If ever there were a man of action, it’s expertise theorist Jason Randal, whose boundless passion has led him to develop a jaw-dropping array of specialties. In his kinetic talk, Randal discusses how to use “stretching” to increase memory and focus, the relationship between play and learning, and the transformative power of surrounding yourself with enthusiastic, passionate people. Listen to his speech at 99%conference. I love his closing advice from this speech: “reduce everything you wanna do to what you can do right now and… do it”.
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Randal holds a PhD in social psychology and is a member of MENSA. He works in three languages, has published numerous magazine articles and three books including Magic For Professionals and The Psychology of Deception. Randal is a board certified master hypnotherapist, a licensed locksmith, a NAUI master scuba instructor, a licensed special effects technician, and a master certified flight instructor for both airplanes and helicopters. As a seventh degree black belt master in karate instructed six years for the karate schools, for ten years Jason was a technical advisor and stuntman in Hollywood.
We all have it as a part of our evolutionary equipment. Patterns, expectations, assumptions, biased thoughts; even precognition when step outside the scientific field. Trying to look at the world without being overwhelmed by the gained knowledge is a tough experiment, but seems to be necessary while exploring creative power. As a (creative) thinker you must take for granted that what you see is not certain. As for me I do not take anything for certain and it has always been that way since I recall (which didn’t seem to be advantage at all, but…). Beau Lotto tries to find out what is really out there.
What does randomness look like? Random walk project by Daniel A.Becker explores the notion of randomness. It consists of 14 double-sided A2 posters contained in a transparent plastic sleeve. Ten sheets explain the phenomena of randomness in mathematics and physics – four focus on all-day randomness and the quality of pseudo random number generators. Without title or specific order the sleeve contains the folded sheets at random like a pack of cards. It has no thematic order, unlike the playing cards in a pack. The layouts of the poster backs are visually influenced by randomness. Each reverse side is unique as is the reverse of the same topic in different sets. Visualizations and random layouts are made with the program “proce55ing”.
It has to be mentioned about. Claude Lévi-Strauss, the French anthropologist whose revolutionary studies of what was once called “primitive man” transformed Western understanding of the nature of culture, custom and civilization, has died at 100. I was writing about his 100th birthday a year back on this blog. Undoubtedly, he was one of the greatest minds of the 20th century!
The notion of randomness has been within my top interests for some time now. Random is defined as “made, done, happening or chosen without method or conscious decision” (Oxford American Dictionaries) or “having no definite aim or purpose; not sent or guided in a particular direction; haphazard” (Oxford English Dictionary).
Most often used in mathematical theory of probability arose from attempts to formulate mathematical descriptions of chance events and in statistics where random process is a repeating process whose outcomes follow no describable deterministic pattern, but follow a probability distribution.
In religious systems a highly deterministic worldview makes randomness not possible; the concepts of purpose and meaning exclude randomness completely (except for Discordianism:). In evolution theory, on the other hand, the selection is applied to the results of random genetic variation.
In regard to our lives, what seems the most the most fascinating is whether randomness equals unpredictability? Does it mean floating within a chaotic system? And how can you say whether a process is truly random?
Amazing find! An image of a sketchbook page of Joan Miro, along with a transcription of the text. Which reminds me of my trip to Barcelona this year (Miro’s museum on photo below; the colors thanks to the slides and not PS-ed!).
In clockwise order:
woman on a beach, this
figure is too realistic, make
use of symbols-signs-
to interpret it, like in 1940
in the face violently red cheeks
like those of a cheap doll
white background
in some spots, like the head, make use of a very violent black contour
this cloud is too realistic. interpret the clouds with
the poetic symbols of 1940. so that these canvases have
a “fauve” spirit, but within the poetic (field) so that
they recall in a certain way the good canvasses by matisse.
but going beyond them and more furiously “fauve”.
the color of the
figure can perfectly,
in some places, be that
of the background
black line will be
separated from color
by a band of
canvass not filled-in
in some spots
reinforce black line
for the background
put color directly
on canvas and spread
it with hand, rag, fist,
sponge, and so forth
Every seven years, designer Stefan Sagmeister closes his New York studio for a yearlong sabbatical to rejuvenate and refresh their creative outlook. Great idea of a new distribution of working and retirement years in life. Brilliant!
this is a notebook, journal, experimental place, laboratory, place for inspiration, ideas, communication, sharing ... about living, chance, sensitivity, creating, enthusiasm, flow, indeterminacy, randomness, impermanence, curiosity and longing ...
