tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102937856333775840.post7902825113712961957..comments2023-12-23T19:04:18.739-05:00Comments on The Crow's Eye: Responding to DefinitionsJack Crowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07499087036876745723noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102937856333775840.post-91998052966351669972010-10-26T12:16:14.560-04:002010-10-26T12:16:14.560-04:00And since I was able to translate all that jargon ...<i>And since I was able to translate all that jargon into regular English, I've come to the conclusion that anything which can be said or written in technical jargon can and ought to be written in everyday language, especially when it comes to ideas you want to share.*<br /><br />But, for people who need to believe they're in possession of secret keys and magic subscriptions, I suppose this just won't do...</i><br /><br />Pretty much how I see it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102937856333775840.post-59470471510382259012010-10-25T21:36:00.113-04:002010-10-25T21:36:00.113-04:00Weldon,
I'm wary of standing in for all of an...Weldon,<br /><br />I'm wary of standing in for all of anarchism, although I appreciate your discomfort with theory. <br /><br />It was Rosa Lichtenstein who really allowed me to take all the mumbo jumbo and see it for what it is (though I imagine she'd have strong words for my anarchist tendencies):<br /><br />Obfuscation. <br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I actually got quite a bit out of Deleuze, Guattari and Foucalt - but I had to spend more time than any person ought to translating all that Heideggerian language down into everyday usage English. <br /><br />An example: "body-without-organs" from "Anti-Oedipus." First, the authors don't really explain what they mean. Second, they just plunge into it and start using it willy-nilly. Third, the term is opaque as hell if you don't have the very specific cultural, academic and (especially) Gallic reference frames. But, after I spent all that time trying to understand what they were saying, it was kind of useful. A "body-without-organs" is the picture a person carries of his or herself, around in the head. It's ego, but with a twist; its fixity on self-as-spirit betrays a real fragility of persona that cannot fundamentally accept its own guts and goo.<br /><br />The problem with that sort of language, though, is that it trades out broad comprehensibility for very narrow and very context dependent specificity. I imagine this is very useful in fields with which I have no experience - physics, linguistics, etc. But when dealing with meanings you are actually trying to communicate to actual other persons? <br /><br />What a fucking colossal obstruction to understanding, no?<br /><br />So, unless I really, really cannot find the right everyday language term, including no small amount of vulgarity, I just use common English.<br /><br />And since I was able to translate all that jargon into regular English, I've come to the conclusion that anything which can be said or written in technical jargon can and ought to be written in everyday language, especially when it comes to ideas you want to share.*<br /><br />But, for people who need to believe they're in possession of secret keys and magic subscriptions, I suppose this just won't do...<br /><br />Respect,<br /><br />Jack<br /><br />* - this doesn't mean everything a room full of physicists say to each other, even in everyday English, will be understood by those without the training and field focus...Jack Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07499087036876745723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102937856333775840.post-85213175890506135032010-10-25T17:27:34.969-04:002010-10-25T17:27:34.969-04:00Jonathon: I have a really difficult time making se...Jonathon: I have a really difficult time making sense of political theory. It's a lot easier when someone like Jack, not that there are many of those, offers up comprehensible interpretations or concrete examples of arenas in which I'm basically incompetent. I was a card-carrying Socialist in my younger days, and I gave up on that because I couldn't figure out what the fuck my comrades were talking about half the time. I have the same weakness with abstract math, and I have no idea why in either instance.Weldon Bergerhttp://www.btcnews.com/btcnewsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102937856333775840.post-26810477192994014192010-10-25T08:30:35.342-04:002010-10-25T08:30:35.342-04:00I get migraines and visual artifacts. Staring at a...I get migraines and visual artifacts. Staring at a computer screen doesn't help. So, sometimes I have to stop myself from peering into pixels for hours on end. But, I'm weak. So, I took the blog out of public view for a few days to reduce my temptation to sit at this chair for the greater portion of my day, responding to comments and pouring through the blogroll.<br /><br />Thanks for the well wishes.<br /><br />Respect,<br /><br />JackJack Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07499087036876745723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102937856333775840.post-671929982016092452010-10-25T05:12:47.003-04:002010-10-25T05:12:47.003-04:00Weldon: ideologically dyslexic?
I was wondering w...Weldon: ideologically dyslexic?<br /><br />I was wondering what happened to you, Mister Crow. I am also glad you are back.Jonathan Versenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17920597011270157903noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102937856333775840.post-37196318901179257772010-10-24T12:55:40.414-04:002010-10-24T12:55:40.414-04:00Really appreciate the kind words and the welcome. ...Really appreciate the kind words and the welcome. More of substance later; have family stuff right now.<br /><br />Respect,<br /><br />JackJack Crowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07499087036876745723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102937856333775840.post-28275285950785064052010-10-24T12:43:45.763-04:002010-10-24T12:43:45.763-04:00Thank you, Jack. You've made a personally diff...Thank you, Jack. You've made a personally difficult effort worthwhile for me. <br /><br />I particularly appreciate that you posted here. The Crow's Eye has a nice feel to it, like a workshop or similar with an open door. I'd have missed your comment at SMBIVA; I've run out of patience for the hectoring spite thrown at SMBIVA's neighbors.Al Schumannnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102937856333775840.post-28921511941645132042010-10-24T11:40:55.605-04:002010-10-24T11:40:55.605-04:00Indeed, Jack. Glad you're back.Indeed, Jack. Glad you're back.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102937856333775840.post-65098986126240589752010-10-24T09:11:18.618-04:002010-10-24T09:11:18.618-04:00Excellent post. Glad you're back.Excellent post. Glad you're back.BDRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06557941385560728052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9102937856333775840.post-16803276175314737052010-10-24T01:13:55.792-04:002010-10-24T01:13:55.792-04:00Man, I love reading your stuff. I dropped out of a...Man, I love reading your stuff. I dropped out of anarchist boot camp because I'm ideologically dyslexic, so it's nice to have a comprehensible resource to turn to. I'm also happy to see you back on the air.<br /><br />I'm writing a post that I now recognize to deal with one of the elements in play here, which is the inability of authority to recognize ... well, lots of stuff, but in particular critiques of authority. I think you might find the source material pretty entertaining--it's a back and forth I had with former AOL honcho Barry Schuler about whether or not US internet providers should voluntarily block their customers' access to Wikileaks. And nonono, I am not joking. Here's his post, you can scroll through the comments to see the increasingly odd call-and-response thing we do.<br /><br />http://barryschuler.posterous.com/will-the-internet-be-regulated<br /><br />Again, good to see the crow aloft.Weldon Bergerhttp://www.btcnews.com/btcnewsnoreply@blogger.com