Bookseminar

Jennifer Morris

III-A

Book Seminar Questions

Seven Life Lessons of Chaos by John Briggs and F. David Peat

Seeing the Art of the World

1. In this chapter, Briggs and Peat discuss the different perceptions of rationality in art and how it connects with nature's creativity. Rationality used to be seen as "the spiritual connections in things, the rhythms and delicate balance or ‘ratio' among subjects and objects," but is now viewed as "the capacity to be logical, analytical, coldly objective, and detached" (120). We, as subjects to nature, need to understand that the world has certain subtleties that cannot be described as mechanical, such as patterns that create "self-similar" formations like trees and rivers, or even the self-organization in societies discussed in the previous chapters (103). "Nature's patterns are the patterns of chaos," Briggs and Peat further explain (100). This, in turn, will allow us to appreciate art for its natural creativity.

2. The authors use pictures of the different fractals of the environment to support their idea that nature has patterns that are unexplainable, but similar to other forms of nature. They state that in fact "each [human] brain is its own unique fractal" (107). It is also said that if one "spray[s] 50,000 tons of propane or ethane into the South polar sky," the problem with the ozone layer would be solved (123). Briggs and Peat claim that this is the mechanistic view of rationality that we see now and that it will only "perpetuate the mind-set that is destroying our natural world" (123).

3. The lesson that Briggs and Pete talk about in this chapter relates to fractals and patters we see every day, such as in the fractal patterns of roses, sunlight, cloud formations, and other elements of nature. Some things, including art, should be left unanalyzed or seen as they are without trying to figure out the underlying meaning. For example, next time I happen to attend an art show or museum, I will look at the pieces as mere beauty rather than meaning.

Living within Time

1. In our postindustrial society, time is often wasted and thought of as constant and inflexible. Briggs and Pete stress the quality of time and that "the essence of time has been reduced to mere quantity, a numerical measure of seconds, minutes, hours, and years" (125). Furthermore, if people misuse time and rush things, they will "lose the flavor of life" (139). Though, if people enjoyed every moment of it and paid more attention to the task instead of the time to do it, they would be more productive.

2. One example the authors use to show that time is irregular is in that of dreams. A dream may unfold "a long and complex story…in only seconds," psychiatrists say (132). Also, our memory isn't very reliable because it "connects to the whole structure of our consciousness", including time. (232). Another interesting point that Briggs and Pete bring up is that in "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner, the characters try to stop time in its tracks, which instead "turns natural aging into putrefaction, isolation, and living death" (138). In other words, in an attempt to freeze time, they actually did the complete