Apologies for the long silence over the last week or so. I had a long and very important family event during which the extended clan had one of its very rare gatherings, and that took priority over everything else. I'd hoped to get this up a bit earlier but frankly it took me a few days to recover from getting drunk with my cousins every night for days on end.
Apr 6, 2023·edited Apr 6, 2023Liked by John Carter
Scientists have been trying to quantify the enormous air/water interface area within white-caps and breaking waves. The numbers are needed to estimate CO2 exchange between ocean and atmosphere. Apparently, there is a non-linear connection to wind speed.
Anyway, I think knowledge and truth are also like fractals. The closer we look, the more complicated things get. Grand Unified Theory may be a pipe dream.
It's one of the many rabbit holes in the global warming saga. I don't think they really know, but total effective ocean area of 2 to 4 times the simple area seems to be estimated for purposes of CO2 transfer.
After the nuclear weapons tests ended, there were some real measurements that indicated the rate of air/ocean radio isotope exchange. They try to match those data with models that include white cap foam, etc. and the accepted models seem to have area ratios of 2 to 4. So I think there is some basis for the numbers. Probably they are not wrong by 100x.
"Perhaps the Norse imagined that the world is a tree simply because they were surrounded by forest. On the other hand, I find it very interesting that the world-tree myths seem to be particularly prevalent in the Siberian and Aryan peoples – those who live, or originated, in the North."
I propose that the experience of preliterate peoples was much more direct. In a quiet space, stand erect but with legs slightly bent, and imagine yourself to be a tree. Imagine your roots going far into the earth and imagine your branches going up into the heavens. If you are already sensitive to the movements of chi/energy/whatever, you will immediately be able to draw energy from both above and below. If you are not sensitive to these movements and perform this exercise regularly (standing or in the lotus position) you will eventually become sensitive.
Interestingly, Yggdrasil is mentioned in a mantra I developed precisely to quickly draw energy vertically from above and below.
Great post, and great use of mathematical analogy. I have mentioned elsewhere that the realms are interpenetrating. Regarding the realms that various religions speak of (heavens and hells) imagine all of the flows of energy across social networks described as data flows, presented the way an AI might see them. This is a vastly multidimensional space whose broad features are organized along the lines that are described by ancients (at least from a certain angle). When you can see the world this way, you can discern its laws, which leads to avenues of exploration that our elites seem determined to block.
The world is not round, it's not even a 2-manifold, it is vastly higher-dimensional.
I've done meditations much like that, and can confirm the sensation you describe. Indeed, that could also be a source of the world tree model. As could intuitions about higher dimensions. I almost went on to discuss the Earth's path through space, the extension through the time dimension - post got too long though lol.
Reminds me of the trippier parts of the Elder Scrolls series. World is a manifold and metaphysical wheel hub, other realms fill the gaps between the spokes. The universe is built on information in the form of tonal notes that can be acted on. But to Joe-NPC it is just Earth with elves and lizard people.
Welcome back, and no apologies needed for living a genuine life.
I do greatly enjoy it when an author can capture my attention for an extended voyage through ideas which are rarely mentioned in the average day's conversations.
Glad you enjoyed it. I sort of feel like I should be writing about currency collapse or Trump's arrest or whatever, but frankly I also kinda like taking a break from thinking about the depressing mundanities of our decomposing world order.
Please keep these kinds of voyages coming, they really help remind me that all the crises of politics and society are just temporary annoyances. Inspiring writing like this opens my perceptions to new insights, will be something that changes how I see and think about the world. These are things I'll carry with me long past the daily "the world is ending" signs.
Apr 6, 2023·edited Apr 6, 2023Liked by John Carter
I've often wondered what really sustains our writhing molten dynamo at the center of our world (or disc if you're one of them). Official answers seem, well, lacking.
The changes to our magnetosphere resulting from degradation to that plasma root ball do seem a bit more important that say 'rising' CO2 levels at a terrifying .04%.
I will don my masks and take more mystery injections from felons while I ponder these questions.
You'd think the gradual collapse of the magnetosphere would get more attention but nah. Can't be linked to human activity, no matter how implausibly, meaning it's politically useless to the parasites.
