Reality beyond your senses - Updated slightly


And how to measure it

I can't see electricity.

I've opened my eyes wide. I've squinted real close. I've used regular glasses and I've used polarized lenses. It doesn't matter.

I still can't tell if that extension cord is plugged in just by looking at the end.

You know what else?

I can't taste the plants growing. I've no way to do that.

The human body just isn't set up for that kind of sensory perception.

Aha, I can imagine you thinking, he's going to talk about extra-sensory perception.

Well, no.

I'm going to talk about indirect ways to measure forces in your life.

So it's a given that I can't see electricity. It's also a given that if I stick two table knives in those slots on the socket, I'm going to experience electricity a lot closer than I should. If I survive, I might even have something to say about it.

But I'm not that foolish. Today anyway.

Just because I can't see it doesn't mean I can't use it. Right now I am using electricity from the wall to power MaKai, my trusty iMac. I can see the screen, I can hear the fan noise, and when I push these little white squares the picture changes slightly.

I have a bit of a cold, so I am sipping Theraflu spiked with a mixture of lemon and lime juice which makes it almost taste decent. I'm fond of what I call layered V8, which if you do it right, changes flavor as you drink it. A finger of lemon juice, fill the glass half full of crushed ice, two fingers of lime juice, and pour V8 very slowly over the ice so it doesn't mix with the juices at the bottom. The ice, the lemon juice, and the lime juice all live in my fridge, which also needs electricity.

The hot water for the Theraflu came from my water cooler, also electric. Good thing too, because those coal-fired water coolers are just too smokey for indoor use.

I don't need to see it to know it's there.

Rain gutters. They work on gravity.

If I plant tomatoes and maybe some herbs this year, I am pretty sure with the right care and attention, they'll grow. And romaine, yep, along with some spinach.

The world is full of forces and rules that you can use if you know what you are doing. Or even if you are willing to be careful.

Otherwise, it's the table knives in the socket again. Bad news and the smell of scorched hair in your nostrils.

As you go along, your mind learns to translate non-sensory impressions into sensory analogues. It's still not laser swords and fireballs from the fingers, but it does help you measure and direct the forces you are working with. Sort of like focusing out of the corner of eye.

But to begin with, pay attention to the effects and not necessarily the force.

A flag waves in the breeze. You don't see the air moving, you see the flag.

Pipes click as the first hot water in the morning moves through them. You don't hear the heat, you hear the pipes reacting to the heat.

You're thinking about your cousin Jesse who you've not talked to in years and the phone rings.

Indirect effects while you learn to perceive out the corner of your mind.

Posted: Thu - March 12, 2009 at 04:44 PM
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