Mathematical Art of M.C. Escher
A central concept which Escher captured is that of self-reference, which any believe lies near the heart of the enigma of consciousness � and the brain’s ability to process information in a way that no computer has yet mimicked successfully.
The lithograph Drawing Hands and the woodcut Fish and Scales each captures this idea in a different way. In the former the self-reference is direct and conceptual; the hands draw themselves much the way that consciousness considers and constructs itself, mysteriously, with both self and self-reference inseparable and coequal. In Fish and Scales, on the other hand, the self-reference is more functional; one might rather call it self-resemblence. In this way the woodcut describes not only fish but all organisms, for although we are not built, at least physically, from small copies of ourselves, in an information-theoretic sense we are indeed built in just such a way, for every cell of our bodies carries the complete information describing the entire creature, in the form of DNA.
On a deeper level, self-reference is found in the way our worlds of perception reflect and intersect one another. We are each like a character in a book who is reading his or her own story, or like a picture of a mirror reflecting its own landscape. Many of Escher’s works exhibit this theme of intersecting worlds, but we will here consider only one of the exemplars. As is common in Escher’s treatment of this idea, the lithograph Three Spheres II makes use of the reflective properties of a spherical mirror. Here, as Hofstatder noted, �every part of the world seems to contain, and be contained in, every other part . . ..� The spheres relfect one another, the artist, the room in which he works, and the paper upon which he draws the spheres.
During the evening of November 6, 2002, astronomers using the 1.2-meter reflector at Haleakala, Hawaii, discovered a 17th-magnitude comet as part of the Near Earth Asteroid Tracking (NEAT) program. Designated Comet NEAT (C/2002 V1), it brightened quickly through December, leading to a suggestion that at perihelion on February 18th, it could become quite bright (though largely swamped in the Sun’s glare). Currently estimated to be magnitude 6.8, the comet can be seen in the western sky after sunset, just below the Great Square of Pegasus.
However, according to comet expert John Bortle, the future of Comet NEAT is unclear. During the second week of January, the comet’s activity has been shrouded in moonlight. Since its coma is very large and diffuse, no one is quite sure just how bright it currently is. Realistic forecasts for the comet’s immediate future aren’t possible until observations can be obtained in a moonless sky.
According to Bortle, there is “the possibility that the comet will briefly become visible telescopically during the daytime within a day or two either side of perihelion passage � an event that has not occurred since Comet West rounded the Sun in the winter of 1976!” But don’t get too excited � more will be known about this comet’s future within the next few days.
From: Sky and Telescope
From: Shamar Rinpoche “Meditation in Theravada and Mahayana Traditions”
Once you connect genuinely with meditation practice, you will develop a true passion for it and your practice will begin to mature. As long as you do not understand the essence of meditation, it hasn’t been properly experienced. Only when you experience the essence does it really get interesting.
Concentration-Insight Meditation
Meditation by concentration of the mind to remove the Five Hindrances is known as samatha , while the contemplation of physical body, feelings, mental functions and phenomena (dhamma) to develop Right Wisdom is called vipassana . The Vijja Dhammakaya approach includes aspects of both samatha and vipassana meditation .
Interesting site listing evidence that supports the author’s claim that Chinese explorers arrived in North America before Spanish ones.
Of course, the Viking record still stands. Why doesn’t anyone ever mention that Lief Eriksson actually was the first non-Aboriginal person to visit here?
From “Awakening the Buddha Within” by Lama Surya Das:
The Korean Zen master I studied with, Nine Mountains, used to exclaim with gusto, “What is it?” This, his main koan or Zen conundrum, was boldly calligraphed in Korean as a hanging scroll on the wall. This is an intense, heartfelt, visceral question: “What the hell is it?” That was his whole teaching. What the hell is going on? What is this? Who is this? This is a fundamental existential question, turning our exploration inward. What is this presenting itself right now?