Glove and all other 99 percenters, I have been gnawing my thumb and trying to stay out of this for a week or so and I can hold out no longer. I think that the point at which everyone is stopped is on the definition of Dynamic Quality. My take on Dynamic Quality is that it is the energy and the conditions that were initially set up at the birth of the universe. It is the store of energy plus the presumed 75/25 split between Hydrogen and Helium that resulted from the "Big Bang", plus the fundamental laws of the universe such as gravity and time. As such DQ set the possibilities and supplied the energy that resulted in all else. From this beginning the process was established which resulted in the starry universe which resulted in a continually increasing range of possibilities which resulted in our current concept of the universe. DQ is the force that drives the universe toward greater possibility as well as toward greater entropy. I tend to believe that when Pirsig says that DQ is unknowable and indefinable he just means that we cannot know what its origins were. The operation of DQ seems clear to me. Driven by DQ every possibility was tried. Some of these results ended in a dead end when no further possibilities were available. Some of these results allowed interactions with the outputs from other QE and SQ interactions which generated further possibilities. In this way DQ creates and destroys. All the while driving the universe toward a state of greater complexity. Quality Events result from DQ acting on the range of possibilities available. Static Quality results from the interaction of two or more compatible QEs which produce a latched level of complexity which is made available for further universal growth in complexity through further QEs driven by DQ. During the inorganic phase observation consisted of DQ driven QEs which produced SQ latches. Sentience was not present or necessary for the development of further complexity in the universe. Again, Sentience is not necessary for observation to occur. Observation simply means that further possibilities exist. The levels emerged as DQ drove QEs to explore alll possibilities. Whether these results were a foregone conclusion is a good question. A similar question is: If the universe started over again with the same set of initial conditions would it wind up at the exact same spot that we occupy now. I don't know the answer to that. It would seem to make sense that it would. The reason that everything looks good to us as we look back on our understanding of the universe is because that universe has operated to produce us. It all looks good to us because it has led to us. I imagine that if we could ask every element and every life form in the universe if the development of the universe was all good they would all say yes for similar reasons. As Pirsig says, the entire universe, including us, is a collection of Dharmas. We are perched on a pinnacle of Value because we have resulted from a process driven by Dynamic Quality. When sentience entered the universe the operation of DQ changed. We humans now have the capability of influencing the operation of Dynamic Quality in our corner of the universe. We have the ability to alter the progression of life forms on Earth. Whether this is good or bad I don't know. It would seem to be bad but if we relinquished the ability to manipulate the biosphere we would have to drastically alter our relationship to the biosphere. Which way is ultimately better for humanity I don't know. I tend to think that the levels are an artifact advanced by Pirsig to make explanation easier. We get into trouble when we try to make the workings of DQ, QE, and SQ fit neatly into each level with no interaction I will leave you with a question. What happens when DQ is all used up. What happens when we reach a state of complete entropy? Will it start all over again? Got to go work outside. I still have lots of questions and opinions. Ken MOQ Homepage - http://www.moq.org Mail Archive - http://alt.venus.co.uk/hypermail/moq_discuss/
