“Old School”

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It can sometimes be a sign of good parenting

Our extended family had gathered in the afternoon to celebrate our grandson’s First Communion. We were sitting at the dining table talking when a woman noticed that I was wearing cuff links. She complimented me and another woman said she wished more men would dress up for special occasions. Yet another woman agreed and commented, “Old school—very nice!” Having more often heard that phrase used negatively, it was refreshing to hear it used positively.

Prior to this event, Linda and I had laughed with a great deal of understanding while watching the movie The Intern, in which Robert DeNiro’s character, Ben, a 70-year-old widower, enters the world of a startup company run by twenty-somethings. He wears a suit and tie, carries a handkerchief and an attaché case, writes with a pen and is observant. His demeanor is that of a seasoned professional. In contrast, the young people in this company are dressed for leisure and talk “tech.” Women ignore a messy desk and they don’t think to help each other. And the men are awkward in relating to women. As a whole the employees were disconnected, separated by technology. Their bicycling boss, Jules, played by Anne Hathaway, finds a kindred spirit in Ben because she, like him, pays attention to detail. Ultimately Ben empowers Jules to change her mind about hiring a CEO, deciding instead to assume the position herself.

In this movie we witnessed the contrast between the values of contemporary popular culture and those of an earlier generation. Generally, as I see it—and my bias is decidedly old school—the difference is between professional or formal and casual or informal.

Examples in the workplace include employees in restaurants and other public places preferring to engage with their fellow employees when they should be paying attention to customers, employees who have little or no knowledge of the products they sell or even the company they work for and when a customer comes to them with a problem they become defensive.

One of the principles of interpersonal communication is that attitudes and behaviors are communicable, that is, they are easily, if unconsciously, passed on and replicated. We not only pick up on the feelings of those around us, we formulate impressions, have prejudices reinforced and make assumptions about people and life in general based on them. At times, everyday displays of laziness, ignorance, carelessness, boredom or dissatisfaction, especially when compounded, can contribute to weltschmerz, a German word meaning “sadness for the world.”

In contrast, when we observe confidence, intelligence, friendliness, caring or enthusiasm—qualities frequently associated with more formal and professional attitudes, dress, manners and behaviors—we feel good about humanity. The phrase, “the dignity of man” is so old school there probably aren’t many young people who’ve even heard it spoken. Nonetheless, despite the differences in generations, the perception of self-respect, dignity, and caring in others never goes out of style.

I have very clear memories of my mother instructing my sister and me on manners, not just once, but as a pattern that persisted into high school. She showed us how to hold our forks and spoons gracefully, not like a shovel. She laid out place settings so we would know the functions of every utensil and where they belonged. I was to hold the door for a girl, stand when she entered the room, walk on the outside of a sidewalk from her, look a girl in the eye when talking, speak in terms of their interests and dance with as many girls as possible, especially those not being asked by other boys. She even did role playing with me so I would know how to approach a girl I didn’t know, how to ask if she wanted to dance, thank her afterward and return her to where she’d been sitting. I never went on a date without a coat and tie, never cursed no matter what the circumstances and after escorting my date to the door I complimented her in some way, said I had a good time and thanked her for going out with me. Initially, these lessons in manners and “proper” behavior were awkward. But it didn’t take long for me to realize what a god-send they were.

And my mother’s training carried into the workplace. Professionalism—being punctual, representing company values in dress and behavior and having a positive, can-do attitude, focusing on the task at hand, avoiding vulgar language, following through on commitments, considering other people’s points of view and collaborating. These were attitudes and values that my parents inherited from previous generations—sustained because they worked.

When I look around and see young people struggling to be accepted and suffering the consequences of substance abuse due to low self-esteem, insecurity and identity issues, I can’t help but appreciate that my parents instilled in my sister and me the values of respect, manners, dignity, order, responsibility and consideration for others. Also, a major influence for putting these behaviors into practice was my father, who modeled them perfectly. Now, whenever I hear someone refer to something as “old school,” I think to myself, “Right on! There’s an example of good parenting!”

