Mighty Infinity

Stopped over at Seth Godin’s blog tonight and was struck by his post on infinity. He writes:

Infinite isn’t what it used to be. There used to be an infinite number of stars, and probably an infinite number of kids in high school who didn’t like you very much, but that was about it when it came to a typical human being’s interaction with the uncountable.

But now, infinite is everywhere.

It got me thinking about how “infinite” is just one of the words we use to describe that which we can’t quite hold, contain, control, manage. Infinite is God/gods, “a lot”, “no way!”, “awe”, “legion”, 八百万(yaoyorozu). It’s that which we long to simplify, find a way to engage and understand-have faith in, believe in.

In his post Seth describes “search”:

Search makes the infinite finite (at least for a while). With search, we turn the infinite selection on Amazon into a nearly manageable finite selection. Except search (no matter where you look) is pretty lame, and it doesn’t really turn infinite collections into manageable choices. 

He’s right. Search is linear-a direct connection between subject and object. Search ignores the open living system, in-your-face chaotic complexity of the infinite for the comfort of acquiring, having something-now. Search is the real opiate for the masses. Search gives you what you want and only (or nearly) what you want. My brother out in LA complains that internet searching is destroying his once (but still formidable) encyclopedic grasp of all things cinematic.

Is it possible, though, to hold the one and the many and all that connects and binds them (and us) in all of their simultaneous brilliance? That is what I’m searching for. That and Gary Snyder’s new book on Amazon.

Tags: capacity, complexity, infinite, search function

Oil Rules?!

This is the first installment of Chaos+Complexity News. These are news items that we believe reveal our fragile interconnection and point to a real need for changing the way we think and act in the world. Enjoy…?

My friend and colleague Norio Suzuki has an excellent article by Michael Klare on his blog at Integral Japan. This article is the most lucid discussion of the complex web of oil-related dynamics complicating the present and shaping our future that I have read. Here is a sample:

Oil at $110 a barrel. Gasoline at $3.35 (or more) per gallon. Diesel fuel at $4 per gallon. Independent truckers forced off the road. Home heating oil rising to unconscionable price levels. Jet fuel so expensive that three low-cost airlines stopped flying in the past few weeks. This is just a taste of the latest energy news, signaling a profound change in how all of us, in this country and around the world, are going to live — trends that, so far as anyone can predict, will only become more pronounced as energy supplies dwindle and the global struggle over their allocation intensifies.

Read the rest at TomDispatch or here, on Norio’s blog. 

Tags: global energy, peak oil