Today, as a change, I'm going to offer a couple of insights tangential to yesterday's post about pattern integrity. Both of them are videos from the TED website. This site is worth exploring as it includes videos covering a wide range of topics, many of which will interest theologians and preachers.
The use of hands as an example of pattern interity reminded me of the video The Art of Collecting Stories by Jonathan Harris. When I first saw this video I was rather bored by the first half but after the first 11 minutes it takes off in a completely unexpected direction. The artist collects fractions of stories that afford us glimpses of a range of lives that are intensely evocative and somehow transcend their specific backgrounds.
I also commented upon the dificulties attendant upon being inside a system looking out. The video The Design of the Universe is George Smoot's account of trying to understand the structure of the universe. Several times the video touches upon the perspective of looking at the universe from a position within it. Just like Harris, Smoot attempts to observe the universe as it is but this time as a scientist using technology and modelling as methods.
The TED site is a creative commons that aims to share its participants' 18 minute talks as widely as possible, making a contribution to our understanding of the world. It is worth reading about their purpose. I have speculated as to whether an ecumenical equivalent might be a possibility. It would be a massive undertaking but even if it never became a reality it might be a worthwhile exercise to imagine what it might achieve.
Comments