Here’s an excellent example of old school thinking and practice in the modern world. As I was arranging this shot by the side of the road, a white-bearded Amish farmer pulled his buggy over and asked if I liked the look of the field. I said I did and he explained that they cut and arrange the wheat into “shocks” this way for it to dry. He said tall-stacking or rolling it would take less work, but they preferred to do it this way “because it’s beautiful.”

I’m old-school. I want to be there to drop off my daughter at school and pick her up.

Lisa Loeb, American singer-songwriter, musician, author and actress

I’m not trying to be new school and I’m not old school – I’m classic. There’s a lot of new cars and there’s a lot of old cars, but I’m just classic in doing what I do.

LL Cool J, American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor

______________________

My other sites—
Contemplative Photography
David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com
Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com

Vintage Photographs of Cincinnati, Ohio

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A collection of my photographs have found a home

I am pleased to announce that 257 of my photographs featuring Cincinnati and the Tri-State region are now available online through the Cincinnati Public Library. The photos are identified by subject matter with relevant information, so visitors can search this permanent collection using keywords. Each image can be enlarged by clicking on it, and an arrow will expand it to full screen.

How The Collection Began

During 1961-1962 I worked as a lab technician for Brand Studio, a commercial photography business on Central Parkway in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Frequently, on lunch hours, I walked a few blocks north with a 35mm camera to take pictures in the Over-The-Rhine area, an early German settlement of brownstones and apartment buildings with attached stores.

It was a large, depressed neighborhood at the time, and being a novice photographer, I found it an interesting place to photograph textures and diverse people on the street. Especially appealing visually, was Findlay Market, the large and vibrant centerpiece of the community. Vendors and shoppers were so busy, they barely noticed me. Rather than walk, sometimes I slowly drove around with the car windows rolled down so I could shoot through them with a telephoto lens.

I stopped photographing there in 1962 to attend Rochester Institute of Technology and was afterward employed by Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York. Returning to Cincinnati to work as a Sales Representative for Kodak Stores, I spent occasional weekends in the Over-The-Rhine district, but as time passed my aesthetic preferences shifted from people and street photography to a much wider range of subjects and locations.

In 2022 I published a monograph that contains 78 pages of photographs entitled, Over-The-Rhine: A Cincinnati Neighborhood 1961-1977. You can click on the book cover to open it. Click on a page to turn it—up to 15 pages. And click on the photos to enlarge them. The complete series of monographs can be viewed this way at the Blurb Bookstore.

The library collection is intended to provide a visual record of the Tri-State region throughout the period 1961-2020.

Vintage Photographs of Cincinnati, Ohio

Posted on by

A collection of my photographs have found a home

I am pleased to announce that 257 of my photographs featuring Cincinnati and the Tri-State region are now available online through the Cincinnati Public Library. The photos are identified by subject matter with relevant information, so visitors can search this permanent collection using keywords. Each image can be enlarged by clicking on it, and an arrow will expand it to full screen.

How The Collection Began

During 1961-1962 I worked as a lab technician for Brand Studio, a commercial photography business on Central Parkway in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Frequently, on lunch hours, I walked a few blocks north with a 35mm camera to take pictures in the Over-The-Rhine area, an early German settlement of brownstones and apartment buildings with attached stores.

It was a large, depressed neighborhood at the time, and being a novice photographer, I found it an interesting place to photograph textures and diverse people on the street. Especially appealing visually, was Findlay Market, the large and vibrant centerpiece of the community. Vendors and shoppers were so busy, they barely noticed me. Rather than walk, sometimes I slowly drove around with the car windows rolled down so I could shoot through them with a telephoto lens.

I stopped photographing there in 1962 to attend Rochester Institute of Technology and was afterward employed by Eastman Kodak Company in Rochester, New York. Returning to Cincinnati to work as a Sales Representative for Kodak Stores, I spent occasional weekends in the Over-The-Rhine district, but as time passed my aesthetic preferences shifted from people and street photography to a much wider range of subjects and locations.

In 2022 I published a monograph that contains 78 pages of photographs entitled, Over-The-Rhine: A Cincinnati Neighborhood 1961-1977. You can click on the book cover to open it. Click on a page to turn it—up to 15 pages. And click on the photos to enlarge them. The complete series of monographs can be viewed this way at the Blurb Bookstore.

