615
P. Huntington,
15
the forensics attendant upon societal collapse, and the bankrupt
collective of collectives, leaves an Anthropocene that is as blind and grasping as
classical nausea; statements and confessions where observation has surrendered to
a more fluent but blasphemous inhibition. Leonardo, who never hesitated to dissect
a pig to improve his anatomical sketch work, worshipped mechanical objects of
human construction, and he also, in his impenetrable fashion, worshipped humans
whom he described as “the greatest instrument of nature”
16
(Fig. 65.2).
65.3 The Qualifying Task of Mathematics
Let us be clear, that all such rejoicing in human capacity is as tentative and ambiguous as philosopher Michael Strevens’ sub-title, “Understanding Complexity through
Probability.”
17
Strevens applies Occam’s razor (the least needed assumptions to proffer an explanation) to a world of probabilistic “convolutions,” wherein “knotted histories and future histories make up a fantastically irregular filigree of life trajectories.”
18
The outcome of his analysis—hinging upon an ecological planet in which “A creature’s every move is dependent on the behavior of those around it – those who would
eat it, those who would eat its food, and those who would mate with it”
19
—becomes
the qualifying task of the mathematician who would translate all such variables into
an ultimately simple approach to chaos and complexity, both; a preconditioning set
of behavioral quirks throughout the biosphere that would account for both independence and dependence; macroperiodicity; metaphysics and physics; “microdynamic
trials” and “deterministic chains.”
20
A view of any large city from the air at once
ignites the co-dependent variables that make for eco- dynamic chaos, inside and outside. The ratios of organic to inorganic; other obfuscations and interruptions, from
ground water pollution, to acoustical interference by humans with other species
dependent on what was, previous to the building of a city, a “neutral” sound space
pre-existing for millions of years; the infliction of stress, cumulative waste, every
conceivable adulterant. The elimination of pure habitat, and the rude, toxic juxtapositions inducing new pathways for the spread of contaminants. Los Angeles at a glance,
like every other mega-teeming region on the planet that feeds into the ocean, or, in
the case of a Chicago, to a great lake, is just such a monster.
15 See The Clash of Civilizations, by S. P. Huntington, Simon & Schuster Publishers, New York
1996.
16 See Milan, Ambrosiana, the 12-volume Codex Atlanticus 86r-a; Essay by Eugenio Garin,
pp. 234–235 in Encyclopedia of World Art, IX, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York,
1958.
17 Bigger than Chaos – Understanding Complexity through Probability, by Michael Strevens,
Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, UK, 2003.
18 ibid., Strevens, p. 1.
19 ibid., Strevens, p. 1.
20 ibid., p.278.
65.3 The Qualifying Task of Mathematics
P. Huntington,
15
the forensics attendant upon societal collapse, and the bankrupt
collective of collectives, leaves an Anthropocene that is as blind and grasping as
classical nausea; statements and confessions where observation has surrendered to
a more fluent but blasphemous inhibition. Leonardo, who never hesitated to dissect
a pig to improve his anatomical sketch work, worshipped mechanical objects of
human construction, and he also, in his impenetrable fashion, worshipped humans
whom he described as “the greatest instrument of nature”
16
(Fig. 65.2).
65.3 The Qualifying Task of Mathematics
Let us be clear, that all such rejoicing in human capacity is as tentative and ambiguous as philosopher Michael Strevens’ sub-title, “Understanding Complexity through
Probability.”
17
Strevens applies Occam’s razor (the least needed assumptions to proffer an explanation) to a world of probabilistic “convolutions,” wherein “knotted histories and future histories make up a fantastically irregular filigree of life trajectories.”
18
The outcome of his analysis—hinging upon an ecological planet in which “A creature’s every move is dependent on the behavior of those around it – those who would
eat it, those who would eat its food, and those who would mate with it”
19
—becomes
the qualifying task of the mathematician who would translate all such variables into
an ultimately simple approach to chaos and complexity, both; a preconditioning set
of behavioral quirks throughout the biosphere that would account for both independence and dependence; macroperiodicity; metaphysics and physics; “microdynamic
trials” and “deterministic chains.”
20
A view of any large city from the air at once
ignites the co-dependent variables that make for eco- dynamic chaos, inside and outside. The ratios of organic to inorganic; other obfuscations and interruptions, from
ground water pollution, to acoustical interference by humans with other species
dependent on what was, previous to the building of a city, a “neutral” sound space
pre-existing for millions of years; the infliction of stress, cumulative waste, every
conceivable adulterant. The elimination of pure habitat, and the rude, toxic juxtapositions inducing new pathways for the spread of contaminants. Los Angeles at a glance,
like every other mega-teeming region on the planet that feeds into the ocean, or, in
the case of a Chicago, to a great lake, is just such a monster.
15 See The Clash of Civilizations, by S. P. Huntington, Simon & Schuster Publishers, New York
1996.
16 See Milan, Ambrosiana, the 12-volume Codex Atlanticus 86r-a; Essay by Eugenio Garin,
pp. 234–235 in Encyclopedia of World Art, IX, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York,
1958.
17 Bigger than Chaos – Understanding Complexity through Probability, by Michael Strevens,
Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, London, UK, 2003.
18 ibid., Strevens, p. 1.
19 ibid., Strevens, p. 1.
20 ibid., p.278.
65.3 The Qualifying Task of Mathematics