No Two Defintions Of 'Relativity' Alike...
May 8th 2008 00:15
If you were to look up the word 'relativity' (or perhaps its root, 'relative') in five dictionaries you would get five different definitions... my own perceptions of 'realitivity' are undeniably unique to me, and I have never thought about it the same way twice as my mind is forever changing. Such is the beauty of perception and language... who do you want to be today? Perhaps you speak another language, in which case your understanding of 'relativity' is informed by a culturo-lingual conditions which are necessarily only accessible to you.
Isn't it wonderful that the use of the word 'relative' is always relative?
Is 'fixity' a less interesting word than 'relativity'? It's usage is just as affected by context and there are similarly as many meanings of it as there are individuals, but instead of aiding the process of appreciation of this phenomenon it emphasises traditional notions of the unchanging, non-fluid and inflexible. I personally prefer to use words which help me articulate my attraction to the wonders of constantly re-evaluating my perception. This is my 'power vocabulary', the lingual tools I use to enhance my self-empowerment.
I am more likely to use 'positive' than 'negative'. I prefer to draw attention to the presence of optimism, no matter how frail, than paint something 'pessimistic' because once I do that I am giving that thing less positive connotations, and I want to emphasise the positive wherever possible. This is not always seen as admirable behaviour... some people get a rush from being scathing, some even thrive on insults. But at the end of the day, I tend to think of their input less than those that give constructive criticism.
I hadn't thought of 'relativity' as a power word much prior to conceptualising of this blog... in the past I have used other words to undermine Lyotardian metanarratives and preach postmodern theory to anyone who will listen. One of the reasons I followed through on the concept of the blog was to re-inscribe the word as my own, meditate upon it and see what I can do with it.
What are some of the concepts, images or relationships that come to your mind when you read the word 'relativity'? Does my rainbow background affect how you see it? How about the artwork on the previous post (which you have to click 'next' to access, not 'previous' - see, Orble has its own unique language)?
Isn't it wonderful that the use of the word 'relative' is always relative?
I am more likely to use 'positive' than 'negative'. I prefer to draw attention to the presence of optimism, no matter how frail, than paint something 'pessimistic' because once I do that I am giving that thing less positive connotations, and I want to emphasise the positive wherever possible. This is not always seen as admirable behaviour... some people get a rush from being scathing, some even thrive on insults. But at the end of the day, I tend to think of their input less than those that give constructive criticism.
What are some of the concepts, images or relationships that come to your mind when you read the word 'relativity'? Does my rainbow background affect how you see it? How about the artwork on the previous post (which you have to click 'next' to access, not 'previous' - see, Orble has its own unique language)?
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