The library collection is intended to provide a visual record of the Tri-State region throughout the period 1961-2020.

Data, Information, Knowledge, Wisdom

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What matters is how we use them

What is the relationship between data, information, knowledge and wisdom? And what part does this play in human development and the expansion of consciousness? In his 1950 groundbreaking book, The Human Use Of Human Beings, mathematician Norbert Weiner defined “message” as “A sequence of events in time which… strives to hold back nature’s tendency toward disorder by adjusting its parts to various purposive ends.”

Simply put, information, exchanged as messages between human beings and between machines, retards entropy by adjusting their (and its) parts to accomplish purposeful objectives. His book was one of the first to study “message transmission among people and machines.” And it initiated the science of Cybernetics, a term that isn’t used much today. “Information Theory” is the current iteration of the idea that there’s more to information than meets the eye. And artificial intelligence is the latest example.

For better and worse, we’re awash in information and rightly concerned about the consequences of AI, which operates by gathering, processing, and manipulating information. On the positive side, information can and has saved lives. For instance, had it not been for the sharing of information between the Apollo 13 astronauts and ground control operations in Houston—aptly portrayed in the Apollo 13 movie starring Tom Hanks—the crew would surely have died. On the negative side, fake news, conspiracy theories, and hacking are posing a threat to democracy.

Data and Information

Information derives in part from “data,” which consists of numbers, characters, charts, or verbal expressions. Data is concrete and inert, whereas information is more abstract and active. Data exists on a page or screen or is talked about—until someone considers it, at which point it generates information, which is a product of mind. I’ve collected several definitions of “information,” but the one I like best was articulated by anthropologist, Gregory Bateson. He said, “Information is a difference that makes a difference.” Said another way, information is data that means something to someone.

For instance, hearing the distance between Mercury and Venus when they align with the Earth and sun would be data to me. To an astronomer or student of planetary motion however, that’s information.  What may be a curiosity to many—if they regard the data at all—may be a contribution to someone’s work, heighten their appreciation or contribute to understanding. This may seem obvious, but the insight that it raises is significant—the value of any bit of information is the extent to which it contributes to someone’s knowledge. It can be used. Further, just as data can generate information, it in turn contributes to knowledge and understanding—consciousness directed toward purposeful ends.

Knowledge

According to the dictionary, “knowledge is a familiarity, awareness or understanding of someone or something… It can refer to a theoretical or practical understanding of a subject.” And here, the value of knowledge is relative to the knower. In complex societies, particularly in the areas of government, business and education, people have been partly, sometimes largely, evaluated for employment based upon the extent of their knowledge. But IQ and other tests of intelligence have been shown to be narrow, often culturally biased. And given the advances in computer software, particularly artificial intelligence, knowledge is playing a diminishing role as a predictor of competency. This is understandable considering individual uniqueness. One “size” of education will never fit all people. Some place a higher value than others on gaining knowledge, particularly in the context of formal—and higher—education. But not everyone wants or needs to go to college.

When my wife was a child, her father drove her through the Bowery in Chicago, pointing out homeless people. He told her that many of them were intelligent, had high IQ’s, even academic degrees but for a variety of reasons they were not doing anything constructive. “It’s not what you know,” he said. “What matters is what you do with what you.”

I recently heard about someone not wanting to adopt a suggestion given by a knowledgeable, experienced, and highly ethical person, simply because he didn’t have a doctoral degree. Having spent over twenty-five years teaching in higher education, I have known students whose college education meant very little. Some were there to merely satisfy their parents, others to make friends, party, find a spouse, or create a network that could lead to a high-paying job. One student, in his fifth year as an undergraduate, confided to me that he purposefully flunked my course because he was having so much fun. He didn’t want to graduate. I suspected his parents were footing the bill.

At the other end of the spectrum, I had students who went well beyond the course requirements to feed their passion for learning and creative expression. Speaking personally, if I can gain some knowledge, develop an insight, or adopt a suggestion that would feed my interests or improve my life, I wouldn’t care if the information came from a child. Actually, it occasionally had.

