Building the Palace II

[Barrett Dorko]

So what would it look like?

In my imagination it’s an airy and welcoming place, centrally located and always expanding. No walls to keep others out, only entryways that invite those tired of the confusion and ignorance that had previously surrounded them.

I pushed the idea of Soma Simple as a palace rather than a fortress in this thread. Here’s a quote from post #4:

It isn’t the subject you’re discussing that engenders connection and completion of ideas; it’s the nature of the platform in which you choose to discuss them.

And then this in post #8:

When speaking of the adjacent possible, Johnson likens what we know to be true to a room within which we are comfortable. There are doors exiting to other rooms that may be opened so that you can see what's, well, adjacent. Getting from where you are to another room is easy enough, but I get the sense that doors only open once your current location is well understood.

Note that the phrase is adjacent possible, not adjacent probable. .

Here's what Johnson says:

(The next room) is not an infinite space, or a totally open playing field...Only certain changes are possible. (But) keep opening new doors and eventually you'll have built a palace.

[keithp]

Originally Posted by Barrett Dorko

...centrally located and always expanding...

I had no doubt you would find the right place....Location, Location, Location.

Originally Posted by Barrett Dorko

In my imagination it’s an airy and welcoming place, centrally located and always expanding. No walls to keep others out, only entryways that invite those tired of the confusion and ignorance that had previously surrounded them.

Sounds heavenly.

Respectfully,
Keith

[Barrett Dorko]

Thanks Keith.

What I wanted to do here was emphasize the understanding that preceeds the presentation of another theory or method; a new room.

In the center of this palace is an idea that drives the theories that those of us who reside here regularly.

To me, it is this:

The experience of pain is a top down sensation produced by the brain.

Am I right?

[Diane]

You are.

In my imagination it’s an airy and welcoming place, centrally located and always expanding. No walls to keep others out, only entryways that invite those tired of the confusion and ignorance that had previously surrounded them.

You must be thinking of the taj mahal. No barriers.

[Barrett Dorko]

Taj Mahal - yes, now we're talkin'.

Actually, Sleeping Beauty's joint at Disney World keeps coming to mind.

Kind of pathetic, I know.

[Barrett Dorko]

Was I right in post #3?

Is there something else in the central location?

What's in the adjacent room(s)?

[keithp]

I have been thinking of your palace all day...but fear that I have little to offer, but maybe a few thoughts will stoke the creative fires of others who are of clearer mind this day.

Originally Posted by Barrett Dorko

What I wanted to do here was emphasize the understanding that preceeds the presentation of another theory or method; a new room.

In the center of this palace is an idea that drives the theories that those of us who reside here regularly.

To me, it is this:

The experience of pain is a top down sensation produced by the brain.

Am I right?

I was thinking about how the enlarged portion may not account for the methods that were once founded on unsound ideas, but remain plausible and defensible when they are gleaned through the light of neuroscience. Many have come here thinking that what they do works for one reason, only to discover their methods may be successful for entirely different reasons than what they initially believed. It made me think of the palace as a mooring in open water that all our collective methods could anchor themselves to.

Originally Posted by Barrett Dorko

What's in the adjacent room(s)?

Would the adjacent possibles include potential input and output of the nervous system? How would the rooms be organized to flow from one to the other while still allowing feedforward and feedback within the palace and it's many, many rooms?

As long as we are imagining an abstract palace, I thought it would be neat if the it were somehow fractal, but I am still trying to wrap my mind around the general idea of fractals and how they may relate to anything, much less how it impacts our practice.

Respectfully,
Keith