Syntalk

SynTalk thinks about Silence, and speculates whether it is fundamentally an ‘aspiration’. Is Silence ‘a permanent flow of meaning’? The concept of Silence manifests itself in physiological / neurological (auditory feedback loop, aphasia, dementia), linguistic (syntax, binary language), cultural, engineering (constraint layer damping, non-stationary sound), spiritual (higher consciousness), cybernetic and philosophical (‘Being’ and ‘Becoming’) terrains. The concepts are derived off / from Plato, Bhartrihari, Freud, Sri Aurobindo, Piaget, Lacan, Skinner and Chomsky, among others. We also discuss if it is possible to ‘get out of language’. How languages die like mountains and not buffaloes. Why is ‘what is not heard’ conceived as Silence, and what is the link with whales, bees & dogs? How different are the characteristics of machine sound? Is there a link between translation, ‘interpretation’, natural & artificial languages, and ‘meaning’? How does easeful acquisition of language work during infancy? Is there a

SynTalk thinks about the Cellphone (the object & the metaphor). The links between multiple human identities (avatars) & social spaces, (terrestrial) fantasy, boredom and ‘shape-shifting’ performative aspects of life are explored from the lens of the Cellphone. SynTalk also examines if there is an addiction-like neurological (pathological) phenomenon afoot as we interact with our phones almost continually, and whether it is possible to understand the rise of ‘Selfie’. The concepts are derived off / from Rizzolatti (mirror neurons), Dunbar (Dunbar’s number), Human-Computer Interaction (HCI; ‘HHI’, UX, Usability), Granovetter (social networks, weak ties-strong ties), neuroscience (labile memory, somatosensory cortex, PFC, Dopamine, Oxytocin), McLuhan (medium & the message), Proteus Effect, and ‘technology appropriation’, among others. We also discuss if there is an epigenetic change happening in our memory. Is it possible for our brains to trust the computer? Does a Cellphone reduce or accentuate alienation in t

SynTalk thinks about the ontological (mind independent) aspects of Beauty and aesthetics in areas such as mathematics, arts, poetry, literature, music, sculpture, and photography, while constantly pondering whether Beauty is important. The historicity and present status of Beauty is discussed in contexts of intuition, justice, goodness, religion, and boredom. In a sense the conversation follows the opposite of phenomenological / epistemological conception of ‘beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder’. The concepts are derived off / from Advaita, Zen / Buddhism, Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Longinus, Ockham, Descartes, Kant, Gauss, Goethe, Schiller, Jane Austen, Weber, Coomaraswamy, Raja Rao, Tagore, Walter Benjamin, Einstein, Sri Aurobindo, Derrida, Cartier-Bresson, Nisargadatta, Warhol, and Eliot, among others. We also discuss if there are mathematical analogies to Beauty. How does the human spirit embody itself in art (say, ‘scraptures’)? What is the role of aesthetic training? When & why does boredom set i