Two important metaphors
There are two important metaphors I want to talk about. I used to use one term for both of them: "running against a wall." But now I have two terms:
1. "Blocked tunnel"
2. "Door into void"
Let me explain. First, imagine a mountain road going through a tunnel, and you can see the road coming out the tunnel again on the other side from where you are. That part of the metaphor symbolizes traveling through finding an idea, learning about it, and coming at the end to an understanding of it. But now imagine that the tunnel is blocked. Because you can see the road coming out the other side, that means you can see the implications of understanding that reality tunnel. But you can't get through, you have something blocking you from understanding. Some science stuff is that way for me. I understand the importance and some of the things, and understand some of the consequences and implications, even though I don't understand the details. Trying to think of an example... *ponders* Okay, quantum physics. I understand some of the basics, enough to see some implications, but I don't understand the math and stuff of how it all works. Maybe not the best example, but the best I can think of off the top of my head.
I suppose I could still use "against a wall" for certain math concepts where I can't see past the blockage at all, if something is so over my head that someone trying to explain it just sounds like they're speaking gibberish.
"Door into void" is similar to "blocked tunnel." First, imagine everything in the "blocked tunnel" except that the tunnel is NOT blocked. I can walk into the tunnel, thinking I can get out the other end. Then suddenly I find a door, and open it, start stepping in, only to stop in horror as I find it is a door into outer space, like something out of the Twilight Zone. I use this metaphor to represent reality tunnels that are utterly alien to me. But more than that: reality tunnels that terrify me and anger me, like their very existence is so anathema to me that I feel not only bewilderment but also rage, like it has personally offended me.
But even though I feel fear and rage at these things, I still try to understand them because I want to understand other people.
A great example of "door into void" came to me the other day, that can be used to explain the feelings involved. Okay, so Amy was watching this thing about how human perception of color can affect them, and one bit was about how some cultures can't differentiate certain colors from others like we can. Like, a culture where red is considered a shade of brown and so when asked to tell what square is different when there's a red square in a bunch of brown squares, they stare at the testers like they're stupid and are like "Duh, they're all brown!" It's the same idea as how a lot of men in Western culture percieve coral and salmon as pink and can't tell them apart because of it. At least, not until they are given a name for that color.
Well, I had already heard of all that and understood it; it was a bit of a blocked tunnel to me, because I didn't get all the details, but I understood it a well enough. However... she added something to it, from what she'd seen and heard on this show. This scientist had added that one culture of people couldn't differentiate blue from black. When asked what color the daytime sky was, they said "black." What's more, Homer - writer of the Iliad and Odyessey - never mentions blue when describing the Aegean Sea, even though the Aegean is bright motherfucking blue, a beautiful blue. Which shows that the ancient Greeks didn't recognize blue as its own color either! Homer described the Aegean with things like "wine" instead. (Proof)
Now, despite the fact that I understood the concept from the brown/red and salmon/coral/pink examples above, the whole "can't see blue as its own color" thing is a Door Into Void for me. Part of me is like "I understand the concept, and the scientist knows what he's talking about, so it must be true." But the rest of me is ANGRY. It's like "FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE! There is NO fucking way anybody could mistake blue for black! Not the really light shades, anyway. Robin's egg blue, pastel blue, those have NOTHING in common with black!" It's not just a reaction, either. It comes from an utter inability to carry the understood concept that far. I can't even BEGIN to see from that point of view, and yet I trust the source and understand the underlying concept, so my logic is fighting my emotions.
So in one sense, given the vehemence of my Door Into Void reactions, I can kind of understand now what Republicans and other bigots must be feeling. They, too, have run into reality tunnels so alien to them that they are filled with terror and rage, and instead of trying to understand those reality tunnels, they just go with their emotions.
That's where I differ from them, though. If I reacted that way to every Door Into Void I came across, without trying to educate myself and try to understand that point of view, I would be a total slave to Door Into Void for every fucking thing, because the reality tunnels that are alien to me could fill a whole set of encyclopedias. Trying to understand those points of view is, in the case of some things, impossible. Even after 30 years of life, I still feel fear and rage at certain things. I have a number of Doors Into Void that I still barely understand and therefore raise my hackles at whenever I come across them.
And I will admit, there are a few that I don't even try to understand because they're so fucking stupid to me. (Those will be marked "Sans deconstruction" in the following list.)
Things that fit the "door into void" metaphor for me, and still elude my understanding:
* Republican "values"
* Racism
* Sexism
* The mindset that allows people to think that fluoride in the water is dangerous. (Sans deconstruction.) This one makes me particularly enraged.
* Anti-vaccine nutbags (Sans deconstruction.) Another one that makes me especially angry.
* Homophobia/biphobia/transphobia
* Fat shaming
* Slut shaming
* People who treat autistic people like shit or worse. (Sans deconstruction.)
There are probably others I've forgotten.
So in short, if I react vehemently to something you say, you've basically stumbled on what is basically a memetic landmine for me.
Now don't confuse any of these metaphors with my anger at zealous vegans, that's just my irritation at the behavior of them and other modeltheists.
