Drgon Year Begins! Plan NOW – 21 Fantastic Tao Summer Retreats (sent to Elist)

Our approach to the number systems is to start with an axiomatic presentation of the simplest structure, the system of natural numbers, and then, by set-theoretic methods, to construct in succession the integers, rational numbers, and the real numbers. Although this procedure consists of adding the negative integers, then the proper fractions , and finally the “irrational” numbers, the actual methods of construction are not straightforward. This is the case, paradoxically, for reason of simplicity. The natural, psychologically plausible methods turn out to be much more complicated, in the long run, than the rather sophisticated procedures that we shall employ. In any case, the crucial point is that there is no recourse to spatial or temporal intuition. The whole fantastic hierarchy of number systems is built up by purely set-theoretic means from a few simple assumptions about natural numbers.
-ELLIOTT MENDELSON, Number Systems and the Foundation of Analysis

There is temptation to use proof by contradiction far too often. Indirect proofs can be very attractive since they tend to be short and sometimes give us results almost by magic. But this comes at cost. Magic is an activity in which what is really going on is concealed as much as possible. A proof that seems to work by magic doesn’t teach us much, and we should avoid such things as much as possible. This advice is given not only to ensure that we practice a variety of techniques (though that would be reason enough). There are schools of mathematics and philosophy in which proof by contradiction is not accepted, and such objections should not not be dismissed lightly. Proof by contradiction rests on the assumption that a statement must be either true or false (in fact, this is our definition of “statement”). In life, there seem to be meaningful assertions that are neither true nor false (“Nice day,eh?”). That there are only two truth values is called the “law of the excluded middle,” which has been an assumption of Western logic for millennia. Is it true? Who knows? It is one of our axioms.
– MICHAEL J. SCHRAMM, Introduction to Real Analysis

…there is no recourse to spatial or temporal intuition…

HOWDY/Hellurei

But my PAO system pales in comparison to the system that Ben Pridmore uses for cards. In the fall of 2002, he quit the job he’d held for six and half years as an assistant accountant at a meat factory in Lincolnshire, spent a week in Vegas counting cards, and then came back to England and spent the next six months watching cartoons, getting qualified to teach English as a second language, and developing an entirely new mnemonic nuclear arsenal. Instead of creating a single persion-action-object image for each card in the deck, Ben spent dozens of hours dreaming up a unique image for every two-card combination. When he sees the queen of hearts followed by the ace of diamonds, that’s unique image. When he sees the ace of diamonds followed by the queen of hearts, that’s different unique image. That’s 52 times 52, or 2,704, possible two-card combinations for which Ben has an image pre-memorized. And like Ed, he places three images at each of his loci. That means he’s able to condense an entire pack of cards into just nine loci (52 divided by 6), and twenty-seven packs of cards-the most he’s ever been able to memorize in an a single hour-into just 234 places.
-JOSHUA FOER, Moonwalking with Einstein

Withdrawal of Senses or Indriya Pratyahara:This involves withdrawal of senses, or sensory inputs into our physical being, coming from our five senses, namely organs creating a sensory overload, and hence hinders collection of the mind, as in Dharana, the next stage of Yoga.
Withdrawal of Prana or Prana Pratyahara: Control of our senses requires mastery over the flow of prana, as that is what drives the senses. To stop the scattering of valuable vital energy of the body or prana, we need to seek control over its flow, and harmonize it. This is done through various practices including bringing the entire focus to a single point in the body.
These two lead to the subsequent two types of pratyahara, the Control of Action or ‘Karma pratyahara’, which entails not just control of motor organs, but also right action or work, and Karma Yoga, surrender of every action to the divine and performing it as an act of service. This leads to the final form of pratyahara – the Withdrawal of Mind or ‘Mano pratyahara’, which is practiced by consciously withdrawing attention from anything that is unwholesome, and distracting for the mind such as by withdrawing attention from the senses, and directing it inwards.
-WIKIPEDIA

>>>1. Emotional coldness, detachment or reduced affect.
2. Limited capacity to express either positive or negative emotions towards others.
3. Consistent preference for solitary activities.
4. Very few, if any, close friends or relationships, and a lack of desire for such.
5. Indifference to either praise or criticism.
6. Taking pleasure in few, if any, activities.
7. Indifference to social norms and conventions.
8. Preoccupation with fantasy and introspection.
9. Lack of desire for sexual experiences with another person.>>>

Maybe this Perelman is actually more like a saint.

Anyway many of these properties in some form are very important for intensive solitary practice.

If somebody is fully functional and able to solve everyday problems (take care of himself or herself), these WHO criteria are meaningless.

HOWDY

योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः ॥२॥

yogaś-citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ ||2||

When you are in a state of yoga, all misconceptions (vrittis) that can exist in the mutable aspect of human beings (chitta) disappear. ||2||

yogah (योगः, yogaḥ) = (nom. sg. m. from yoga (योग, yoga)) yoga
chitta (चित्त, citta) = (iic.) all that is mutable in human beings; thoughts
vritti (वृत्ति, vṛtti) = (iic.) thought-wave; mental modification; mental whirlpool; a ripple in the chitta. A vritti alters perception like a misconception, or as waves on the surface of a pond obscure or distort our view of the bottom.
nirodhah (निरोधः, nirodhaḥ) = (nom. sg. m. from nirodha (निरोध, nirodha)) to find tranquility; to control
Chitta: aligning perception with the truth

Chitta can be compared to a veil worn by an Islamic woman whose every perception is filtered through the veil and for whom the entire world takes on the color of the veil. And if she wears a veil of a different color each day, then for her the world is sometimes one color and sometimes another.

