Sobriety Blues
So I’m rapidly approaching the second longest stretch of time without being high (and the longest as well). While I’m definitely not enjoying it, my fears about losing my inclination towards hyper-ridiculous speculation have been unfounded (irony!). So yeah, I came up with this little waste of thought, and immediately started to wonder if my friends’ brownies were a bit more special than the smiley face sticker kind of way.
Everyone knows that the linear left/right binary is pretty useless and fails to really capture a person’s views in a meaningful way. It also doesn’t take much thought to realize that even two-dimensional models (such as the Nolan Square) are also incomplete (and often instruments of Libertarian propaganda). So yeah, how about a 3D model, maybe a sphere (Final Fantasy X anyone)? Then, I started thinking about a possible four-dimensional model. How about a spiral? There would be the usual 3D axes (height, depth, width) but you could also measure distance along the coils of the spiral. Obviously, this potential 4th axis would be a function of the height axis, but it still seems like it could have some descriptive utility. Also, you could have non-uniform shaped spirals, so that at each “level” of the spiral, certain people may be able to swing out further in certain directions. Also, you could create really involuted spirals so that as one progresses along the coils, movement could alternate between “upwards” and “downwards” progression.
Personally, I think that the best way to assign axes would be to plot time along the 4th dimension (progression “through” the spiral). That would leave the conventional 3 dimensions, which could be “open-mindedness” graphed along the left/right axis, individualism/collectivism along the near/far axis, and idealism/“realism” along the up/down axis. While, idealism/realism would be dependent on the time axis, this is not necessarily so if one creates involuted spirals so that a person could become both more and less idealistic with time. Actually, fuck the spiral, how about just an ever-lengthening thread that moves freely among three dimensions. By adopting this model, each person’s views can be plotted in a much more precise manner than the currently fashionable left/right dichotomy. Each person would have a uniquely-shaped model and their views could be understood in terms of a life’s history, rather than static and reductive categories.
Obviously there will never be a model that will fully capture the reality of people’s views. The map can never be the territory. Still, I think this is definitely an improvement over current models, and it definitely appeals to my overly-visual nature to try and create a spatial model for something like this. Also yeah, history is pretty important. Thoughts?
Everyone knows that the linear left/right binary is pretty useless and fails to really capture a person’s views in a meaningful way. It also doesn’t take much thought to realize that even two-dimensional models (such as the Nolan Square) are also incomplete (and often instruments of Libertarian propaganda). So yeah, how about a 3D model, maybe a sphere (Final Fantasy X anyone)? Then, I started thinking about a possible four-dimensional model. How about a spiral? There would be the usual 3D axes (height, depth, width) but you could also measure distance along the coils of the spiral. Obviously, this potential 4th axis would be a function of the height axis, but it still seems like it could have some descriptive utility. Also, you could have non-uniform shaped spirals, so that at each “level” of the spiral, certain people may be able to swing out further in certain directions. Also, you could create really involuted spirals so that as one progresses along the coils, movement could alternate between “upwards” and “downwards” progression.
Personally, I think that the best way to assign axes would be to plot time along the 4th dimension (progression “through” the spiral). That would leave the conventional 3 dimensions, which could be “open-mindedness” graphed along the left/right axis, individualism/collectivism along the near/far axis, and idealism/“realism” along the up/down axis. While, idealism/realism would be dependent on the time axis, this is not necessarily so if one creates involuted spirals so that a person could become both more and less idealistic with time. Actually, fuck the spiral, how about just an ever-lengthening thread that moves freely among three dimensions. By adopting this model, each person’s views can be plotted in a much more precise manner than the currently fashionable left/right dichotomy. Each person would have a uniquely-shaped model and their views could be understood in terms of a life’s history, rather than static and reductive categories.
Obviously there will never be a model that will fully capture the reality of people’s views. The map can never be the territory. Still, I think this is definitely an improvement over current models, and it definitely appeals to my overly-visual nature to try and create a spatial model for something like this. Also yeah, history is pretty important. Thoughts?