This was cross-posted from http://alex-antonin.dreamwidth.org/226006.html
You can comment either here or there.
1. "Blocked tunnel"
2. "Door into void"
Let me explain. First, imagine a mountain road going through a tunnel, and you can see the road coming out the tunnel again on the other side from where you are. That part of the metaphor symbolizes traveling through finding an idea, learning about it, and coming at the end to an understanding of it. But now imagine that the tunnel is blocked. Because you can see the road coming out the other side, that means you can see the implications of understanding that reality tunnel. But you can't get through, you have something blocking you from understanding. Some science stuff is that way for me. I understand the importance and some of the things, and understand some of the consequences and implications, even though I don't understand the details. Trying to think of an example... *ponders* Okay, quantum physics. I understand some of the basics, enough to see some implications, but I don't understand the math and stuff of how it all works. Maybe not the best example, but the best I can think of off the top of my head.
I suppose I could still use "against a wall" for certain math concepts where I can't see past the blockage at all, if something is so over my head that someone trying to explain it just sounds like they're speaking gibberish.
"Door into void" is similar to "blocked tunnel." First, imagine everything in the "blocked tunnel" except that the tunnel is NOT blocked. I can walk into the tunnel, thinking I can get out the other end. Then suddenly I find a door, and open it, start stepping in, only to stop in horror as I find it is a door into outer space, like something out of the Twilight Zone. I use this metaphor to represent reality tunnels that are utterly alien to me. But more than that: reality tunnels that terrify me and anger me, like their very existence is so anathema to me that I feel not only bewilderment but also rage, like it has personally offended me.
But even though I feel fear and rage at these things, I still try to understand them because I want to understand other people.
A great example of "door into void" came to me the other day, that can be used to explain the feelings involved. Okay, so Amy was watching this thing about how human perception of color can affect them, and one bit was about how some cultures can't differentiate certain colors from others like we can. Like, a culture where red is considered a shade of brown and so when asked to tell what square is different when there's a red square in a bunch of brown squares, they stare at the testers like they're stupid and are like "Duh, they're all brown!" It's the same idea as how a lot of men in Western culture percieve coral and salmon as pink and can't tell them apart because of it. At least, not until they are given a name for that color.
Well, I had already heard of all that and understood it; it was a bit of a blocked tunnel to me, because I didn't get all the details, but I understood it a well enough. However... she added something to it, from what she'd seen and heard on this show. This scientist had added that one culture of people couldn't differentiate blue from black. When asked what color the daytime sky was, they said "black." What's more, Homer - writer of the Iliad and Odyessey - never mentions blue when describing the Aegean Sea, even though the Aegean is bright motherfucking blue, a beautiful blue. Which shows that the ancient Greeks didn't recognize blue as its own color either! Homer described the Aegean with things like "wine" instead. (Proof)
Now, despite the fact that I understood the concept from the brown/red and salmon/coral/pink examples above, the whole "can't see blue as its own color" thing is a Door Into Void for me. Part of me is like "I understand the concept, and the scientist knows what he's talking about, so it must be true." But the rest of me is ANGRY. It's like "FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE! There is NO fucking way anybody could mistake blue for black! Not the really light shades, anyway. Robin's egg blue, pastel blue, those have NOTHING in common with black!" It's not just a reaction, either. It comes from an utter inability to carry the understood concept that far. I can't even BEGIN to see from that point of view, and yet I trust the source and understand the underlying concept, so my logic is fighting my emotions.
So in one sense, given the vehemence of my Door Into Void reactions, I can kind of understand now what Republicans and other bigots must be feeling. They, too, have run into reality tunnels so alien to them that they are filled with terror and rage, and instead of trying to understand those reality tunnels, they just go with their emotions.
That's where I differ from them, though. If I reacted that way to every Door Into Void I came across, without trying to educate myself and try to understand that point of view, I would be a total slave to Door Into Void for every fucking thing, because the reality tunnels that are alien to me could fill a whole set of encyclopedias. Trying to understand those points of view is, in the case of some things, impossible. Even after 30 years of life, I still feel fear and rage at certain things. I have a number of Doors Into Void that I still barely understand and therefore raise my hackles at whenever I come across them.
And I will admit, there are a few that I don't even try to understand because they're so fucking stupid to me. (Those will be marked "Sans deconstruction" in the following list.)
Things that fit the "door into void" metaphor for me, and still elude my understanding:
* Republican "values"
* Racism
* Sexism
* The mindset that allows people to think that fluoride in the water is dangerous. (Sans deconstruction.) This one makes me particularly enraged.
* Anti-vaccine nutbags (Sans deconstruction.) Another one that makes me especially angry.
* Homophobia/biphobia/transphobia
* Fat shaming
* Slut shaming
* People who treat autistic people like shit or worse. (Sans deconstruction.)
There are probably others I've forgotten.
So in short, if I react vehemently to something you say, you've basically stumbled on what is basically a memetic landmine for me.
Now don't confuse any of these metaphors with my anger at zealous vegans, that's just my irritation at the behavior of them and other modeltheists.
This was cross-posted from http://alex-antonin.dreamwidth.org/226006.html
You can comment either here or there.