The standard answer to the dynamo is that the energy from the Earth's rotation drives it. However, that's just the current model.
It means we're being bombarded by energetic corpuscles of galactic radiation leading to a strange sort of pronounced mental static and ear buzz. Strange energies.
Hmm. Long ago, I learned in geology class that it was radioactive decay, powering convection currents. Isn't the core itself supposed to be solid, though?
Metaphors all the way down, indeed. Reality is manifold. As Eliphas Levi said, analogies are the stuff of faith and the infinite. Reason and logic are not enough. Wonder and mystery will always be a part of life on earth.
There has been a discussion about which faculty, reason or imagination, should have a leading role and which should be subordinate. In Blake's The Four Zoas, there is a wild scene where Los (imagination) compels his reasoning spectre (Urizen) to strike the anvil of Golganzooza alternate with him subordinating the reasoning faculty to the creative force of the imagination. Los and Urizen are only two of the Four Zoas. The others are Tharmas (instinct) and Luvah (lover).
In the mornings, I like to watch the sunlight climb down the sides of the mountains visible from my house. In the evenings, I like to watch the darkness climb up the mountains.
My brother, who recently died suddenly and unexpectedly, was attempting to formulate a different way of looking at various aspects of physics, such as gravity and photons. So he was pretty left-brainy. He was also fascinated by Yggdrasil, and once featured it on a totem pole he built. I think he would've enjoyed reading this.
It's also very appealing to this lifelong Terry Pratchett fan.
Apr 6, 2023·edited Apr 6, 2023Liked by John Carter
'When I look at the Earth not just with my right eye but also with my left, which is to say not only with my literal-minded left hemisphere but also with my poetically inclined right, our planet resembles an electric Yggdrasil at least as much as it does a dead ball of rock.' This excellent sentence tells me you have been doing just the right amount of just the right kind of meditation.
Welcome back, what an interesting, dare I say refreshing, take on a topic that most would consider quite exhausted or contrived by now.
"A sphere is a geometrical shape, an unchanging abstraction in the Platonic realm of forms. The Earth by contrast is best thought of not as a noun, but as a verb. It isn’t a timeless thing that just sits there unchanging in space. It is an ongoing process, a continuous Earthing, becoming itself in every moment. Not only is its fractal surface infinitely varied, that surface is in constant flux."
Bergson and Whitehead would approve vigorously! This logic can be applied to any organism or object, not just that thing we call Earth or its biosphere.
Wonderful post. Thank you very much. Made me feel connected to something larger than Trump's arrest etc. It's one of the reasons I still do any astrology, not highly structured precise stuff but just tracking/looking at planetary movements/cycles and positions etc; the feeling of being part of an immense extraordinary complexity.
This is one of the psychological benefits of astrology that is often overlooked. There's also the sense of historical connection as it is embedded in an ancient tradition. Modern psychology can't say the same, and is moreover quite arid in comparison to the poetic richness of astrological imagery.
On further reflection by my subconscious I must say this psychedelic history of the fractal magnetosphere is one of the most relevant I’ve seen. Reflected in the sizzle of our electromagnetic beings.
Apologies for the long silence over the last week or so. I had a long and very important family event during which the extended clan had one of its very rare gatherings, and that took priority over everything else. I'd hoped to get this up a bit earlier but frankly it took me a few days to recover from getting drunk with my cousins every night for days on end.
😎
Scientists have been trying to quantify the enormous air/water interface area within white-caps and breaking waves. The numbers are needed to estimate CO2 exchange between ocean and atmosphere. Apparently, there is a non-linear connection to wind speed.
Anyway, I think knowledge and truth are also like fractals. The closer we look, the more complicated things get. Grand Unified Theory may be a pipe dream.
Thanks for the thoughtful article.
They're really trying to quantify that? It sounds intractable even in principle.
It's one of the many rabbit holes in the global warming saga. I don't think they really know, but total effective ocean area of 2 to 4 times the simple area seems to be estimated for purposes of CO2 transfer.
So they just pick whatever area they need to make the projections look appropriately scary, presumably.
