HOME | POLITICS | SPORTS | LIFE | SCI/TECH | OPEDS | HELPFUL TIPS
|
Nov. 13, 2005 Wonder of wonders, Fred Smith strikes again! His recent article, "How Does An Atheist Say, "I Love You"?" is a good, strong article in defense of celebrating the wonders of nature and I heartily agree with him up to a point. Fred's recommendation to you to read the article, "Teaching Kids to Yawn at Counterfeit Wonder" is also well worth reading. There is only one big hitch in the deal. There is only one big fly in the ointment. The hitch is that humans are simply natural poets. The use of poetic metaphor is a talent and a need in humans who are gifted in this talent. Science can't attack poetry and keep a straight face, and science can't eliminate inspiration without killing the human race. Indeed, where religionists denounce science and scientists denounce poetry the ominous big fly lays its big eggs and big maggots breed in the corpse. But only in a deadened immobilized mind-body-person can this ever happen. The living mind-body-person moves freely amongst the realm of poetry and the realm of natural science. You will find the living mind-body-person scuttling around in the library not being riveted either by one scientific specialty or by any special kind of art or poetry or whatever. Freedom to move is at the heart of every living mind-body-person. In the mobile and free living mind-body-person there simply is no crack for the big fly to drop a big egg into. The flaw in Dale McGowan's approach is illustrated by his example, "-Look at the ring on your finger. As the core collapses in a dying star, the inrushing gravitational wave slams into the outrushing wave from the collapse. In that moment only, as a star dies, gold is formed." What's wrong with that? Well plenty is wrong with it. I find no error in the science, however. The error is in the pedagogy. Why? Well, a professional astrophysicist can understand this explanation, but most parents aren't astrophysicists and they can't understand those three sentences well enough to explain the creation of gold to a curious eight year old. Also, most eight year olds don't wear golden finger rings. McGowan's own language suggests I am right in saying his appeal is only to grownups. To inspire and teach a child you have to touch the child at his or her level. I proved this once quite spectacularly when I taught a nine year old boy to read in less than two hours. The other teachers had gone to college and studied how to teach, but they couldn't help this boy. They were flabbergasted that an untrained teacher could do what they couldn't do. To help this boy I simply realized the truth just stated. To teach a child you have to reach the child at his or her level. I recall mysself being four, five, and six, and spending hours delighting in the sounds of my mother reading me short poems. I also had a gift for nature study and science. But my mother didn't know a lot about science. She shared with me her love of poetry. She taught me a lot that she knew. What's wrong with that? Since she wasn't very wise in science, the alternative would have been for her to teach me neither poetry nor science! In time I learned to enjoy science, and indeed it is fascinating to know a little bit about how scientists think that gold was created! In a few years the scientific explanation well may change! The popular metaphors that have stood for centuries still stand, however. These metaphors include the ones in the famous spiritual poems of Rumi and other mystics. Many words in fact are metaphors that have been used for ages and ages. These pack as much wonder as the wonders of nature, because poetic human language IS as much a part of nature as dancing bees and singing birds! Many words we use are the creation of poets. For example, the word "foot" relates to what something stands on as well as to a certain linear measurement that first was defined by the actual length of a certain person's foot. Another example is the use of the word "head" to mean that which leads or guides an object (such as an arrow) in flight. Humans also use their "heads" to guide themselves and others. As a third example, the American corn "belt" isn't made of leather and doesn't have a buckle, but still we understand the use of that old word. Language itself is a wonder! This is why I say, "Error Message: The Device Isn't Ready." Each side of the argument is being really simplistic and not studying the human being and the human brain sufficiently in depth. Each side of the argument is like one butterfly wing detached from the hapless insect. Folks keep on murdering to dissect. When will hapless humanity ever learn to integrate the child's developing brain? A child of four, five, six, and seven is learning to feel, think, and act in the way the adult will. Do you remember the famous poet William Wordsworth's phrase, "The child is father to the man."? Well, Wordsworth hit the nail on the head. But very few young children are going to understand astrophysics. Dale McGowan is going to appeal to slick collegiates and older adults who have totally forgotten their own childhoods. That's why I say "Error Message: The Device Isn't Ready." It does not compute. It does not compute. Red flags are flying. Red lights are blinking. Loud and wild sirens are filling the night with alarum. To go along with Ginsburg's "HOWL" I pen the poem "WAIL." It happens that I've been working on this integration problam for more than forty years. I also have been a professional science teacher and a professional poet and songwriter. In these specialties my years of remuneration were not many, I'll admit, but I was a professional money maker in both these fields. Then I devoted myself to a study of spirituality. I pretty much know my onions on this one. I have respect for Carl Sagan and other talented popularizers of science. I have respect for Fred Smith and other talented humanists. I think however that many religious persons read poetry as fact, and they confuse a poet's metaphor with a scientist's factual report. Scientists also tend to be confused about the poet's intelligence and the meaning-making behavior in humans. Because of this chronic confusion, there is chronic confusion about language itself. There is chroniic confusion about philosophy and truth. This confusion produces half-dead fanatics who want to eliminate or over-ride the truths of science and there are half-dead fanatics who want to eliminate or over-ride the truths of poetry. In each case, existence replies, "Error Message: The Device Isn't Ready" The library stacks are as vast and diverse as the great outdoors. Science needs to explore yet further, things like the dancing of bees, the singing of birds, and the poesy of inspired humans. Dammit. Humanity IS a part of nature. ------------ About the author: John L. Waters is an amateur psychologist and independent researcher on self-healing, integration, and problem-solving. John has created art, music and songs, prose and poetry, and helped people solve a difficult problem. For more information, read: John's letters of recommendation: http://members.tripod.com/johnlwaters/recommendations about John's self-healing and integration: http://members.tripod.com/johnlwaters/index.html about John's independent research: http://www.humboldt.edu/~jlw47/index.html about John's seeking an agent or a publisher: http://www.writers.net/writers/39295 Email: blueguntwo@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
||||||
|
|
|||||||
|
