Emergent.. See

 Carolyn,  I had never truly  thought  about  “ Emergence” as a scientific process, and a calculable process, at that,  until your last blog . Now I see that it's something  even more significant  since technology isn’t  far short of getting most all of us in immediate touch via mass media and social media. It gives one a lot to ponder. 

  In fact, 




if we are all socially networked are we in danger of becoming cultural Borg or ant-like creatures?  We certainly already see the Pied Piper power and effects of  worldwide lowest common denominator  popular culture - Gangnam Style anyone ?? If we can all be reached at once can we all be moved and manipulated at once as well?  There’s an astronomical amount of effort, money and sophisticated advertising methodology  pouring out and playing out there every moment striving to do exactly that. As Rod Serling   once asked:

 " How can you put out a meaningful drama when every fifteen minutes proceedings are interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits with toilet paper ?"

Alas, Mr. Serling made that observation back in a kinder, gentler time. Most televised presentations are interrupted every 7 or 8 minutes now. Or they have morphed  into " infotainment" etc., The sum can also be lesser than its parts, I guess.

 It’s not about steam-rolling free will but simply side-stepping or hot-wiring it and appealing to baser instincts. Check  how much the political players spent on media in the last election,  wherever you are.  In the U.S., Mitt Romney, in a campaign that was large on bankrolls but small on platform specifics,  came awfully close to simply buying himself a presidency.  Mind you,  I’m certainly not ashamed of my basic instincts, they’re the ones that keep me alive and fed and clean. I trust them implicitly . They do provide daily gratification, whether we admit it or not. They can also be a weak link and are far from pander-proof.  

 I especially enjoyed the part in Wikipedia about Emergence in Humanity ( Hey… that’s us ! )   The mention of traffic roundabouts as an example of emergent behavior caught my eye . I've seen it in action both here and over there ( i. e. Europe ) . Many folks native to here simply can’t  get the hang of it.   I think part of it , for me at least, came from the  realization recently, as I was throttling into a roundabout on my bike, that the surrounding drivers, judging by the looks on their faces ( as a lifelong motorcycle rider I instantly try to read the faces of those auto drivers around me who have the power, at that moment at least,  to end my life) had no idea what to do. “Step, away from the other drivers”  says the voice  of self-preservation within.

.   BTW that’s  me on the left ( above ) and my son, Colin. 

I am also sad to hear that O’Ryan and Scott are moving on. I'm not sad for them, of course, but sad for us.  We got in to see them “ on the ground floor” as it were.  There’s an emergence aspect at work here too methinks. Scott’s planetscape descriptions in The Phylogeny of Atropos 1-16-C  came back to my mind recently when I was on about Venus ( Boxing Day entry) 

O’Ryan’s The Serpent Bearer world definitely caught me up. I'm glad I was able to spend some substantial time in it  from an editorial perch.  Good luck to the both of you. You have inspired my meager  but hopefully emergent efforts as a writer.  Again, I still, and probably always will, see Cyphares  XIV  when I hear ELP’s  "Lucky Man".

Both writers confirm what I referred to in my very first appearance here, i.e. - that the muse is alive and well. 


Okay, it's the riddle thing now. 

Carolyn, I kinda believe yours is either a lawnmower or a Zamboni - this one is very tough. At one point I was almost convinced it was Santa wearing inline skates.  My last item was/were thumbtacks.  Submitted for your  approval -  this week's riddle:



Warm friend in the morning
Odious enemy that night
Amazement knocks them off 
Bad partnerships are sartorially obvious  

Don

P.S. I truly enjoyed the White House response to the Death Star petition late last week.