Author: Squared By Woods Books Publishing

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When 1 + 1 Does Not Equal 2

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I saw the question “Why is 1 + 1 = 2?” on Quora, a Q&A site, and I liked the answer I gave to it.  I provided three alternative solutions.  So here it is, three cases where someone might not consider one plus one to equal two.

My Quora post

If you ask any mathematician, they will tell you 1 + 1 = 2. Straightforward, unimaginative.

If you ask a nihilist what 1 + 1 equals, he or she will likely say the expression means nothing. If they are feeling particularly spirited, then they might say the bolder 1 + 1 = 0. If they are the extremely skeptical type, however, they might hold that 1 + 1 can not be equal to anything beyond itself. This last type type would reject even the notion that 1 = 1, (Aristotle’s “A is A”) on account of the number one on the left being distinguished tempo-spatially from the number one on the right.  Even this letter Z  being read here is not the same Z it was two seconds ago; at the very least, its pixels have refreshed.

If you ask someone who believes in an omnipresent deity or who holds that all things are united with all other things, he or she might not only say that 1 + 1 = 1, but would likely reject the notion that entities are distinguishable from one another in the first place. For such perspectives, one cannot be added to anything else, as it already encompasses everything.  Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation is something they might point towards as well.  Does anyone know what the universe plus one is?  How does someone add anything to something that already encompasses everything?  One does not, it might be said.

“Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect.” – Chief Seattle

If you ask a Gestalt psychologist what 1 + 1 equals, then they might say 1 + 1 = 3, or 1 + 1 = 4, or quite possibly any positive integer up to infinity. A popular adage in Gestalt psychology is “The whole is more than the sum of the parts.” One such example is Kanizsa’s Triangle. A photographic mosaic (larger picture made up of smaller pictures) is another example.  Also to consider are optical illusions, such as the rabbit/duck, and the young lady/old lady.  Ten bees spread out in a garden is no big deal; ten bees in a car is a swarm.

It’s a complex world we live in.

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Five Percent Vexation

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So, this month I finished chapters 5 and 6 (out of 120 planned) of the epic poem that has consumed my attention for a good number of years.  I may end up calling them something else as time goes on, as chapter is very prosy sounding.  Maybe I will call them fugues, who knows yet.  I will likely think it my greatest achievement when I finish, but my latest product always tends to feel like a magnum opus, so I guess I am biased.  However, I have noticed something over the years.

For better or worse, the things that irritate me the most evoke my creativity and inner muse.  I am finding it impossible to shake the notion that complacency is the sworn enemy of all artistic endeavors.  What else could drive people to go the lengths they do in order to share a sentiment, a thought, or a vision?  With six out of a hundred twenty chapters complete, that must mean I have achieved five percent vexation.

There is so much to be upset with in the world though, that the other ninety-five percent should be easy to find.

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Biting Off More Than Can Be Masticated

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I have done some careful planning on the idea of an epic comic (epic poem + comic strip) and come to the conclusion that one will have to come after the other.  A comic strip on the scale that I am looking to do (a maximum of 10,000 panels) would require somewhere between ten to twenty volumes, given the physical limitations that printed book can have.

Phase one will be to finish writing the epic poem (a maximum of 10,000 lines of verse).  My target for this is to have it complete before I turn 31 (my next prime birthday).  Certainly feasible, given that everything is set up for it, including Affect Engineering.

Phase two will be the comic strip illustration aspect that incorporates the epic poem.  Making it available as a web-comic would seem to be the logical route to go before the next prime birthday (37).

Thirty lines of verse and then five illustrated panels per day. They both seem within reach.

Famous last words . . .

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Broken Promises and Plots

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A while ago, a chapter sample was promised.  Unfortunately, that was before I came to the conclusion that obtaining electronic rights for some of my sources would be next to impossible.  So no chapter sample yet, you will just have to buy the whole book if you want to see it, though I may figure some way around this chapter sample dilemma given enough time.

In other news, I made some major headway on the epic comic (comic strip + epic poetry).  The epic poem actually has a coherent plot now.  This has done wonders for me and made it easier to write.  I do not know how anyone can write a story without a plot.  Reading someone’s stream of consciousness would probably be just as difficult if not harder.  Expect to see more epic comics integrated in the site posts.

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29th Birthday Means It’s Prime Time!

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It’s been six years since I last had a birthday that was also a prime number (23).  Unfortunately, my next one is only two years away.  A part of me is thinking that it would be awesome if I could produce another book by then, or accomplish some other gargantuan task between my remaining prime birthdays (31, 37, 41, 43, 47, etc.). Stranger things have happened.

Also, somebody found the Parabola theme from CryoutCreations and he really likes it!  I have to say it’s a lot more functional than the previous theme I was using and I like the look of it.

Only ten days left till Affect Engineering hits the streets, pending I don’t find anything dreadful that needs fixing before then.