1) Theses with my dissertation
A cluster description of a perfect crystal (1975)
Thesis 3:
Because of the overdose of information humanity is getting nowadays,
it is advisable to devote attention to the processing of this information
as early as during secondary education.
Thesis 6:
The abolition of the exchange package dump that used to
be printed by the computer installed at S.A.R.A. in case of an abnormal
job termination without a user call, is not only practical in
a paper saving sense, it is also of psychological importance.
In stead of this undesired dump, which, and that was frustrating
enough, was unreadable for the majority of the users, an uplifting
maxim should therefore be printed. The computer might randomly
select this maxim from a certain collection.
Thesis 7:
It is desirable to make the monitors of the terminals at S.A.R.A.
less reflecting, so that when an error message occurs, one does not
face ones own disappointed reflection.
2) In the mind of a novice
there are many possibilities, in the experienced mind there is only
one; Suzuki[20]
3) The meaning in sound has
nowadays been replaced by the explanation in the dictionary.
4) Creation consists of three worlds: the
physical world, the subtle or mental world and the causal world.
5) The trichotomy: awareness,
understanding, and knowing is consistent with
the structure of Creation (also see notes 4 and 14): physical,
mental and causal.
6) The invention of the script has led to
a tradition in recording. Recording of facts and recording of processes
through procedures, the accuracy of which we can have checked by accountants.
Subsequently we have stored the procedures in machines.
7) We must not forget: words are dead, descriptions
are dead. They are merely projections on the wall of Platos cave[26].
8) Speaking can take place at all three
levels in Creation: physical or external, mental or internal and even
causal. Mental speech is often called formulating.
9) By Self we mean the state
of consciousness in which there is no connection with the processes
of Creation[28].
The Self is That which is present behind this Creation. That which was
before we were born, which is while we are alive and which will still
be after our so-called death. In the Christian Tradition this can be
called Pure Conscience.
10) Heaven here means a state of consciousness
in the here-and-now; every reference to the future is a trick of the
devil to lure us away from the here-and-now.
11) Finding implies something was potentially
there to be found (in the causal world / the world of ideas).
12) Accidental in the sense of for
no apparent reason.
13) By the way, prejudice has the same
restrictive effect as a database view on a data collection.
14) Beauty on a physical level is expressed
in objects that can be heard, felt, seen, tasted or smelled, after which
it can be decided whether these physical objects are in fact beautiful
or not. A well-known example of beauty on a mental (non-sensory) level
is the Justinian Code. For centuries, it constituted the solid foundation
of a great empire, and it was based on three beautiful principles: live
honestly, do not harm anyone and give everyone his due. If we direct
our minds at the essential beauty behind these mental systems, in which
the laws of nature are also expressed, we finally end up at the causal
aspect of beauty.
Beauty is not ruled by the laws of Creation, not by laws of birth, growth,
decline and death. Summarising, physical or sensory beauty has its foundation
in the empire of the mind. The mind thanks its beauty to the beauty
of reason. Reason itself finds its being and its beauty in the will
of the Creator, who shapes and holds all the levels of beauty. In the
end, beauty is the playful projection of the Self.
15) The ignorant live only on a physical
level, leading them to miss what they really need. This leads to immoderate
use of Creation and to a mechanically functioning being which becomes
more and more unscrupulous.
16) Adornments like the gothic art of the
buildings surrounding the Grand Place in Brussels, seeming more like
neurotic art to me.
17) The four cardinal virtues Plato wishes
for the state[31],
[32] are: wisdom, courage,
moderation and justice. Nineteen centuries later, neo-Platonist Ficino[33]
again stresses the importance of restraining the excessive demands of
the soul through quality of civilisation.
18) The concept of fun is one
of the seven basic values of the IT firm Cap Gemini
Sogeti: honesty, solidarity, freedom, daring, confidence, simplicity,
fun.
'Fun, of course, does not necessarily mean rolling in the aisles with
bleary-eyed hysteria', according to Cap Gemini Sogetis Policies
and guidelines manual (1989). 'Fun can be realised through a sense of
pride. To be proud of our organisation, of each other, and especially
of ourselves, is a form of fun. It feels good, especially when linked
to quality.'
19) In the amusing book TAO van POEH[34]
these questions are individualised to:
what am I?
what are my achievements?
how do I handle them?
20) This is in fact a question of ethics.
21) Especially with some of the large data
collections of the Government, it would be good to cast a few doubts
as to their necessity. In our present-day society a clear conscience,
freely functioning reason and common sense seem to be replaced by a
dense web of rules and regulations, of dos and donts. This yoke
of strict rules and regulations can also be seen with some large companies,
which because of their size show the same characteristics as the central
Government.
22) Giga is short for gigantic; to people
with an exact disposition it means ten to the power of nine.
23) Privacy regulations imply that there
is something to hide. Hide from what? From whom? Computer networks distribute
data about people to people. Is that a bad thing? What is privacy?
24) The Czech word robotit
means to slave, to toil, to work oneself
to death.
25) A distinction must be made between
direct and indirect users. In this speech, direct users are meant.
26) Isha-upanishad[37].
In this upanishad, which Shankara considers to be the most important
one, we are summoned to give sufficient attention to the world as well
as to the eternal. Plato, too, states that man inhabits two different
worlds.
27) Creation needs attention to develop,
attention is what keeps Creation going. Machines, including computers
and robots, do not give attention, they devour attention.
That is why the care for Creation may not be left to machines, whether
or not intelligent.