Author Topic: A Cioranesque Approach to Studying Mathematics  (Read 518 times)

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Nation of One

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A Cioranesque Approach to Studying Mathematics
« on: April 10, 2017, 04:06:04 pm »
Study mathematics as a pretext for doing nothing.

This came to me after turning the ground over for the garden, the small flower garden for The Mother, that is, not the garden that is quite a long walk from the unit, the community garden where we are permitted to grow tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers.

Anyway, I guess I am really out of shape.  I get physically tired quickly.  I'm not the worker I used to be.  Far from it.  I have become shamelessly lazy, as a matter of fact.

So, when I go to lay back down on the floor where I had left the textbook, the notebook, the pencils, and eraser, I experienced such a relaxed feeling, and I understood that my study of mathematics does not have to serve some kind of purpose.  In fact, having a purpose might just ruin it for me, making it feel like work.

Maybe that is what appealed to me about Cioran's prose.  He was not trying to apologize for his character defects.

I would like to develop the courage to overcome guilt and shame.

In the animal kingdom, there is a great deal of laying around and doing nothing.

Maybe, when I lay on the floor do go through [mathematics] exercises, I want to be able to acknowledge that I am doing nothing, to actually promote this as a good thing.

Maybe I am committed to studying mathematics because I am committed to doing nothing.

Maybe I am like the fictional Ignatius Reilly from Toole's A Confederacy of Dunces, with the main difference besides my being a skinny version, is that I tend to have a little more insight into my ridiculousness.

Whereas Schopenhauer took himself very seriously, I can only take myself with a grain a salt.

With all that is going on in this world, the things that I am concerned with seem rather pathetic.

I suspect that I may be not quite right in the head.   Is it wrong for me to be so detached and self-absorbed?   Some people escape reality with drugs.  I escape reality with math.

There are those who have operation where their colon is removed.  Then they have to move their bowels into a bag that is attached.   Schopenhauer noted that we do not appreciate our health until it is gone.

To be blunt, we do not think to appreciate our own a-s-s-h-o-l-e-s when they are in working order.

The slightest malfunction in our physical organism can alter our entire universe in devastating ways.  I suspect that this is a big part of the horror that Raul and Holden discuss, the utter vulnerability of all who are born into this world as creatures with veins and nerve endings.

« Last Edit: April 10, 2017, 07:32:42 pm by Raskolnikov »
Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~

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raul

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Re: A Cioranesque Approach to Studying Mathematics
« Reply #1 on: April 11, 2017, 04:14:49 pm »
Tovarich Raskolnikov,
"Study mathematics as a pretext for doing nothing." Doing nothing is better than, let´s say, these multinationals making Congolese villagers work 15-16 hours in the mines extracting coltan, minerals used for cell phones and high powered weapons, and paying them three euros.I suppose I am also an accomplice in the destruction of a Congolese village beause I have a cell phone. Once again take care of yourself. Raúl

Nation of One

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Another of a Long Series of Great Accidents
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2021, 12:47:30 am »
I had purchased "fresh" fish (remember the six sacred words?) which was already bad, so rather than throw it away I will cut it up and bury deep in Black Dirt of the garden, the Fortress of Solitude in this Twilight Zone Land of Confusion Dirty Jersey.

The next time you find yourself preparing to throw out spoiled fish or fish remains, stop for a second and reconsider. Fish makes a very good natural fertilizer for nitrogen and trace minerals. In fact, it works so well that many Native American horticulturalists buried a fish at the base of each crop plant.

https://www.gardeningchannel.com/use-fish-scraps-as-garden-fertilizer/


How to Use Fish Scraps as Fertilizer


You can grind your fish parts up to make your own fertilizer. We recommend using a hand grinder or stick blender rather than your kitchen blender. It’s easier to clean and can be used as gardening tool and not the kitchen. Then work it into the soil, or you can bury chunks of fish at the roots of your plants. Be aware, however, that dogs and some wild animals are fond of strong smells, and may dig up your garden if you use fish as fertilizer. Be sure to bury it deeply, or fence in your garden.

Things They Will Never Tell YouArthur Schopenhauer has been the most radical and defiant of all troublemakers.

Gorticide @ Nothing that is so, is so DOT edu

~ Tabak und Kaffee Süchtigen ~