On Nov 24, 2009, at 11:39 AM, William Conger wrote: > Anything is infinitely complex or simple, as one chooses. I can't think of anything that disproves this. If something is examined for its constituent parts and they seem simple, then one has not looked enough. This was the breakthrough of scientific enlightenment. The invention of the microscope, for instance, revealed "new worlds" hitherto unknown and unimagined. This kind of discovery mode led to the notion that everything can be infinitely complex and what limits our perception are a-priori constraints.
Think of the complexity of small numbers. One is unity. It is also the multiplicative identity. Two is duality. And with two comes differentiation. Two is the only even prime number. It is the minimum number of points needed to define a line. Three is diversity, multiplicity, extension. Also, with motion, three allows motion to be reckoned, and with the reckoning of motion comes time. Three is the number of non-colinear points needed to define a plane. It is number of spatial dimensions in normal experience. And it is also the repetition of odd numbers, and just what are odd and even? And why is that important or consequential? There are only five regular geometric solids, and they were known to the Greeks by at least the Fourth Century. There are six simple machines, and even they can be reduced to two principles. The wheel and axle, lever, and pulley are one group, and the inclined plane, wedge, and screw are the other group--in fact, the screw is a combination of the inclined plane and the wheel and axle. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Michael Brady [email protected] http://considerthepreposition.blogspot.com/ http://thinkinglikeadesigner.blogspot.com/ Subscribe: [email protected] Unsubscribe: [email protected]