After the nuclear weapons tests ended, there were some real measurements that indicated the rate of air/ocean radio isotope exchange. They try to match those data with models that include white cap foam, etc. and the accepted models seem to have area ratios of 2 to 4. So I think there is some basis for the numbers. Probably they are not wrong by 100x.
The fear mongering happens at a higher level.
Fascinating.
Sadly, yes, even when it can be seen at a glance that it's intractable.
good one
"Perhaps the Norse imagined that the world is a tree simply because they were surrounded by forest. On the other hand, I find it very interesting that the world-tree myths seem to be particularly prevalent in the Siberian and Aryan peoples – those who live, or originated, in the North."
I propose that the experience of preliterate peoples was much more direct. In a quiet space, stand erect but with legs slightly bent, and imagine yourself to be a tree. Imagine your roots going far into the earth and imagine your branches going up into the heavens. If you are already sensitive to the movements of chi/energy/whatever, you will immediately be able to draw energy from both above and below. If you are not sensitive to these movements and perform this exercise regularly (standing or in the lotus position) you will eventually become sensitive.
Interestingly, Yggdrasil is mentioned in a mantra I developed precisely to quickly draw energy vertically from above and below.
Great post, and great use of mathematical analogy. I have mentioned elsewhere that the realms are interpenetrating. Regarding the realms that various religions speak of (heavens and hells) imagine all of the flows of energy across social networks described as data flows, presented the way an AI might see them. This is a vastly multidimensional space whose broad features are organized along the lines that are described by ancients (at least from a certain angle). When you can see the world this way, you can discern its laws, which leads to avenues of exploration that our elites seem determined to block.
The world is not round, it's not even a 2-manifold, it is vastly higher-dimensional.
I've done meditations much like that, and can confirm the sensation you describe. Indeed, that could also be a source of the world tree model. As could intuitions about higher dimensions. I almost went on to discuss the Earth's path through space, the extension through the time dimension - post got too long though lol.
Reminds me of the trippier parts of the Elder Scrolls series. World is a manifold and metaphysical wheel hub, other realms fill the gaps between the spokes. The universe is built on information in the form of tonal notes that can be acted on. But to Joe-NPC it is just Earth with elves and lizard people.
Welcome back, and no apologies needed for living a genuine life.
I do greatly enjoy it when an author can capture my attention for an extended voyage through ideas which are rarely mentioned in the average day's conversations.
Glad you enjoyed it. I sort of feel like I should be writing about currency collapse or Trump's arrest or whatever, but frankly I also kinda like taking a break from thinking about the depressing mundanities of our decomposing world order.
Please keep these kinds of voyages coming, they really help remind me that all the crises of politics and society are just temporary annoyances. Inspiring writing like this opens my perceptions to new insights, will be something that changes how I see and think about the world. These are things I'll carry with me long past the daily "the world is ending" signs.
It's necessary for the soul to come up for air now and then, to lift our attention from the daily muck and remind ourselves that there's more to life.
Oh no. No, no, no. ☝️👀👌👍😎
Great artwork, too. Terrific reflection all 'round (sic).
I've often wondered what really sustains our writhing molten dynamo at the center of our world (or disc if you're one of them). Official answers seem, well, lacking.
The changes to our magnetosphere resulting from degradation to that plasma root ball do seem a bit more important that say 'rising' CO2 levels at a terrifying .04%.
I will don my masks and take more mystery injections from felons while I ponder these questions.
You'd think the gradual collapse of the magnetosphere would get more attention but nah. Can't be linked to human activity, no matter how implausibly, meaning it's politically useless to the parasites.
The standard answer to the dynamo is that the energy from the Earth's rotation drives it. However, that's just the current model.
It means we're being bombarded by energetic corpuscles of galactic radiation leading to a strange sort of pronounced mental static and ear buzz. Strange energies.
Hmm. Long ago, I learned in geology class that it was radioactive decay, powering convection currents. Isn't the core itself supposed to be solid, though?
Radioactive decay is what keeps the core hot, but AFAIK the energy that drives the dynamo comes from rotation.
There's also convection currents from the heat, but maybe that's just up in the mantle.
