From 6098d184521764cbd29b682605b0455df7f558d2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: grr Date: Mon, 24 Jun 2024 19:27:13 -0400 Subject: pile of work-in-progress-crud --- essays/exercise_awareness_states.tex | 48 +++++++++++++++++------------------- 1 file changed, 23 insertions(+), 25 deletions(-) (limited to 'essays/exercise_awareness_states.tex') diff --git a/essays/exercise_awareness_states.tex b/essays/exercise_awareness_states.tex index c65964d..3d75eeb 100644 --- a/essays/exercise_awareness_states.tex +++ b/essays/exercise_awareness_states.tex @@ -1,4 +1,4 @@ -\chapter{Exercise Awareness-States (July 1961)} +\chapter[Exercise Awareness-States (July 1961)][Exercise Awareness-States]{Exercise Awareness-States (July 1961)} { \itshape @@ -18,14 +18,13 @@ times --- it was included in Flynt's book, \booktitle{Blueprint For a Higher Civ } -\section*{INTRODUCTION (from "Mock Risk Games"---1967 Version)} +\section*{\textsc{Introduction} (from \enquote{Mock Risk Games}---1967 Version)} Suppose you stand in front of a swinging door with a nail sticking out of it pointing at your face; and suppose you are prepared to jump back if the door suddenly opens in your face. You are deliberately taking a risk on the -assumption that you can protect yourself. Let us call such a situation a "risk -game." Then a "mock risk game" is a risk game such that the misfortune +assumption that you can protect yourself. Let us call such a situation a \enquote{risk game.} Then a \enquote{mock risk game} is a risk game such that the misfortune which you risk is contrary to the course of nature, a freak misfortune; and thus your preparation to evade it is correspondingly superficial. @@ -37,7 +36,7 @@ you won't be hurt, then that is a mock risk game. If technicians could actually effect or simulate gravity reversal in the room, then the risk game would be a real one. But I am not concerned with real risk games. I am interested in dealing with gravity reversal in an everyday environment, where everything -tells you it can't possibly happen. Your "preparation" for the fall is thus +tells you it can't possibly happen. Your \enquote{preparation} for the fall is thus superficial, because you still have the involuntary conviction that it can't possibly happen. @@ -72,8 +71,8 @@ and so forth. \section*{Exercise Awareness-States (July, 1961)} I am concerned here to introduce an activity which I will call, for want of -a better term, "exercise," and the states of awareness one has in exercise, -"exercise awareness-states." Incidentally, this activity is based on wrong, +a better term, \enquote{exercise,} and the states of awareness one has in exercise, +\enquote{exercise awareness-states.} Incidentally, this activity is based on wrong, although common, philosophical assumptions, but I hope the reader will play along with them for the sake of the activity; philosophical rightness is not the main concern here. Exercise should be thought of first as training to help @@ -82,7 +81,7 @@ reader is admittedly not likely to encounter). (Incidentally, 'danger' here should not be an emotive word; my concern is with the theory of defense, not with giving the reader vicarious experience.) Suppose that the adults in a society occasionally have to be in situations, such as walking across a -bare metal floor in a certain "building," during which \emph{dangers}, very unusual +bare metal floor in a certain \enquote{building,} during which \emph{dangers}, very unusual and \emph{unpredictable}, may arise. Suppose that they know nothing of the provenance of the dangers, just that they may be there, so that they can't prevent them (or predict what they will be); the persons are somewhat like @@ -98,7 +97,7 @@ to defend themselves in the situations, there isn't the technology to simulate dangers, so that they can't be given a chance to actually figure out and carry out defenses against simulated dangers. Then it would seem that the best preparation in the situations (until a danger appeared) would be the \emph{state -of mind}---"unpredictably-dangerous-situation awareness state"---of lack of +of mind}---\enquote{unpredictably-dangerous-situation awareness state}---of lack of preconceptions as to what one might encounter, emotionlessness (except for the small amount of fear and confidence needed to make one maximally alert), very very heightened awareness of all sensory data, and readiness @@ -108,15 +107,15 @@ away, from the preparation resulting from practice with simulated dangers, just because the actual ones are so unpredictable. Training for the situations would then be to help persons achieve this best dangerous-situation awareness-state when in the situations. Then (one should first think) the purpose -of "exercise," or the "exercises," is to help persons to achieve the best +of \enquote{exercise,} or the \enquote{exercises,} is to help persons to achieve the best dangerous-situation awareness-state in the situations by teaching them to -achieve "\emph{ultimate} exercise awareness-states," which are as similar as +achieve \enquote{\emph{ultimate} exercise awareness-states,} which are as similar as possible to the best dangerous-situation states within the limitations I have given. Exercise may secondly be thought of as something to be done for its own sake, so that ultimate exercise awareness-states are achieved for their own -sake, in particular, as an unusual way of "appreciating" the sensory date +sake, in particular, as an