Wisdom

So, what part do information and knowledge play relative to the expansion of consciousness and the development of wisdom? Over the archway of the administration building at the University of Cincinnati, carved in stone, is a quote from the King James Bible. It reads, “Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore, get wisdom.”

That’s remarkable considering that the perceived function of a university is to impart knowledge and encourage learning. Wisdom seems not so much to be valued in public education—at any level. The proliferation of state, career and community colleges signals a sea-change in the public’s interest in higher education—toward valuing “training” over personal development, service to others, and meaningful contribution, qualities that come from exposure to literature, history, the social sciences and humanities, all of which integrate mind and heart and foster critical thinking.

This is an observation, not a criticism. Knowledge and skill development are necessary values for earning a living, getting things done and realizing our potentials, but the foundation of knowledge is the intellect, the brain-mind system, which is finite and limited, subject to outside influences, rationalization, and bias, always subject to revision. Institutionalized or not, the ideal education is one that enriches the whole person (body, mind, and spirit), working with the student’s uniqueness and helping them realize their potential.

Wisdom can neither be taught nor acquired through directed effort, so it’s understandable that it’s not taught in schools. As a property of life experience and inner inquiry, it’s accessed. When we die, I believe the information and knowledge we’ve accumulated in life is gone. But, for those who like me, believe in an afterlife and reincarnation, the wisdom gained of experience is carried forward. The question is sometimes asked: “What do you know for sure?” In Eastern spiritual traditions the only thing we can say with complete certainty is “I exist. I am.” Because the mind is finite, every thought or belief, given time, will be altered. Change has proven to be a cosmic constant.

For me, the source of wisdom is the animating spirit within, the soul, an aspect of which I believe is eternal, all knowing and fully one with the cosmos, individuated here for the purpose of coming to realize and experience absolute reality. Because human beings are innately curious about this Great Mystery, we draw upon the knowledge and wisdom of others to construct a perspective that’s at least satisfying and workable for the moment. It’s our “worldview.” When it’s meaningful and constructive, we can adapt to change because it grounds and directs us. When it’s not, we can become lost, even violent when under pressure.

Information Access

In two places, the New Testament (Matthew 10:30 and Luke 12:7) authors say that “Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.” Sanskrit and Indian cultures refer to “Akasha” as an all-encompassing medium, a cosmic information library where every thought, word, and deed of every person who ever lived is recorded and available to be downloaded. The ancient Rishis claimed to be able to connect to this “subtle energy field” through disciplined living and yoga.

According to Hindu Yogi Swami Vivekananda, “Everything that has form, everything that is the result of combination, is evolved out of this Akasha.” More recently, whole systems theorist Ervin Laszlo, writing in Science and the Akashic Field: An Integral Theory of Everything, put forward a perspective that draws on physics, systems science and quantum phenomena to describe “The presence of in-formation throughout the cosmos, carried and conveyed by the universal in-formation field we have named the Akashic field.”

In the experiences of intuition, insight, and inspiration we sense the existence of this fundamental field of consciousness. It feels like a download of some significant information, creative idea or truth, and it seems to have come from outside, above and beyond the thinking mind. Scientists, inventors, artists and performers speak of it often. What I’ve noticed, is that wisdom doesn’t seem to show up until it’s needed or called out in a meaningful conversation. That’s what I mean when I say wisdom is “accessed.” It’s there, ever present and available, but it requires catalyzing thoughts to trigger it.

Like a radio, when the mind “tunes” (turns) to a frequency that’s soul-enriching, it spontaneously triggers an inspirational download from this subtle energy field—Akashic Record (Hindu & Christian literature), noosphere (Teilhard de Chardin) or collective unconscious (Carl Jung)—whatever term we prefer. As Linda’s father observed, we are all endowed with the capacity to receive and process information, even wisdom. What matters is what we do with it.

The first law of the Akashic quantum universe is universal interconnection among all things, and the second law is the conservation of the information governing the interconnected things. Now we add the third law: the law that accounts for the fact that the systems that emerge and evolve in the universe are not random aggregates of their elements, but structured integrations of them. This is the Law of Coherence… Coherence means a form of organization in a complex system where every one of its parts is effectively linked with every other part. Internal coherence spells viability and health in the system; external coherence indicates adaptation between the system and the world around it. Both are needed if the system is to persist and flourish.

