1-7
8-14
15-21
22-28
29-35
36-42
43-49
50-56
57-63
64-70
71-77
78-84
85-91
92-98
99-105
106-112
113-119
120-122
1-7
8-14
15-21
22-28
29-35
36-42
43-49
50-56
57-63
64-70
71-77
78-84
85-91
92-98
99-105
106-112
113-119
120-122
thing. Universe is process—constant change—constant motion.
phenomena—from the expanding space, spiraling galaxies, stars, orbiting planets, and
moons—down to the earth with its climatic cycle, geological phenomena, the migration
of great plates of the earth’s crust producing the motion of continents, the moving
waters along shores and banks, down to the flowing red blood in our bodies—it is clear
that Universe is dynamic—is motion—is nothing.
explains:
no real matter, I decided half a century ago to identify mathematical behaviors
of energy phenomena only asevents. If there are no-things, there are no
nouns of material substance that the old semantics permitted wherein a noun
verbsa noun or a subject verbsa predicate. I found it necessary to change
this form to a complex of events identified as me, which must be identified
as a verb. The complex verb—meobserved another complex of events
identified again ignorantly as a ‘table’. I disciplined myself to communicate
exclusively with verbs. There are no wheresand whats; only angle and
frequency events described as whens.
outside its outside?” they are trying to conjure a unitary conception and are
asking for a single picture of an infinitely transforming, nonsimultaneous
scenario. Therefore, their question is not only unanswerable but unrealistic,
and indicates that they have not listened seriously to Einstein and are only
disclosing their ignorance of its significance when they boastfully tell you that
the speed of light is 186,000 miles per second. You cannot get out of Universe.
Universe is not a system. Universe is not a shape. Universe is a scenario. You
are always in Universe. You can only get out of systems.
only when we follow the progression of movement from one frame into the next frame.
Alfred Korzybski, Science and Sanity, 1933-48, ibid
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but finite scenario whose as yet unfilled film strip is constantly self-
regenerative. All experiences are terminated, ergo finite. An aggregate of
finites is finite. Our Universe is finite but nonsimultaneously conceptual; a
moving-picture scenario of nonsimultaneous and only partially overlapping
events. One picture—one frame—does not tell the story. the single frame
picture of a caterpillar does not foretell or imply the transformation of that
creature, first, into the chrysalis stage and, much later,into the butterfly
phase of its life. Nor does one picture of a butterfly tell the viewer that the
butterfly can fly.”47
to meet their needs. But, with the discovery that Universe is
process actionis even more fundamental than life.
accepts Arthur Young’s belief:
older concept of a universe made up of physical particles interacting according
to fixed laws is no longer tenable. It is implicit in present findings that action
rather than matter is basic.”48
has discovered actionto be fundamental in non-living Universe—light,
particles, atoms, and simple molecules as well as within living Universe which is life
itself—the living molecules, the plants, the animals, and we humans.
R. Buckminster Fuller, SYNERGETICS,1975, 1979, ibid
48Arthur Young, The Foundations of Science: The Missing Parameter, Robert Briggs Associates, San
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While some actions may occur in a very short time, they all require some
time. There are no instantaneous actions in Universe. No time—no action.
somewhere else. No location, No space—no action.
sometimes uses the term energy eventto describe what we commonly call action.
writing in 1975 explained:
time. When one energy event is passing through a given point and another
impinges upon it, there is an interference.
same time. One can cross over or be superimposed upon another. Both
Euclidian and non-Euclidian geometries misassume that a plurality of lines
can go through the same point at the same time. But we find experimentally
that two or more lines cannot physically go through the same point at the
same time.
neutron, he gets an interference. When the neutron runs into a nuclear
component: (1) it separates the latter into smaller components; (2) they bounce
acutely apart (reflection); (3) they bounce obliquely (refraction); (4) they
combine, mass attractively. The unique angles in which they separate or
bounce off identify both known or unknown atomic-nucleus components.”49
and do not occur in isolation. If they impinge on the
environment or on others, they will effect or impact on the environment—they will
effect or impact on others.
and
harmfulway. It can effect or impact on environment and/or on others in a neutralor
R. Buckminster Fuller, SYNERGETICS,1975, 1979, ibid
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and beneficialway. Therefore actions that effect or impact on others can produce the
following results, using the language of games:
by the action. They are lessafter the action
than before.
by the action. They will be the same
after the action as before.
by the action. They are moreafter the
action than before.
can be ignored, or I can be helpedby the action.
are adversary.
are neutral.
are synergic.
other, we discover that actionis always accompanied by two other phenomena—
thereaction, and the resultant.
on the following page, we see the man actby jumping from one
boat to another.
R. Buckminster Fuller, SYNERGETICS,1975, 1979, ibid
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in the boat he left. As he lands his
impact effects a resultant on the boat he lands on. The reaction occurs at the
beginning of the action while the resultant occurs at the end. The environment or
other reactsat the beginning of the action. And the effect or impact on the
environment or other occurs at the end of the action producing a resultant.
are always found together.
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be surprised that as actions can be either adversary, neutral or synergic. So too,
reactions and resultants can have the same three effects.
neutral or synergic. And while this is not always the case, we would expect and
discover that:
reaction ending in an
adversary resultant orloss, while
action usually provokes neutralreaction ending in a neutral
resultant or draw, and
action usually provokes synergicreaction ending in a synergic
resultant orgain.
later, an elementary quantum of electric charge, so in our newer knowledge
we have need for an elementary quantum of action. Action is defined as energy
multiplied by ‘time’, or A=Et.
extremely important structural and semantic role in this world of space-time,
where nothing happens ‘instantaneously’, but all action requires ‘time’. If we
could discover some unit of action, we could change from the language of
‘energy’ and ‘time’ to the language of ‘action’ and ‘times’. This language, by the
way, is much more satisfactory and structurally closer to experience than the
old languages. ‘Action’ as structurally defined (product of ‘energy’ by ‘time’) is
one of the two fundamental entities of pre-relativity physics which have
survived the Einstein revolution.
nonsense. Energy in space-time must by necessity be reformulated as ‘action’.
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built up of a number of elementary quanta of action.”51
calculus suggests. When we are dealing with the notion of a variable, we see
that the variable might be anyelement selected out of an ordered aggregate of
elements. We can select elements relatively widely separated from each other,
as, for instance, the numbers 1 and 2, or points, let us say, an inch apart. It is
obvious that if we choose, we can make the gaps smaller, and postulate an
infinity of intermediate steps. When we make our gaps smaller, the elements
are ordered more densely and closer together. In the limit, if we choose
indefinitely many elements between any two elements, our series become
compact, if we still have a possibility of gaps; or they eventually become what
we call continuous, when there are no more gaps.
‘continuous’, ‘compact’, or ‘discontinuous’, we may grant that the maximum
elucidation of the above terms in mathematics is very useful. We can easily see
that in terms of actiona continuous series gives us action by contact, since
consecutive elements are indefinitely near each other. As the differential and
integral calculus brings us in touch not only without xbut also with its
indefinitely close neighbour x+dx. We see that the calculus introduces a most
important structural and semantic innovation; namely, that it is a language
for describing acton by contact, in sharp contradistinction to the structural
assumption of action at a distance.
small material spheres connected with each other by small spiral springs. as
shown on following page as Fig. 1.
Alfred Korzybski, Science and Sanity, 1933-1948, ibid
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