The Nonsense of Numbers
2009.08.22. 12:55
With apologies to those mathematicians who revel in the interplay of numbers, espousing their predictability and absoluteness, I can unequivocally proclaim my disdain for all things numerical. How much money do you make? How many minutes to cook the pasta? What’s your social security number, student ID, address, driver’s license, How much weight have I gained/lost? How long? How wide? How tall? How short? How fast? How slow? GPA? Batting average? Golf handicap? Numbers seem too impersonal, cold, and life-less. (or perhaps this is merely an excuse to explain why I received a “D” in high school algebra) Words, images, sounds, smells, tastes, thoughts, and ideas – these are the things that represent meaning. Yes, numbers have their place and certainly play an integral albeit intrusive role in our lives. I, however, choose to live in the realm of the senses.
It is interesting how a new environment can provide the opportunity to heighten and expand one’s senses. The smell of frying sausage, the taste of bottled water, the sound of a foreign language, the sight of a majestic cathedral – one’s senses respond to these new-found stimuli with an increased vigilance. A new environment provides one with the opportunity to awaken. We can be lulled to sleep by the repetitive, commonplace routines of every-day life slipping into a semi-conscious stupor of suspended animation – our senses dulled, awareness decreased.
Here, in a new home, new city, country and culture I can reconnect the pathways of body, mind, and spirit. Common actions create stronger impressions. The rush of water through a faucet, the sound of children playing and dogs barking outside the open kitchen window, a different shade of yellow on the sunflowers at the bottom of the stairs, the gentle breeze of the fan, the dry heat of summer, the cool, crackling of tiny ice cubes – the ordinary becomes extra-ordinary in a new environment. Perhaps, with the passage of time, the extra-ordinary will return to being ordinary. Until then, I will continue to revel in the extra-ordinariness of the ordinary.
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Waver · http://waves.blog.hu 2009.08.22. 15:01:57
Tiny ice-cubes, I liked this one the best. They are small, or the ones here are huge? There's no one to tell.
I, on the other hand, love mathematics and numbers other than needed in offices. For me it is an important way to describe the world. Not more important than taking in the sensual information though.