unusual way of \enquote{appreciating} the sensory date while in them. This is the way I suppose the reader will regard exercise. Thus exercise, rather than unpredictably dangerous situations, is the principal subject of this paper. However, it should not be lost sight of that exercise @@ -124,10 +123,10 @@ could be useful in the first way; and the development of exercises should be controlled by concern with whether they are useful in the first way. I will now give some explanations and general instructions for exercise. -An "exercise" is what the general instructions, and a specification of a(n -exercise) "\emph{situation}" one is to place oneself in and of several -"\emph{given dangers}" to anticipate in the situation, refers to; -an "\emph{exercise awareness-state}" +An \enquote{exercise} is what the general instructions, and a specification of a(n +exercise) \enquote{\emph{situation}} one is to place oneself in and of several +\enquote{\emph{given dangers}} to anticipate in the situation, refers to; +an \enquote{\emph{exercise awareness-state}} is any state of mind throughout an exercise. In first doing an exercise, one anticipates given dangers; the point of having specific dangers to anticipate at first is to keep one from anticipating nothing, being indifferent in the @@ -138,20 +137,19 @@ in them and how they can defended against. It is only when one can anticipate the given dangers strongly that one does the exercise, places oneself in the situation, without thinking of specific dangers, trying to strongly anticipate unpredictable danger; when one can do this one will be -achieving "ultimate exercise awareness-states." +achieving \enquote{ultimate exercise awareness-states.} The general instructions for the exercises follow. First place oneself in the situation, anticipate one of the given dangers as strongly as possible (short of getting oneself in a state of fright), be very very aware of all sensory data, and be ready to figure out (quickly) whether they indicate the danger and to start defending against it. Try to achieve the greatest anticipation of and -readiness for the one danger. The result is an "initial exercise -awareness-state." Finally one can do the exercise forgetting the given dangers; place +readiness for the one danger. The result is an \enquote{initial exercise awareness-state.} Finally one can do the exercise forgetting the given dangers; place oneself in the situation, try to anticipate [unpredictable] danger strongly (short of getting oneself frightened), without preconceptions as to what form it will take, be very very aware of all sense data, and be ready to figure out (quickly) whether they indicate a danger, and a defense against it. This is -an "\emph{ultimate} exercise awareness-state." A final point. So that one will not be +an \enquote{\emph{ultimate} exercise awareness-state.} A final point. So that one will not be distracted from the exercise, there must be a minimum of familiar events extraneous to it during it, such as the sight of a door opening, talking, cooking smells. For this reason, unless otherwise stated exercise should be @@ -206,18 +204,18 @@ except in the case of certain dangers. The dangers: \begin{enumerate} \item Loss of your kinesthetic sense. (body-movement or muscle sense) -\item Suspension of the "normal" "cause and effect" relationship between +\item Suspension of the \enquote{normal} \enquote{cause and effect} relationship between pulling and keeping the light and sound from appearing, so that you just have to guess what to do to keep them from appearing and it changes with time, with the restriction that it will be closely related to pulling on the bar, \eg\ letting go of the bar. -\item Suspension of the "normal" "cause and effect" relationship between what +\item Suspension of the \enquote{normal} \enquote{cause and effect} relationship between what you will and what your body does, so that you just have to guess what to will to keep your arms (and hands) pulling on the bar and it changes with time, with the restriction that it will be closely related to willing to pull on the bar, \eg willing to let go of the bar. \item Having the tactile, cutaneous sensation of being under water, so that -you will "drown"---"cutaneously"---unless you cutaneously swim to the top; +you will \enquote{drown}---\enquote{cutaneously}---unless you cutaneously swim to the top; your sight and hearing being lost except for sensitivity to the light and sound if you stop pulling. \end{enumerate} @@ -258,9 +256,9 @@ metal blocks come crashing against the wall from far in front of and behind it, starting slowly and speeding up as they get near the wall, and then draw back to where they came from. Blocks of the first kind come from the front (the side the upper part of your body and the pillow are on) only; they are -"vertical," tall and narrow so that they can be avoided by moving from side +\enquote{vertical,} tall and narrow so that they can be avoided by moving from side to side. Blocks of the second kind come in pairs, one in front, one behind. -They are "horizontal," two feet high (thick), and very wide (long). The ones +They are \enquote{horizontal,} two feet high (thick), and very wide (long). The ones in front hit low and the ones in back high, so they can be avoided by standing up (necessarily in a stooped position). Each time the pair hits higher and higher. There are long indentations in the back side of the wall in which one -- cgit v1.2.3