I think convection plays an important role in the dynamo too, actually. Just like in the solar photosphere - you need both rotation and convection.
The dynamo is the magnetic field, right? And I was thinking, as a geologist, of the convection currents in the mantle driving continental drift.
The dynamo is what sustains the magnetic field, yes.
Metaphors all the way down, indeed. Reality is manifold. As Eliphas Levi said, analogies are the stuff of faith and the infinite. Reason and logic are not enough. Wonder and mystery will always be a part of life on earth.
Reason is a powerful tool, but only one tool, and not the most powerful of tools. The most powerful are those tools that are not tools at all.
Imagination as example is innate, more powerful, and yet just a fallible as reason.
Either on its own is limited; imagination and reason - right and left hemispheres - must be combined. Together they are incredibly powerful.
There has been a discussion about which faculty, reason or imagination, should have a leading role and which should be subordinate. In Blake's The Four Zoas, there is a wild scene where Los (imagination) compels his reasoning spectre (Urizen) to strike the anvil of Golganzooza alternate with him subordinating the reasoning faculty to the creative force of the imagination. Los and Urizen are only two of the Four Zoas. The others are Tharmas (instinct) and Luvah (lover).
In the mornings, I like to watch the sunlight climb down the sides of the mountains visible from my house. In the evenings, I like to watch the darkness climb up the mountains.
There is no science without poetry.
Great piece.
What a beautiful essay.
My brother, who recently died suddenly and unexpectedly, was attempting to formulate a different way of looking at various aspects of physics, such as gravity and photons. So he was pretty left-brainy. He was also fascinated by Yggdrasil, and once featured it on a totem pole he built. I think he would've enjoyed reading this.
It's also very appealing to this lifelong Terry Pratchett fan.
I'm sorry to hear about your brother.
I also love Terry Pratchett. Who doesn't?
Believe it or not, there are people unimpressed by his writing. Probably people who take themselves much too seriously ;)
Are these the same people who dislike chocolate and puppies?
There's definitely a lot of overlap.
'When I look at the Earth not just with my right eye but also with my left, which is to say not only with my literal-minded left hemisphere but also with my poetically inclined right, our planet resembles an electric Yggdrasil at least as much as it does a dead ball of rock.' This excellent sentence tells me you have been doing just the right amount of just the right kind of meditation.
Welcome back, what an interesting, dare I say refreshing, take on a topic that most would consider quite exhausted or contrived by now.
"A sphere is a geometrical shape, an unchanging abstraction in the Platonic realm of forms. The Earth by contrast is best thought of not as a noun, but as a verb. It isn’t a timeless thing that just sits there unchanging in space. It is an ongoing process, a continuous Earthing, becoming itself in every moment. Not only is its fractal surface infinitely varied, that surface is in constant flux."
Bergson and Whitehead would approve vigorously! This logic can be applied to any organism or object, not just that thing we call Earth or its biosphere.
"This logic can be applied to any organism or object"
Precisely.
Wonderful post. Thank you very much. Made me feel connected to something larger than Trump's arrest etc. It's one of the reasons I still do any astrology, not highly structured precise stuff but just tracking/looking at planetary movements/cycles and positions etc; the feeling of being part of an immense extraordinary complexity.
This is one of the psychological benefits of astrology that is often overlooked. There's also the sense of historical connection as it is embedded in an ancient tradition. Modern psychology can't say the same, and is moreover quite arid in comparison to the poetic richness of astrological imagery.
I like the jellyfish analogy. A baby jelly sweeping around Daddy/Mummy jelly. Without that bow-shock it'd be a different solar system.
I didn't even get into the heliopause....
Imagine an electro magnetic star engine powering a solar system, perhaps steering by flipping poles very rapidly...😂
🤔
Thanks for coaxing me along on this ride.
It was fun.
Cheers!
Incredible writing that seamlessly fuses poetry and myth with the latest science, without being cheesy and New Age in any way.
Thank you.
I abhor New Age drivel.
On further reflection by my subconscious I must say this psychedelic history of the fractal magnetosphere is one of the most relevant I’ve seen. Reflected in the sizzle of our electromagnetic beings.
Exactly.
Ah so.