Metaphysics – The Fifth Dimension of Pole Vaulting?

[powerplant42]

Like the 'dao': does nothing, yet accomplishes everything...

What is is not, so it becomes a natural, central state of being... the vaulter must vault, but it must not be vaulting, it must be a state of centralness and oneness with one's self.

[volteur]

In a quick nutshell it is similar to how Slick descirbed it--given enough tries, statistically, all the particles will eventually line up and you would be able to propogate right through whatever medium you would like (as our current understanding is that atoms are IMENSELY hollow). However, because the rate at which things move at on that scale, the statistics are very low... and I mean REALLY low...

Quantum mechanics is a very probablistic science. Due to the uncertainty principle, we definitively know the momentum of a particle, or its position, but not both at the same time. Thus, we get probabilities and expectitation values based on these probabilities which stem from the assumption that nature is going to pick the senerio with the highest probability. The highest probability in this case is that the particle will go nowhere...but give it enough time, and enough attempts, eventually it is bound to happen.

I disagree in saying that quantum mechanics is metaphysics. It is clearly science that has been tested in the labs time and time again, and the results are spot on. To paraphrase a great professor and scientist Dr. Richard Feynman, "No one really understands quantum mechanics. And if you think you do, you probably don't know enough about it yet." ...myself included.

cheers for the explanation i think i've got it - theoretically we could walk through the wall given the movement of the sub atomic particles and the space within but we would have to be very fast would we not? Because part way through the wall we would suddenly get stuck.

quantum as i understand it got to the point where the hypothesis was always proven to be true. So if they looked for the particle to move upward they found it.If they looked for the particle to move downward then they found that. And if they looked for the particle to move sideways they also found that. They always found what they were looking for. The hypothesis became the reality.

And thanks for the reminder about Feynman. A friend of mine who did his PHD in social psychology put me onto Feynman through a short audio tape of him talking and i thought here is the guy who knows that he doesn't know, even though he appears to know more than anyone else. He is the one guy i like above all others since Einstein for seeming to truly 'get it'. I think his audio tapes can be found online somewhere.

Finally, i have to disagree that quantum mechanics is not metaphysical in nature - i think it is heading towards metaphysics but isn't developed enough yet. The paradox between your statement that quantum mechanics is proven through science and the quote from Feynman that nobody truly understands it could prove my point there.

[volteur]

I reccomend the book "Zen in the Art of Archery" by Eugen Herrigel if you want something really metaphysical as it relates to learning a technical skill. Facinating stuff. Here is an exerpt:

". . . to use some expressions which are nearest to the heart of the masters, it is necessary for the archer to become, in spite of himself, an unmoved center. Then comes the supreme and ultimate miracle: art becomes 'artless,' shooting becomes not-shooting, a shooting without a bow and arrow; the teacher becomes pupil again, the Master a beginner, the end a beginning, and the beginning perfection."

Cool beans in my book.

Tim,

that book is cool beans in my book as well as is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert Pirsig.

So how does the vaulter become an unmoved center throughout the vault?

In the martial arts sometimes a black belt will suddenly appear at training wearing the white belt again. I was aware of the best Aikidoist in Australia do this some years back. When does a master realise that there is more he doesn't know than that he does know? All i can say on that is it is definitely after he thinks he knows more than he doesn't.

In Zen there are Koans or riddles which aren't solvable by rational thought and instead require intuitive thought to understand them

one goes like this:

First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, and finally there is a mountain again

you could transfer pole vaulting for the mountain in the Koan.

Donovan used those words in one of his songs.


This one is a good one for me to remember:

1. A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.

Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.

The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"

"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

[volteur]

Like the 'dao': does nothing, yet accomplishes everything...

What is is not, so it becomes a natural, central state of being... the vaulter must vault, but it must not be vaulting, it must be a state of centralness and oneness with one's self.

do you think walk when you are walking?

[KirkB]

Quoted from Joe's blog thread ...

... PS: I read Voltuer's post about einstein and other philosophers. You said "how does petrov's name fit in there?" ...

6P, this is the thread where you should post your comments about Einstein and Petrov.

I know it's a few more keystrokes and a few more seconds to think before you type, but it's better to keep each thread on topic. It keeps each thread flowing in a positive, constructive direction, and makes it easier to find things a week, month, or year later. 6P, you're still a rookie on PVP, so no problem.

And you shouldn't clutter up you training blog with this stuff. Can you imagine what would happen if everyone just posted any topic on any thread?

It's too easy for threads to get side-tracked or chaffed.

I think that anyone that's about to go way off topic or rant should create their own thread. Especially if their ideas are novel. You weren't on PVP at the time, but you may have noticed that that's what Tim McMichael did with his Oklahoma Manifesto thread, and that's what I did with my Bryde Bend thread.

And come to think of it, that's what you did with your blog! Basically, your blog consolidates and encapsulates all the things that relate to your personal training methods and technique - into one tidy package! So far, so good.

... and personally, I think it's totally appropriate to have petrov and einstein's together like that. But that's just a vaulter talking haha

6P, maybe you can explain why?

Kirk