Can we talk about GARY WILSON sometime?
Doesn't have to be now. Maybe later.
Somewhere quiet... you + me + Gary.
Somewhere quiet... you + me + Gary.
"Your mind is so unbalanced... WHOOO(p)!" - G.W.
"Sometimes I feel like God forgot me... like God forgot me.. Sodium Pentothal... Your love goes on like a makeout party" - also G.W.
I think he really knows me?
His calculations are spot on.
Gary Wilson's Fundamental Theorem of Makeout reminds me of how actor Terrance Howard of Crash, Hustle & Flow, and Iron Man fame once boldly invented his own branch of mathematics, going his own way by ripping up conventional norms and inserting his own starting assumption that 1 x 1 actually = 2!!! Read more on Howard's left-field ideas about science and maths HERE.
1 x 1 = 2!!?? But.. Holy shit, hold up.. Terry?!?! b..bb...Bbbu.. but... This whole time.. ... . . BUT... no... NO.... my CPU is crashing!!! TERRY! HOLD ME! The seams are showing in the walls!>!! aHhhHHH. My eyelids are peeling off again! They can't be trusted. .... Terrance!?? Mr Howard? nO. The world isn't ready. Another psychotic hero, I think. Cheers bro, we need more positive representation. That's what I'm trying to do too. Joan of Arc was cool as hell and also heard voices, but there's debate on why. I reckon she was either a witch or a lesbian for wearing guys trousers, being a war hero, and having an untapped vag. Or, she was a lesbian witch, which (ha) is positive representation in my book too. Like a boss, her heart refused to burn at the stake? Inspirational. Frankly, God told me I'm the reincarnation of Joan of Arc, but God's a prankster sometimes so who knows.
I'm kidding about taking the piss out of Howard, mostly. He strikes me as creative, interesting, and ballsy for developing his very own theories on maths and science, and I hate how gatekept contributing to domain-specific knowledge is. The expectation that you must know everything first or reach a certain level before you're allowed to play around with ideas is bullshit. Of course, having knowledge of canon to refer to helps (lol), but it's inert if that's all you've got. The Mathematician's Lament is a brilliant essay by Paul Lockhart on exactly this issue in education. Even if, or maybe especially if you never enjoyed maths you'll enjoy reading it ((I hope... no refunds!)).
I love//hate maths and science. If pressed though, it's mostly love. The world is incredible and scrutinising it through those lenses is one way to see its beauty. Literally, viewing ATOMS through a million dollar scanning tunnelling microscope in a research laboratory I had access to during my undergrad years was Some Buzz! Maybe it's how astronauts feel in space? Or how the one virginity certifying guy who saw Joan of Arc's pussy felt? My particular interest was in nanoscience and materials. Being able to do cool shit with science was the main reason why I didn't do a degree in anthropology, sociology, psychology, philosophy, photography, or any other interests I had at age 17. I arrogantly figured I could explore other subjects independently, without guidance from lectures or use of hard-core laboratory gear. Photography would have been awesome to learn, but I can do that now. Do I have regrets? Dunno. Personally, yes--philosophically, no.
My tendency is to exhaustively mine all experiences for insights into myself/others and extract useful information that'll help me better direct my life towards what I want to aim for. As such, I welcome *everything* as instructive and beneficial for pushing me towards growth. It was cool to explore the possibility of becoming a research scientist for a hot minute, before realising it wasn't my thing. I'm not smart enough at science to not have to graft like a bastard to keep up, for one. But also, I need the direct connection to people to be central in my career(s) since I'm passionate about people first. Enter teaching. It's trite but true to say that all my experiences in education have shaped my life and me personally in very significant ways. I'm eternally grateful for how the thousands of kids I've taught have motivated and challenged me to expand my repertoire in order to be the best version of myself as their teacher. Yes, I care a lot, for their sake and mine, and I try hard. All important relationships inspire and test us like that and we're bound to get stuff wrong in them. I fucked up Big Time in my most important relationship--the relationship I have with myself--but I'm mending and back to equilibrium internally. Thank you to all my failures for cracking me open, for making me braver and more connected to our shared humanity, for motivating me to learn, and helping me strive to realise the best in me in every situation.
For the record, I think Terrance was badass for trying to rewrite or reinvigorate 'reality' and I admire him for being so ambitious with practically zero socially recognised talent. His ideas had legs beyond what I'm giving him credit for here but "1 x 1 = 2" is funny AF on the face of it, and that's where I'm at. Read the Terryology article I linked above for a more nuanced and fair and balanced guide to what he was on about. He's still a silly figure, as anyone with that much self-belief must be. I'm no slouch in that department either, but I've never before granted myself permission to 'do art' in public. Not really, anyways. I feel daft for *waiting to be asked* my whole life!! Big thanks to anyone who's ever asked me or encouraged me--keep doing that pls--but I'm gonna ask myself now too. I can try harder to make myself visible and knowable, if I want to be seen and known. Yes, I'm vaguely worried no one but me gives a fuck and I'm being mega self-indulgent, but I can handle that. Gary Wilson is an inspiration to me as a fellow weirdo and here's a documentary about his 'discovery' if you're interested: YOU THINK YOU REALLY KNOW ME.
