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We'll have to disagree concerning the postmodern assessment of how to differentiate the Truth, my friend.


Said the Engineer whose designs absolutely MUST work and not cause harm to others.


I have to deal only with Absolute Truths, you see.

The problem with the Relative Truth stance is that it is always stated as being Absolute.

And that is self-defeated before the conversation begins.


--Mac

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Hi Dean,

Another good one! I'm just going back to ponder over your philosophies now.

Regards,
Noel


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Hey Mac,

I don't think we disagree so much. As a recovering mathematician and workaholic, I know a bit about the truth in its various forms. One reason I went into the field was because the truths of mathematics are necessary truths. They are absolute, not contingent, hold in all possible worlds, and are the reason that engineers can rely on their calculations holding true - as long as they don't miss anything important. Think of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge - they used to call it Gallopin' Gertie - back in the day when engineers had limited understanding of the minimum "stiffness" required of such a structure. At the right wind speeds, the suspended roadway would resonate - explosively so on the day they recorded the bridge collapsing on film. I'm sure you've seen the movie.

EVERYONE - IF YOU'VE NEVER SEEN THE TACOMA NARROWS BRIDGE COLLAPSE YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THIS:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-zczJXSxnw

It's not that 1 + 1 = 5 is just wrong, it is unthinkable. It follows necessarily from axioms, undefined foundational statements, that allow the construction of the natural numbers 1,2,3, ...

I disavow relative truth, postmodernism, new age music, energy bracelets, the philosophy of Sun Ra, etc., etc. I just stated the standard elementary definition of knowledge as true, justified belief. No definitions of "belief", "justification," or "true" were given - in this case they are undefined axioms.

Of course, we could use a lot of space pursuing this, but I've got something much better for you. I'll post it in the Off Topic Forum and I'll put your name in the title.

You gonna luv it, mon.

Dean


Sweetwater Creation Station. BIAB 2018, Mixcraft 8 Pro Studio, Izotope Nektar 2, Ozone 8, KEYBOARDS: Kurzweil Artis 7, Crumar MOJO, Hammond XK-3, BASSES (fretted & fretless by Ibanez, LTD, Warwick. GUITARS by Guild, Gretsch, Ibanez, Eastwood (12 string)
Noel96 #217814 10/12/13 08:07 AM
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Hi Noel,

Take a look at my latest post in the Off Topic Forum. You might enjoy this.

Dean

PS And thanks for your encouraging remarks

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Here is a more up to date example than the Tacoma Narrows Bridge incident:

Quote:

Postmodernism tells us there’s no such thing as truth; no such thing as meaning; no such thing as certainty. I remember lecturing at Ohio State University, one of the largest universities in this country. I was minutes away from beginning my lecture, and my host was driving me past a new building called the Wexner Center for the Performing Arts. He said, “This is America’s first postmodern building.” I was startled for a moment and I said, “What is a postmodern building?” He said, “Well, the architect said that he designed this building with no design in mind. When the architect was asked, ‘Why?’ he said, ‘If life itself is capricious, why should our buildings have any design and any meaning?’ So he has pillars that have no purpose. He has stairways that go nowhere. He has a senseless building built and somebody has paid for it.” I said, “So his argument was that if life has no purpose and design, why should the building have any design?” He said, “That is correct.” I said, “Did he do the same with the foundation?” All of a sudden there was silence. You see, you and I can fool with the infrastructure as much as we would like, but we dare not fool with the foundation because it will call our bluff in a hurry.

emphasis added

Ravi Zacharias said that.


--Mac

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I'm wit' you on that, bud.

Dean

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hi aleck great guitar work love the tone and licks very well done thanks eric


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Dean,

If imitation is the sincerest form of compliment, then I just wish you lived nearby so I could take lessons from you and eventually and feebly imitate what you do.

Kinda sad that I can't even imitate you straight up, I have to have to imagine a remote scenario in which I might eventually acquire the ability to imitate what you do.

;-)
but the point is that you are worth imitating, whether anyone else is capable of it or not.

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Pat,

Hey,where you bin bud? If you've been hanging out at the Off Topic forum, I thought I might see something from you regarding my two posts involving you, Mac and RHarv.

Is it possible that silence = circumspection?

Hey, pal, let me tell you something about imitation, something I found out the hard way. When I first heard Wes Montgomery, I was completely blown away. It was as though Wes had part of my brain and I had part of Wes's brain. I was already playing with my thumb (learned from Gene Autry and Roy Rogers) and said to myself, "Now, I wanna sound like THAT!"

So I did what all aspiring jazz musicians have done through the ages. I sat with the vinyl records (on the Riverside label) and laboriously copied every one of Wes's licks and wore the vinyl through to the other side.

A few years later, after I could really move that thumb and play octaves and chord solos, I was at Manny's Music on 47th street in New York, where I grew up. I was looking to buy a guitar and was comping the blues, when I heard this wicked alto sax soloing on my chords. I recognized who it was by the sound, so I thought I'd really impress with some machine-gun octaves and chords.

So, out walks Cannonball Adderley http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannonball_Adderley - the guy who launched Wes's career - offering me a cigarette. He says, "You can play kid, but you'll go nowhere as a Wes Montgomery sound-alike. If people want to hear Wes, why settle for you?" Then, Cannonball Adderley says something I've heard a million times: "You have to find your own voice."

Yeah, so what if you spend 20 years practicing and you do find your own voice and discover that you don't like it, and would much prefer a different voice? That happened to me.

In going back to the drawing board, I found that the goal for me was "lick-less" improvising, or nearly so. I would form a mental map of the guitar fingerboard so that a melodic idea in my head would be instantly "visible" on the fretboard. I've partially succeeded at this and it is a never ending process.

I'll finish by thanking you for the extravagant praise and, for what it's worth, repeating this hackneyed phrase: "You have your own voice to find, pal. Imitation has no payoff."

Dean

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Quote:
"You can play kid, but you'll go nowhere as a Wes Montgomery sound-alike. If people want to hear Wes, why settle for you?" Then, Cannonball Adderley says something I've heard a million times: "You have to find your own voice."


Although I see truth in that statement, The application of it depends on the participants desire to "go somewhere"

I do agree that in order to be an ARTIST who does original material and hopes to stand out in the crowd, an original sound is useful if not downright necessary.

But, people who play cover songs have to be chameleons.

I've been in clubs where aspiring artists play their original songs, with their signature sound... and nobody cares. Next week somebody's playing Proud Mary and people are up dancing. My only explanation for this is that to the average person, music is the closest thing to a time machine they'll ever find.

When I listen to songs from the 70's I feel like I'm 18 years old again... and even the best current original song lacks the power to duplicate that effect. And at age 60, I'm quite sure I ain't "going anywhere" except maybe to hell in a handbasket

;-)

the praise is sincere, BTW

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Dean,

No desire to comment on the philosophy or the mathematics, but the song is delightful. Just a wonderful listen. Similar in feel to the early ballads of Tom Waits.

Delightful.

floyd

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