ana on Mon, 28 Feb 2000 22:56:10 +0100 (CET) |
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<nettime> "Balkan point" vs. immediate eternity model |
Hi, sending you other parts of the same text... greetings, ana "BALKAN POINT' VS. IMMEDIATE ETERNITY MODEL If there would be some inventaroum of contemporary media - logical mistakes, both "the argument of "as seen on TV", as concluding from media content as experience, and media distance on the objective viewpoint, and a "Balkan point", as concluding from history to priority, would belong to it. Instead of reevaluating history, on the Balkan there is a constant try to reestablish it, which leads to the redundancy of wishes which are always disagreeing about which time (or century) should be a criteria. The point is actually misusing relativisation, as argument of "who arrived the first" finished in the relative question of "depends in the which century". But seems that referring to the sole past is not the only exclusiveness that happens on today's planet. "Hyper" societies abolished history, out of touristic play gardens, which show more syptomatics of the other disorder - instancy. Instant Eternity model, is as well, highly rationalised in physics, that is today's West Bible (though it is completely strange how precisely that physics of speed, precise, unstable... doesn't at all belong to the human measure universe). Kaluza-Klein theory on gravity, refers to the light as a vibration of the missing dimension, which is speed. And that dimension is the one of our relative own. To approve this we don't need to take some big calculus, what is missing, if we are all moving with different speed is a simultaneity, which is only body related. In speed we miss each other. Now we have new list of our perception existence, difference, perspective, change, and speed. This chain coincide with the development of beings on this planet, some of which only can notice existence, but some as well 'higher' dimensions. If we relate them to other people, we see they exist, they are different, they are close\near, they change, but finally we can not catch them. All those perceptoral dimensions can be explained in terms of each other, but always from the point of higher. Difference can be only seen if existence is known (in terms of existing and not-existing), perspective is a measurement of differences, change is a overlap of perspectives. So, speed is, finally, a crossroad of changes, a chaos in which only a preceptor exists. With demistification of metaphysical area, the problem of reevaluation of time and its ghostly accompaining reference to Eternity, under which we defined time, occurs. Suddenly, with lost of inter-relation criteria according to which we defined measuring of the limited time. The measure of the world exists where there is a line segregating what we imagine as different. Instant Eternity, as belonging to private experiences leads to solypsistic universe, and can be treated as first of major accidents of micro-macro overlap, which lost the natural measure of the system of the world. World disappears, as is absorbed into invisible and unmeasurable, as the first measure is the one of body in time and space. Collapse of distances in all levels of contemporary civilisation can be seen, as well as narcissm, on the phenomenon where Eternity doesn't belong to out of time model, but is even more miniaturised at the level of a moment now. The concept of immediate Eternity, which suddenly doesn't 'take place' in after time, or out of it, was suggested already by Einstein, who claimed that the present is a centre of time, not some Big Bang, not the creation. With that he rejected inflationary universe. Market society, loosing point of distinguishing original from the copy, and a source from the quote, just transferred macro thought to the consumable one. Now become forever simply in the slogan 'Buy it now - or never', guaranteeing us at least some purpose of life, we got compressed consumable Eternities Centre of time, even those not-cosmic ones, indeed become light or speed of information. Suddenly I remember an old race, which is totally insane, without a purpose, but at the same time beautiful. Achilles, a human and a small Tortoise were running to see who is faster, and none won. Of course, none won, for the first reason Achilles was a gentleman, second that Tortoise was cheating, and third Zeno was a skeptic. It's ultimate wisdom, therefore, is not only that skeptic (and theory) can approve anything, which post-modern theory elaborated as a homework, and it is not as even that speed is relative, but as well that communication is important. And that communication was revealed with the text of Lewis Carroll 'What the Tortoise had have said to Achilles'. As speed is relative, only one standing outside the system (so Zeno, that doesn't want to do so), can conclude. Both carachters are only locked into mad world of the skeptic. Of course, we know that Achilles is faster, but limits of the race in terms of measurements of dimensions, just doesn't allow him to arrive the first. Zeno cheats, not allowing the dimension of a change. And this was tested by astronauts missing other dimensions. Change simply doesn't take a place, and there are only, looking from the point of two acters existence, difference and perspective. And speed can only be described going on one level lower, on the change, as their overlaps. So, we see Zeno's cheating, but we can not help to Achilles, that plays with the Tortoise. But at least they have each other, while civilisation looses that as a value. In the world of the speed, which excludes a body, what only can exist (maybe) can be thoughts. Consequence of their speeding up was known from the old time. Relativity teaches us 'we may only think we are faster'. If Achilles was not