Good point!
The Way to Eden
- Thread starter Gojira
- Start date
Music is applied mathematics.
^ That's a nice cover story. I think it's pretty clear in all the episodes when Spock gets down that he actually feels something and enjoys it. The Vulcan harp is itself a paradox, unless you believe that Vulcans are capable of feeling emotion. A nice secret hiding in plain sight.
Music _is_ applied mathematics.
And yes, Vulcans are quite capable of feeling emotion. Why do you think they aren't?
And yes, Vulcans are quite capable of feeling emotion. Why do you think they aren't?
As far as it goes, music admits mathematical analysis. But so does dance. So does poetry. So does oil painting. So does any form of artistic expression.
However, to say that musicians practice applications of mathematics is to suggest that to be a good musician, you must be a good mathematician. This is plainly false.
Rhythm, melody, and harmony are human modes of expression, just as mathematics and logic are. You can have rhythm, or touch the heart of someone by singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow, without understanding any mathematics beyond 2+2=4. From this point of view, the practice of artistic expression is emotive, and the performance is concerned with communicating emotion, not with following a preset pattern. It is the difference between listening to a player piano or music box, versus listening to E. Power Biggs play live, which I wish I could have done.
So, while it is true that music admits mathematical analysis, and much music is composed with attention payed to its mathematical properties, I strongly disagree that music is reducible to applications of mathematics. Music is more than the sum of its symbolic parts that have written expression, just as prose is more than the combinatorial sequencing of its vocabulary.
That is, unless all experience is reducible to mathematics. The jury is still out on this.
Of course we know Vulcans feel emotion. What I meant to indicate as paradoxical was that the Vulcan harp strikes me as an instrument for communicating emotional expression between Vulcans. This should be quite a surprise to those who believe that Vulcan expressions of emotion are taboo.
Always thought that this episode was really good. It reflected the sixties in a romantic space age way. Spocks jam session was one of the best parts of the episode, he acted so cool which is not normal for Vulcans including Spock.
Yup, that's one of the reasons why I like the episode.
Appropriately selected music stimulates the brain in ways that enhance cognitive skills and overall health. The Vulcans would make a science of it.
My fanwank Vulcan neuropsychology doesn’t satisfy? Here’s my fanwank Vulcan philosophy:
Vulcans (who have not attained Kolinahr) must feel emotions. Music is a healthy way to do so because it is so abstract.
If knowledge, ideas, logic and things that should influence a Vulcan’s behavior are Yin, then emotions are Yang. The Vulcan seeks to keep them separate. Associating an emotion with a “yin” may compromise his ability to evaluate it objectively. The emotions evoked by Vulcan music aren’t strongly associated with anything concrete. Thus the Vulcan experiences the emotions but they don’t influence his behavior.
Vulcans (who have not attained Kolinahr) must feel emotions. Music is a healthy way to do so because it is so abstract.
If knowledge, ideas, logic and things that should influence a Vulcan’s behavior are Yin, then emotions are Yang. The Vulcan seeks to keep them separate. Associating an emotion with a “yin” may compromise his ability to evaluate it objectively. The emotions evoked by Vulcan music aren’t strongly associated with anything concrete. Thus the Vulcan experiences the emotions but they don’t influence his behavior.
I'm impressed by both wankings.
I didn't like it when I was a kid. It was too "goofy" to me. And I didn't like the idea of a bunch of hippies being able to commandeer the Enterprise.
Later on, as an adult, I've come to like it. It captures a lot of that "60's" youth culture that was going on at the time. And we get to see Spock jamming on his lyre. Actually, the take-over is believable, when you consider that these "hippies" are actually very bright people with a lot of technical knowledge. Their appearance was definitely deceiving.
It did surprise me that it became the first casualty in the TOS Hurt/Heal thread. The OP made the first incision, and then a bunch of people followed suit. It never even had a chance for a single heal before being put on the Eliminated list.
Later on, as an adult, I've come to like it. It captures a lot of that "60's" youth culture that was going on at the time. And we get to see Spock jamming on his lyre. Actually, the take-over is believable, when you consider that these "hippies" are actually very bright people with a lot of technical knowledge. Their appearance was definitely deceiving.
It did surprise me that it became the first casualty in the TOS Hurt/Heal thread. The OP made the first incision, and then a bunch of people followed suit. It never even had a chance for a single heal before being put on the Eliminated list.
That episode deserved to die from a painful, lingering infection.It did surprise me that it became the first casualty in the TOS Hurt/Heal thread. The OP made the first incision, and then a bunch of people followed suit. It never even had a chance for a single heal before being put on the Eliminated list.
I guess the eps was too on the nose with the "space hippies" thing. I can understand that.
But what if...
Say they portrayed some other disillusioned group of malcontents, some group of brilliant intellectuals seeking a paradise. Same basic story, hijacking the Enterprise, going to Eden, and all that. But the group isn't so much a 60s long-hair hippie knock-off, a more subtle analogy.
Would it have made a difference? Would the eps be better remembered rather than notorious as the "space hippie" eps?
I mean, there are TONS of TOS eps about portraying paradise, some human idyllic Eden. Is TWTE so much worse than others (hippies aside)?
But what if...
Say they portrayed some other disillusioned group of malcontents, some group of brilliant intellectuals seeking a paradise. Same basic story, hijacking the Enterprise, going to Eden, and all that. But the group isn't so much a 60s long-hair hippie knock-off, a more subtle analogy.
Would it have made a difference? Would the eps be better remembered rather than notorious as the "space hippie" eps?
I mean, there are TONS of TOS eps about portraying paradise, some human idyllic Eden. Is TWTE so much worse than others (hippies aside)?
"die"That episode deserved to die from a painful, lingering infection.It did surprise me that it became the first casualty in the TOS Hurt/Heal thread. The OP made the first incision, and then a bunch of people followed suit. It never even had a chance for a single heal before being put on the Eliminated list.
"painful"
"lingering infection"
I've never seen such antipathy felt for a Star Trek TOS episode... except for "And The Children Shall Lead."
♫ Girl meets boy they fall in love~ ♪
She says he's everything she ever dreamed of~ ♪
But when they get married.... ♬
This episode I throw in with the pile of other shitastic S3 episodes. It's not as bad as the Fuck You pile of S3 episodes though. Everytime Spock gives that reasoning of " I understand how they feel because I'm an outsider too~ " I can't help but imagine him running to his quarters and popping in his MCR CD.
Yeah it wasn't like he was tempted..
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC73PHdQX04[/yt]
But it could have been worse..
The SHAT!!
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0hTtsqiFCc&feature=related[/yt]
I'm getting acid flashbacks just looking at and listening to those.
Similar threads
- Poll
