Blog Dis
High-fallutin' ideas
2024-10-22
"Eureka!" shrieked Sir Isaac Newton, after determining the physical and scientific laws that governed gravity and their effect on humans, Earth and all planets in our solar system.
That is what I'd call one mother fecking groundbreaking idea, the kind of idea that shapes Centuries of thought to come. Many mathematicians agree that Newton was one of the greatest scientific thinkers ever to grace our planet. But he is more commonly associated with the event of sitting under a tree when an apple plunked onto his head, from above, thereby stimulating his mode of thought to devise the notion of gravity. I am more inclined to think that this story is more apocryphal than anything, to use a very fancy schmancy word.
The profound moments where we literally stop dead in our tracks to formulate a theory that will either benefit us or help us to comprehend our world more clearly are rare, and so they should be; otherwise our world would keep on being re-invented faster than our earthbound brains can grapple with, until the next groundbreaking idea is thrust into our heads.
The Greek genius mathematician, Archimedes, had such a notion as he sat in the bathtub, conjuring up the theory of displacement. Easily, his greatest discovery is the closest approximation of π (Pi: 3.14). Archimedes also invented the catapult (yes, he is credited with this discovery too). And Pythagoras too was a clever man in mathematics and noted for believing that, "number is the ruler of forms and ideas and the cause of gods and demons." What kills me is that these fabulously great minds were able to grasp such concepts before the invention of computers and calculators, the best friend to a mathematical dullard like myself. I'm sure my math teacher in secondary school passed me because he felt sorry for my pathetic grades. 😂But I tried hard.
However, I am not wanton for ideas. Mine may not be original in the sense that they'll shake the foundations of the Earth but they are new to me, nonetheless. I have yet to figure out how to wake up every day, to say to myself, "Today will be the day when I have my Eureka moment!" On the contrary, groundbreaking ideas with regard to writing fiction often come to me when I'm engaged in mundane activities, like cleaning the bathroom, doing the dishes, brushing my teeth. On some small level, the simple activities of life are what help set the stage to relax my mind, sort of a means for the inner creative brain to have a calm setting to think on a higher level. Maybe in your lifetime, you'll have one or two heralding moments or ideas that will forever change the way you think or live. Most of us will lead lives of ordinariness and that is nothing to sneeze at, in truth. You live and think and eat and phuck and in the end you'll end up in a pine box like the rest of us. But if you have just one really cool idea that changes the course of your life, count yourself lucky. I felt that way when I began to write my first series of novels.
Prior to the start of the 21st Century, the A&E channel aired a special on the top 100 inventions, based on their sociological impact, rather than if these inventions had benefitted life. Here are their top three:
#1: Gutenberg's printing press
#2: The contraceptive pill
#3: The atom bomb
Then there is time. Yes, that tricky entity of thought and space, marked with a tiny pointer on a wrist watch, or represented by digital numbers on a clever phone. Time and ideas are linked, according to Pythagoras. I believe the time for creating new ideas is always open to possibility and, when you least expect it, your creative mind may wallop you with a new idea. Then you'll be sitting under your own apple tree, patting yourself on the back for being such a clever person. Many have come before you of course, and many will come after you, so never stop thinking. This is the key. That's how ideas are made.
These are my final words: Gravity is the one true God, without which nothing can exist... absolutely nothing.
And, the only thing not weighted down by gravity is faith.
That is what I'd call one mother fecking groundbreaking idea, the kind of idea that shapes Centuries of thought to come. Many mathematicians agree that Newton was one of the greatest scientific thinkers ever to grace our planet. But he is more commonly associated with the event of sitting under a tree when an apple plunked onto his head, from above, thereby stimulating his mode of thought to devise the notion of gravity. I am more inclined to think that this story is more apocryphal than anything, to use a very fancy schmancy word.
The profound moments where we literally stop dead in our tracks to formulate a theory that will either benefit us or help us to comprehend our world more clearly are rare, and so they should be; otherwise our world would keep on being re-invented faster than our earthbound brains can grapple with, until the next groundbreaking idea is thrust into our heads.
The Greek genius mathematician, Archimedes, had such a notion as he sat in the bathtub, conjuring up the theory of displacement. Easily, his greatest discovery is the closest approximation of π (Pi: 3.14). Archimedes also invented the catapult (yes, he is credited with this discovery too). And Pythagoras too was a clever man in mathematics and noted for believing that, "number is the ruler of forms and ideas and the cause of gods and demons." What kills me is that these fabulously great minds were able to grasp such concepts before the invention of computers and calculators, the best friend to a mathematical dullard like myself. I'm sure my math teacher in secondary school passed me because he felt sorry for my pathetic grades. 😂But I tried hard.
However, I am not wanton for ideas. Mine may not be original in the sense that they'll shake the foundations of the Earth but they are new to me, nonetheless. I have yet to figure out how to wake up every day, to say to myself, "Today will be the day when I have my Eureka moment!" On the contrary, groundbreaking ideas with regard to writing fiction often come to me when I'm engaged in mundane activities, like cleaning the bathroom, doing the dishes, brushing my teeth. On some small level, the simple activities of life are what help set the stage to relax my mind, sort of a means for the inner creative brain to have a calm setting to think on a higher level. Maybe in your lifetime, you'll have one or two heralding moments or ideas that will forever change the way you think or live. Most of us will lead lives of ordinariness and that is nothing to sneeze at, in truth. You live and think and eat and phuck and in the end you'll end up in a pine box like the rest of us. But if you have just one really cool idea that changes the course of your life, count yourself lucky. I felt that way when I began to write my first series of novels.
Prior to the start of the 21st Century, the A&E channel aired a special on the top 100 inventions, based on their sociological impact, rather than if these inventions had benefitted life. Here are their top three:
#1: Gutenberg's printing press
#2: The contraceptive pill
#3: The atom bomb
Then there is time. Yes, that tricky entity of thought and space, marked with a tiny pointer on a wrist watch, or represented by digital numbers on a clever phone. Time and ideas are linked, according to Pythagoras. I believe the time for creating new ideas is always open to possibility and, when you least expect it, your creative mind may wallop you with a new idea. Then you'll be sitting under your own apple tree, patting yourself on the back for being such a clever person. Many have come before you of course, and many will come after you, so never stop thinking. This is the key. That's how ideas are made.
These are my final words: Gravity is the one true God, without which nothing can exist... absolutely nothing.
And, the only thing not weighted down by gravity is faith.