faster because of a calculation, the answer is very simple, what speeds up. It is the theory that is decelerating action, or as would any Balkan person, object 'stop talking, start running.' In the Minkowskian geometry, which was taken as the base for Einstein's concept of the physical universe, space and time are entwined. In it two observers in relative motion can disagree regarding simultaneity of distant events. An even it identified by a whole world point in a four dimensional continuum. On the contrary, in the old Newtonian physics which used geometry which separated space and time dimensions, the problem of simultaneity was regarded as belonging to compentencies of the observer. Problem of simultaneity is not only a physical problem, and if somewhere it can turn to become a major catastrophe, it would be in social. Unpossiblity to realise simultanity, is as well unpossiblity to register same-time world, but only own existence. It is not the problem, therefore, what would those two observers register, but would they register each other? 'To gain real time over delayed time is thrust commit to a quick way of physically eliminating the object and subject and exclusively promoting the journey. But journey without a trajectory and thus fundamentally uncontrollable.' (Virilio) Without memory, as one of dimensions of percieving, in this world of instancy of serving the function, dimensions are not kept together, they split apart. World become a ground of self enough function (of travel, of explaining...) The first measure of the world was once a body. Today's ways of measuring, on the contrary, went on more micro or macro level of it, beyond visible, and that Leonardo's model is simply not interesting enough, maybe even because it portrays unknown other person, that narcisses can not stand (though I still think that theory couldn't stand it as that body doesn't look too theoretical). Instead of homocentric, we have logo-ego centric hybrid, that skipped the member that was once a medium one itself. It gave up for media, which offer the illusion of the bridge. We are tending to reach self-enough 'soft worlds', solipsistic autonomies, where the only measure would be the one of our wishes. We'll be independent, but what does it mean in terms of the body is - alone, unneeded, replaceable. Out of us there would be that found dimension of vacuum. So, we`ll be vacuumised. First soft world I recall is a Wonderland, a world reacting on demands of a small Alice. Although, this world is personificated, and communicable, as sometimes joking with Alice, making her disproportional to it, contracting opposite to her wishes. Her experience is what we today call - ordinary psyhastenic experience, shift to another dimension while leaving body. The device was of course, imagining (or thoughts). But although story is beautiful, would contemporary adventurists even border to try to draw the world, to tell the story to someone? Or it would only serve a function for themselves, of their own generalised arrival, which will be without a point of returning back? To have a proper war, you need to have a simultaneity, on a big scale, teaches us Balkan, which alwasy refer to returning point. While ones are bombing, the others are simultaneously preparing the next move, or react immediately. Or, with this 10 years of war that was supported (literally, like, enforced and continued) by media, one side bombs, and the other makes shootings for CNN. Media in war has no ethics, war has more ethics itself, although is internal. The reason for it is that media lives on war and death, and so belongs in set of "war profiteers". After it, all experiences based on that, are unethical. "Balkan point", though is a mistake, is precisely that "Forward to the Past" (if the West enjoys rather "Back to the Future model" where all points now are escaping back, but guarantee future), or it belongs into the logic of return. The problem of it, is again simultaneity, but in agreeing a history stratum, which would be relevant for both the presence and the future. But at least, that simultaneity is related to society. If I would need to conclude what is better, safe instancy of alone or unsafe social history shakings, I am still not sure, in between two mistakes, "as seen on TV - experience" and a "Balkan point", or inbetwen not to communicate at all and fight. But, we are used to see mistakes of each other; from one side West in Eastern Europe resists, as a picture of promise, but as well, of total alienation, total decline as disintegrated and dead society, while East resists in West, as low, barbarian, uncivilised "garden of authenticity". Eastern Europeans go to West to check how still human they are, and all they see are robots, while West European go to East Europe like in a zoo, to see unique sort that was once inhabiting all planet (but seems there were two scenarios (either they all killed each other, and the Planet was finally quite, or they suddenly stopped to communicate). And indeed when an Eastern European goes on the West, they photograph themselves lost in "rush hours" just to remember how instant societies look like, pushed into one corridor (and showing their kids how they managed to survive, but never tried to run themselves), while Western Europeans photograph themselves near ruined houses (they will show to their kids disregarding the fact they arrived long time after). They will both be brave, and that might be a happy end. But sholdn`t in between two extremes somewhere reside point where there are no we and they... # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism, # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets # more info: majordomo@bbs.thing.net and "info nettime-l" in the msg body # archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@bbs.thing.net