Ideas as Movement in Spaces

The strategy to overcome the limitation in discussing and describing the performance practice focusing on these non-linear aspects has been the adoption of Sloterdijk’s spherical model. The model reflects the geometrical representation of thoughts, as applied by Gärdenfors, “to present the notions of dimensions and domains that constitute the fundamentals of [his] theory of conceptual spaces”404 _{to overcome the} shortcomings of “symbolic approaches [... where] cognition is seen as essentially being

computation, involving symbol manipulation”405_{. But, a more relevant approach for this}

research was found in the spherical metaphor employed by Sloterdijk.

Peter Sloterdijk describes human nature and social relations in the metaphor of bubbles (Sphären I, Blasen406_{) for personal and micro interpersonal relationships, globes} (Sphären II, Globen407_{) for macro organisational relations, in its extremes globalisation} of politics and markets, and foams (Sphären III, Schäume408_{) to discuss alternatives to} the prevalent social structures. The spherical metaphor of the bubble describes the 403 _{The concept of closure, a aesthetic recognition that a performance has reached its end, appears to be}

one major issue in the development of generative algorithms.

404 _{Gärdenfors 2004, 30.} 405 _{Gärdenfors 2004, 1.} 406 _{Sloterdijk 1998.} 407 _{Sloterdijk 1999.} 408 _{Sloterdijk 2004.}

creation of a personal “inner space” (Innenraum) encompassing the individual. Human motivation, intent, experiences, education, traditions and culture are illustrated as equipping our “inner space”.

Sloterdijk also states that the human depends on pairings from the earliest stages of life. From the elementary linguistic indicator that one can ‘be beside oneself’ it is argued that human existence is defined through an opposite part, which is not in itself necessarily definable as a physical entity409_{. Although Sloterdijk’s discourse is a complex} philosophical and psychological journey through human nature and the world, it serves as an inspiration to adopt a simplified abstraction of his concept to look at the relation of two opposing or complementary poles. Human perception often relies on defined opposites: e.g. perception of sound requires a concept of silence and light necessitates an experience of darkness. But a gradient often exists between these opposites, defying concrete definition but nevertheless existing in various resolutions. To illustrate this (Figure 5.5) one can consider a gradient from yellow to blue. The dotted arrow indicates the length of a gradient of the continuum of the mixed colours from yellow to blue.

1

1

2 2

2

1

Figure 5.5: The length of the dotted arrow represents the perceived gradient of the continuum

between the two poles.410

Personal perception might show differences of gradients between the two colours dependent on context and interest. Such changes in perspective can be taken as a rotation of the sphere. Two possible interpretations can be taken from this rotation: Firstly, one idea comes to the foreground and starts to be more ‘important‘, ‘closer’ or ‘immanent’. In the fictive example above, the importance of yellow would increase, reducing the concerns about the gradients. So the perceived distance of the poles shrink within the two dimensional projection of the sphere. The opposites of yellow and blue

409 _{Although Soterdijk makes references to the placenta in which earliest life is forming.} 410 _{Colours chosen for this example are in accordance to Johannes Itten’s colour wheel (http://}

would be strongest in closest proximity to each other. Ideas which are on an equal level have the maximum distance, ideas of unequal position move simultaneously closer. This abstraction is proposed as a means to describe sudden shifts into opposites and contrasts or gradual transitions from one to another.

Changes in perspective (rotation) can occur through various individual shifts in personal perception. The rotation – the changes in perception – can have various reasons: Either further, more detailed knowledge about particular concerns has altered the perception, or more short-term changes such as a feeling of excitement or boredom etc. can be the cause. It is also important to realise that changes in perception are not necessarily concurrent with changes in the activity. For example: the repetition of a particular pattern could cause a gradual rotation while the musical activity remains the same. An idea can therefore start to divert from the initial thought while the physical execution has not changed; it equally might not change at all. Further rotation could shift the perception in such a way that staying with the same activity appears to be appropriate after all.

The importance of one concern can alternate with a second through the rotation; but also new points on the gradient between the poles can come into a more detailed focus, that our perception might define this as a new pole. Figure 5.6 illustrates this by reusing the colour examples of yellow and blue. A point forming a mixture of yellow and blue might develop a distinct quality within the previous continuum, which form memorable characteristics and become clear distinguishable as green411_.

1 2

1 2

3

Figure 5.6: Birth of a new pole. The reverse can be considered too: The death of a defined pole.

This symbiosis could be considered as the birth of something new (adding poles to the sphere), but the reversal, the disappearance of a defined point, is possible as well (deletion of a pole), in particular as the origin of something new might render a previous 411 _{Therefore the perception of the gradients between yellow and blue are not perceived as}

“yellow”, “yellow > blue”, “yellow = blue”, “yellow < blue”, and “blue” anymore, but as two continua between the yellow-green and green-blue scales:

“yellow”, “yellow > green”, “yellow < green”, “green (yellow = blue)”, “green > blue”, “green < blue”, and “blue”.

concern obsolete412_{. However memory, with the ability to retrace processes and to} evaluate outcomes etc., facilitates all different states simultaneously.