380. Poem / Song / Chant Called Principles of Scientific and Ecological Inertia (Quite Catchy, eh? Ha!)

Poem / Song / Chant Called Principles of Scientific and Ecological Inertia. Page 1.

Poem / Song / Chant Called Principles of Scientific and Ecological Inertia. Page 2.

Poem / Song / Chant Called Principles of Scientific and Ecological Inertia. Page 3.

PDF file for the poem:
http://stokastika2.googlepages.com/principlescientificecologicalinertia.pdf.

This poem is old. It was written I think in the Spring of 2006, during the time I was taking Dr. Martin Kennedy's Sedimentology course at UC Riverside. This poem draws the parallels of mutations, their successes and failures in evolutionary biology, ecosystems, as well as behavioral changes, and changes in entire human societies. If it works, it sticks, and it grows. It it doesn't work, it decays or collapses, and its parts morph into something else. So I would know, being a survivor of anorexia. Simple, simple logic under the whole jargon conundrum of the University. And so, this form of reasoning is being explored at the societal level by the Panarchy group, in which my advisor, Dr. Oran Young is affiliated with.

It's funny, my poetry--though out of place for a few years, now has context, and growing significance for what I am doing. I feel better, almost every single day now, being at UCSB.

So, the main theme is the properties of cycles of growth, change, collapse, and rebirth. I inserted a phoenix in the end . Because I didn't want to end in "decay / collapse." Coupling of mental observation-processing, mental mutation "epiphany," behavioral change, technological use-creation-change, environmental re-organization-use-change.... I have been wanting to write a story called the Phoenix of Science, documenting how a society had an intellectual bottleneck, and the ones who survived were the rebellious who hated the system, so they re-invented the language, they re-pigeonholed reality.

I also read this poem in light of my grandfather. He is still here, in my mind. He's in the mountains, you know. He's all over Mount Baldy. He's all over southern California. He's not gone. Hardly. In fact, he's freeer than ever.

The other thing I was thinking about is higher levels of organization beyond the individual. Like forming a group, a deep bond with a small group of humans, the co-alignment of purpose and motivation and skills, who create something greater than the capacity of any human can do. With film production, music production, creating an organization that can lead to the first grass-roots gay-elected official in San Francisco (so I have been inspired by Harvey Milk as of late--my neighbor friends took me to watch the movie, he was a phenomenal character). To be able to create a level of organization beyond one human and act like a coordinated super-organism is one of the most thrilling, engrossing feelings I have ever felt in my entire life. I have experienced is most consciously once with the final round of filming at Shifting Sands of Goleta Beach.

Not to mention, "the hardest part is always starting, but once you're going, you keep on rolling!" Get rolling, Vic!