Vintage California

California, Novembre 2011

Welterkenntnis / Menschenerkenntnis

"Willst du die Welt erkennen, schau in dich selber.

Willst du den Menschen erkennen, schau in die Welt.

Willst du den Menschen als Geist erkennen, schau in die Herrlichkeiten der vergangenen Welt.

Willst du die Herrlichkeiten der zukünftigen Welten erkennen, schau in die keimhafte Natur

der menschlichen leiblichen Gegenwart.

Es ist Menschenerkenntnis Welterkenntnis und Welterkenntnis Menschenerkenntnis."

Rudolf Steiner aus:Wie ein Atmen im Lichte,

Tellurique San Francisco

Nous émergeons des entrailles

Une fin d'après-midi d'automne

Dans San Francisco

Le regard, alors concentré de pratique

Reflète soudain le pont, finement élancé sur la baie

Il semble couver les rayons d'un soleil rasant.

Sur les artères montantes, plus haut

L'on pourrait marcher par cinquantaine.

Le calme nous surprend,

Est-il de la sauvagerie des côtes déchiquetées

Ou de la concentration intellectuelle?

Nos forces sont telluriques, elles s'accumulaient

Maintenant elles se déploient sous la lumière,

Quelle impression!

San Francisco, Novembre 2011

The future of medicine

The philosophy of wine

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, about 2"in diameter. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. So the professor then picked up a box of pebblesand poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous-yes. The professor then produced a bottle of red wine from under the table and proceeded to pour the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed."Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things-your family, your partner, your health, your children-things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full."The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else-the small stuff."If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children.Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal."Take care of the rocks first-the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the wine represented. The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a good bottle of wine.

Anonymous, discovered in San Francisco, the Cliff House, 2011

How Suppressing Volatility Makes the World Less Predictable and More Dangerous

A little bit of agitation gives motivation to the soul, and what really makes the species prosper is not peace so much as freedom. With freedom comes some unpredictable fluctuation. This is one of life’s packages: there is no freedom without noise—and no stability without volatility.

http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67741/nassim-nicholas-taleb-and-mark-blyth/the-black-swan-of-cairo

May/June 2011, The Black Swan of Cairo, Nassim Nicholas Taleb and Mark Blyth