A jiffy to an eon. Math? Will get your head spinning (and that's before you leave the integer, real number realm). Why, then, do binary choices hold such appeal? Perhaps it's comforting to simplify our immensely complex world. Then again, perhaps we need to be reminded these binary choices limit our creativity and may lead to bad outcomes. Here are a few:
  • All or nothing. Whatever happened to 8.675309% for me and the remaining 91.324691% for others?
  • Now or never. Let me think it over. What about next Tuesday at 3:14:16 AM? 
  • Us or them. Wait, is one group made-up entirely of clones with implanted shared experiences? Is that them? Is that... us??
  • Capitalism or Socialism. How about... well, the United States? This odd blend of semi-regulated markets with a quasi-social safety net can’t rightly be called either.
  • The lesser of two evils. Why discriminate against third-party evils? How about non-evil? --heaven forbid good. 
  • Matter or... Dark matter? Energy? Antimatter? Doesn’t matter?
My point being, this morning, don’t over-simplify your pastry choices. Sure, you can choose not to have a donut, but why? Why not half a donut. Or a French cruller. Or a Boston cream-filled bizmark. Or two. Heck, have a muffin! Too far? Yeah, I may need to walk that last one back. Sorry!
Happy Friday!


Comments

Bruce.E.Camber said…
Either/or, I-Thou, Subject-Object... It is all part of the Newtonian wasteland of space "and" time when we all now know it is spacetime and the playful know it is spacetimematterenergy, a kaleidoscope of Janus-faces built with and around 31 dimensionless constants that manifest as continuity with order, symmetry creating relations, and harmony creating dynamics and value. Perhaps this might help: http://81018.com as as simple start on a highly-integrated, base-2 model of the universe from the Planck units to the current time.

Popular posts from this blog

Donut Hole Alignment

Friends, My predawn attempts to watch the planetary alignment have thus far been met with cloudy skies. The weather forecast through the end of the cosmic event suggests I shall not witness it. And yet, my futile attempts have been rewarded in other ways. The chorus of birds, frogs and insects singing in anticipation of the sun’s glorious rising complement the river’s steady churning. The crisp, fresh air in a desolate town whose citizens are still bidding Morpheus “adieu” caresses my skin while the sweet aroma of petrichor fills my lounges. Deep shadows of centenarian eucalyptus trees slowly recede and give way to the imperceptible progress of the brightening skies. Sure, witnessing those tiny bright spots lined-up in the sky would be pretty cool —like sprinkles on a donut. Speaking of donuts, if you’re ever in Cuenca around the feast of Corpus Christi (which ended yesterday) you need to try the Huevos Chilenos (Chilean Eggs) —think of them as less sweet donut holes. And, if like me t

To an end to Covid Games

  Friends, As 2021 comes to an end, it’s time to remember and be grateful for another year of life – there’s much for which to be grateful. Sure, some things could have gone better (they always can), but on balance things were good. At the González household, the cathartic process of capturing this year’s essence to burn at midnight is wrapping-up. This year’s theme, “Covid Games from home” uses Squid games (Netflix’s unlikely breakaway hit) as a way to mock the two main Covid variants of concern (Delta and Omicron) and commiserate about working from home with all the weirdness it carries along. Comfy slippers combined with dressing-up from the waist up for zoom meetings (not to mention the quarantine fifteen). As I hope for lots of snow and no wind (lest we need to call an audible on the midnight burn) my thoughts turn to my friends in Boulder county and hopes for a quick recovery. May 2022 bring an end to confinement and lots of opportunities to share donuts. Happy Friday!

Donuts Without Borders

Friends, I believe going anywhere in the world (so long as you abide by the local laws) should be a human right. People should be allowed to wander freely (or vote with their feet whenever a government alienates them). In this, I fully support Doctors Without Borders’ decision to no longer accept funding from the EU due to their immigration policies. Good for them! That said borders can be useful. Take, for instance national sports teams. If there were no borders, events like the summer and winter Olympiads would not exist. Closer to home, those of you who follow soccer are probably tuning-in to the hundredth edition of Copa America , currently under way. Last night the quarter final opener featured both of the teams for which I've been rooting. Who do you cheer for when you know only one of your teams will advance? You can't root for both or you risk becoming a dispassionate observer, so, you either pick one or choose to narrate the game in English (i.e. no 100 MPH narra