Ervin Laszlo, Systems scientist

Author, The Intelligence of the Cosmos: New Answers from the Frontiers of Science.

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My other sites—

Contemplative Photography

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com

Whole Systems Management

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Takes Coordination and Integration

The image of workers framed by a steel lattice—particularly with the number painted on the beam in the upper left corner—calls to mind one of the many lessons learned from the Apollo space program. Whole systems management.

For this office building—system—to exist it had first to be envisioned. And then, for that vision to be realized, every part had to be specified. In this image we mostly see the steel girders, each of which had to be designed, specified, manufactured, and tested before it could be shipped to the site. Only then could the construction team be confident that the parts would fit together in all the right places.

In my television and video production classes, I cited the Apollo space program for its contribution to the significance of systems thinking. Unfortunately, the lesson that complex systems require coordination and integration cost the lives of three astronauts when the Apollo I command module burned during a test.

Over 10,000 people had worked on the project. After a year-long investigation it was discovered that a wire, not properly insulated, sparked, and ignited the cabin filled with 100% oxygen and highly flammable materials. According to the report, NASA failed to “overall coordinate and integrate” its systems.

Going forward with managers who understood what it takes to manage complex systems, NASA and Boeing created a “Technical Integration and Evaluation” (TIE) program to ensure that every part would, beyond functioning and fitting together properly, contribute to the overall success of the mission. Boeing, working with NASA in an advisory capacity, hired an additional 2,000 people who coordinated thousands of contractors and assessed the viability of each sub-system in relation to the functionality of the whole. Because people were now paying attention to the parts and “how they would relate to each other and the whole,” the space administration was able to fulfill President Kennedy’s dream of putting a man on the moon and returning them safely within the decade.

The systems strategy of paying close attention to each system’s parts, especially understanding how they relate to and as a whole, has enabled NASA to accomplish all that it has. (Have you seen the images from the James Web telescope?) At its peak, NASA employed 400,000 people and 20,000 contractors.

The lessons learned have transferred to many industries. The design and manufacturing of airplanes, ships, automobiles, televisions, smartphones, satellites, and rollercoasters occurs within a framework of whole systems because it minimizes failures and breakdowns. Of course, human error anywhere along the process can still affect the outcome.

Systems thinking has enjoyed outstanding success in the areas of technology, manufacturing, construction, commerce and socially with special interest groups, but there isn’t much evidence of it being used in government. The military, arguably, might be an exception. In large part I think it’s because we, as a nation, are struggling with issues of coordination and integration.

To know how the components of society—business, the arts, media, religion, health, economics, etc.—can fit and function together there must be a common and cohesive understanding of who we are as a people. Responsibility for this lies with our elected officials. For example, a significant part of the job of the President of the United States is to contribute to our national self-definition.

We’re not there yet. Only when we see ourselves as one whole, living system working toward a desirable and shared vision of the future can we move toward it. Engineer and systems scientist Buckminster Fuller was spot on when he identified humanity’s role as “stewards of spaceship Earth,” a species challenged with the task of “building a world that works for everyone.” In a similar vein and on a national scale, systems manager Richard C. Dorf wrote that “The task before us is to create a just, sustainable and compassionate society that works for all on a finite living planet.”

NASA has been able to accomplish its missions because it continuously addresses the fundamental systemic questions of identity, purpose, and vision before it gets into the practical tasks of coordination and integration. Another example is the motion picture industry. Movies could not be made—and surely would not succeed at the box office—were it not for individuals who have a clear vision of the whole—usually the writer, producer and director who are charged with effectively managing the coordination and integration of the parts. The ideal, is when the visionary and system’s manager is one and the same person. Woody Allen, George Lucas and James Cameron are examples.