Yea, it's uncomfortable for me to actually try at: Writing. Music. Comedy. Dancing. Performance. Photography. Etc. since I'm not confident in what I'm doing and lack experience. However, my love of playing with self-expression for its own//my sake makes whatever I do feel rewarding and worthwhile anyways. It's the challenge I chose for me, since I needed a new one and taking up space 'as an artist' scares me. I think--IT IS HARD--for all of you?!? Well done, artist friends. I love to see you doing your things. Is being 'an artist' as hard as being a paramedic? Dunno. Bizarre comparison, g. Who cares?! I'm a big wimp about death/illness, but everything is hard in different ways. My life has totally been saved *by art* as much as by doctors. It's all important. I couldn't live without art and I think I have to do it now, alongside all the other things I love to do. I'm very grateful we're all built different and feel called to do different things.
Existence is heavy--I've always thought--but I love heavy shit and I'm super fortunate and driven to make the most of the hand I've been dealt. Increased commitment to 'art stuff' is something I'd aim for after first knocking down smaller goals like just DOING IT as much as I can. It takes guts to work harder and risk more, but I think I stake a lot on being real with people and I've always tried hard at that, if nothing else. It's enough, for me. I'm agnostic on the rest--on art as a product that 'succeeds' with others or not--because I'm not a commodity and you don't have to like me or what I'm up to. I wonder though, am I spreading bets across the arts so that if I struggle to make anything *I* like, to find joy or fulfilment in practice, or to connect with others through any one thing... it matters less? Or, is my brain simply FRIED CHAOS that's always been impossible to point in any single direction cos I love everything and want to do and be everything? The answer can only be: YES!
I'm following in Terry's footsteps. I didn't go further than undergraduate science either, and I dunno dick about "making art." I dropped out of art at my 7th grade level. However, as a BSc chemist and Level 1 madman I approve: THE PERIODIC TABLE ACCORDING TO TERRY Can someone make sure he's OK though? I've got a crush on Carbon too, Terry, but I'm not sure you're correct in saying it's bisexual. That info wasn't listed on the dating profile I read. Either way, WhhHHoAArrR-- GRAPHENE!!! I'm swiping right & hoping we match. Seriously cool material. I would name my child graphene [lowercase], so it's a good thing I'm not having one.
Anyways, c'mon... what Terry said was something we've all thought before. Let's be honest, 1 x 1 does seem like it could = 2, doesn't it? We're only laughing at him because we've all been pointed at and laughed out of classrooms by our peers when we fumbled 1 x 1 in our initial encounters with it. It's notoriously sneaky. But isn't it a delight to encounter an outsider opinion and be shook by it, or at least consider the world from a different angle? We now rigidly recite "1 x 1 = 1" like mindless automatons in this dystopian hellscape we call "Earth: 2024 Edition". Looking forward to the 2025 update coming in 12 days. I'll be in a stinky-footed room in Italy with 30 other people who want to dance with the madness of the world. 1 × 1 = 2 sometimes, I believe. I love you Terrance Howard--I am you. Keep experimenting with maths and science and life in general, because what else is it for? Let's play with it all, excluding nothing. Don't even sweat it. Internal consistency with established laws and logical principles is a requirement with the stickler science//math guys as far as I know, but not with me, k? There's nothing internally consistent about me either, Terry. Trying to grasp the infinitude of myself and realising I'm everything was the most fun I've ever had with maths. No one taught me; I had to find out for myself. Shine on you crazy diamond.
What tickles me more than anything from Terry is how an apparently sober, 'sane', serious mathematician made a *20 minute* take-down VIDEO addressing Howard's claim to have discovered the one times table has been wrong this whole time. The open-minded intellectual rigour of mathematicians deconstructing Terry's flawed but charming reasoning in order to keep our FUCT world right-side up and stay convinced themselves that 1 x 1 is still = 1 is honestly commendable, even though it simultaneously strikes me as hilarious. Listen maths guys, I can also count and understand how an array works. Let Terry do his outsider thing. I'm here if you ever wanna talk about maths, Terry, or I'll talk to anyone about Gary Wilson. He started all this, after-all.
Genre tag: "outsider music"
For outsiders who wanna get inside life
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