And this is how it always is for our own perceptions, though we may not be aware of it. Our perceptions of the world are skewed. For example, if you’re driving to an appointment and are running late, you’re far more likely to see a world full of red lights and people driving at a ridiculously slow speed. But if you set out for an appointment and you’ve got plenty of time to get there, you’ll probably enjoy the trip. But of course the world hasn’t changed, only your take on it. When you’re running late you see the world through the “veil” of haste, and when you’ve got plenty of time, you see the world through the “veil” of enjoyment.

And the truth you perceive will be conditioned by which of these two types of mindsets you happen to be in. Perceiving the world as it actually is: this is the state that Patanjali (पतञ्जलि, Patañjali) refers to as yoga.

The purpose of yoga is to lift this veil – and thus give you the gift of truth. Only when this veil has been lifted, can you begin to genuinely perceive reality and yourself. This is an experience that can totally change your life.
Chitta: evanescent thoughts – or much more?

Chitta is often translated as mind or spirit. But in my view chitta encompasses everything that affects our perceptions and by extension is our body. This meaning is illustrated by the vast difference between the way a sick, weakened person and a strong healthy person perceive a staircase. For the sick person a staircase is an insurmountable obstacle, whereas a healthy person can walk up and down a staircase without a second thought.

Our energy level, thoughts and emotions also affect our perceptions of the myriad things that change from day to day over the course of our lives. Only our true being remains unchanged and observes the world and itself through an ever changing veil.
Vritti: misconceptions with many ramifications

Vritti, which literally means “waves,” refers to all elements that can affect mutable chitta. In terms of the mind, this entails thoughts, and in terms of the body diseases, as well as changes wrought by aging. Vrittis alter perception much as misconceptions do. For example, we tend to reach conclusions concerning a person’s occupation based on their outer appearance, i.e. a person wearing overalls is presumed to be a carpenter, housepainter or the like; and a person in a white coat is presumed to be a doctor, pharmacist or the like. And thus we’re unlikely to pay close attention to a person in overalls if they give us advice on how to deal with diabetes. But this is a mistake, since we have no way of knowing whether this person is really a doctor or not.
The schizophrenia of everyday experience:
We are all ensnared in our misconceptions, like a schizophrenic is in his insanity, and who after all does not realize that he is mad and whose insane imaginings are confirmed at every turn.
Freeing ourselves of the misconceptions that alter our consciousness is a highly complex task that involves our entire being; for misconceptions are literally embedded in our physical, energetic, emotional and mental bodies. Nonetheless, each of us has the capacity to attain this clear state of perception, i.e. the state Patanjali (पतञ्जलि, Patañjali) refers to as yoga, and to which he shows us a viable path.
-http://www.ashtangayoga.info/philosophy/yoga-sutra-patanjali/chapter-1/item/yogash-chitta-vritti-nirodhah-2/

…there lived in England a very reclusive character named Henry Cavendish, the son of a British peer. He had no close friends, was afraid of women, and the woman servants in his large house in Clapham Common, a section of London, were ordered to keep out of his sight, getting the orders for his meals by notes left daily on the hall table. He was disinterested in music or art of any kind, and spent all of his time carrying on experiments in physics and chemistry in private laboratory located in his large mansion. His work was interrupted only by traditional strolls for the purpose of health and by occasional attendance at the Royal Society Club dinners, for getting information on what other physicists and chemists were doing. During his long life (he died at the age of 79), he published only a handful of comparatively unimportant papers. But after his death about a million pounds sterling were found in his bank account and twenty bundles of notes in his laboratory. These notes remained in the hands of his relatives for a very long time, but when they were published, about a hundred years later, it became clear that Henry Cavendish was one of the greatest experimental scientists that ever lived. He discovered all the laws of electric and magnetic interactions at the same time as Coulomb, and his work in chemistry matches that of Lavoisier. Furthermore he applied a balance for the study of extremely weak gravitational forces between small objects, and, on the basis of these experiments, he arrived at the exact value of the mass of the earth. No physical unit is called by his name but the Cavendish Laboratory in Cambridge is one of the world’s most renowned centers of scientific studies.
-GEORGE GAMOW, The Great Physicists from Galileo to Einstein

>>>If Perelman simply wanted to do high-level solitary
>>>investigations, then why did he even feel the need
>>>to post his paper on the ArXiv to begin with?
>>>People could have always read his work after his death
>>>and attributed the achievements posthumously.

And Henry Cavendish could have destroyed all his notes…but hey what about that quite great amount of money? Would sinners deserve it?

Yoga is superior in this respect that results are very immediate and personal. One just must avoid as far as possible any normal kind of life situations or…

I haven’t been any way irritated about this or that kind of behaviour because it’s not useful, but this normal level of so called emotional intelligence is so miserable that there really would be reasons to be concerned.

HOWDY