It’s easy to see the need for coordination and integration in large systems. Their complexity is obvious. But unless we’re engaged in such systems, they are largely invisible and involve other people at a distance. We’re less likely to think of the various domains of our own lives as systems, but whenever and wherever we interact with others, effectiveness and satisfaction can be improved by considering the group as a whole system. Social systems include schools, churches, community gardens and a host of small group initiatives. They will all operate more smoothly and have a positive outcome when the leaders understand and champion the whole by ensuring that the parts function as they should in relation to each other and toward the realization of their common purpose.

A prerequisite for effective system’s management at every level requires consideration—at the outset and going forward—of the fundamental questions of identity, purpose, mission, and vision, applying it to the individuals and the group. Who am I? Who are we together? What part am I playing in this situation? Where are we—as a group, team, or family—going? What is the best strategy for getting us there? And how do we define success?

Coordination can begin once these questions are answered. Then comes the questions of integration. Who will lead us? Ideally, it will be the person who most clearly sees and takes responsibility for the vision as a whole. How will we work together? What roles are needed and who will assume them? What will we accomplish, and in what timeframe? How will we test the parts to insure proper function? Who and what will keep us motivated? And what will be the reward, individually and collectively?

When driving past a large construction site like the one pictured above, I often think about what the structure will be, and I marvel at the magnitude of considerations involved in the design and management of its sub-systems. In this regard I’m reminded of one of the tenants of the Buddha’s Eight-fold Path. Systems management is basically the task of establishing “right relationships” throughout the process.

The universe presents itself to us as a system composed of parts-within-wholes, of systems within systems, organized through time and evolution as interdependent levels of complexity. Each part, including you and me, is integral to the whole; and, in some holographic sense, each part is a microcosm of the greater macrocosm. Each part contains within itself the seed or template of the whole.

            Christian de Quincy, American philosopher

Author, Radical Knowing: Understanding Consciousness through Relationship

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My other sites—

Contemplative Photography

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com

The Language of Color

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In my experience, more people seem to be moved more by color photographs than black and white. That’s understandable—color is more visually stimulating and it’s how we see the world. Our brains are wired for it.

In our photography classes at RIT we sometimes heard some adage: “If you can’t make it good, make it big. And if you can’t make it big, make it in color.” At times, this appears to be operating when the intent is to sell photographic prints. Generally speaking, whatever the medium, the more vibrant the color or bigger the image, the greater its emotional impact. Color commands our attention.

As a professional visual communicator I tried to chose colors that would enhance the message or contribute to the sensibility of the environment, atmosphere or action. One of the items in my film & video production toolkit was a chart of the psychological properties of various colors. It helped me choose the color of backgrounds, costumes, paint, objects and environments when shooting, and again in editing because the objectives are to capture and hold the viewer’s attention and generate an affective (emotional) response. Whatever we’re creating, even if words on a page or putting together a gift for someone, color both speaks and creates an affect. Here, I’ve expanded the chart.

RED is masculine, stimulating and lively. It can signal passion, courage and strength. Depending upon the context it can also be aggressive and defiant. It was was my “go-to” color for creating excitement.

BLUE is intellectual, the color of the mind. It evokes trust, serenity, reflection and calm. Strong blues stimulate clear thought and soft blues are conducive to consideration and reflection. It’s why I chose the calm blue of a lake for the masthead of this blog. On the negative side—all colors have higher and lower vibrations and effects—it can convey coolness or aloofness.

YELLOW is emotional, the color of optimism, friendliness and creativity. Bright yellow is open, encouraging and inviting. On the dark side, bordering on brown, it can promote feelings of fear, depression and anxiety. When a product, message or scene needed to convey a sense of confidence, that the advertiser could be trusted, I tried to incorporate yellow.

GREEN is the color of balance and harmony. It conveys the sensibilities of peace, awareness and freshness—like an expanse of verdant grass. We have a natural affinity to green because it signals life, the presence of water and the potential for food. The lower vibration of green can be stagnation and sameness.

VIOLET is spiritual on the lighter side, the color of awareness, vision and truth, even luxury. On the dark side it can be cloying and annoying, the vibrance being so strong it boarders on decadence or suppression.

ORANGE reminds us of food, fruit in particular, so it contributes to feelings of comfort, abundance and security. On the bright side it photographs well in ads that contain food. Think of seafood commercials. Along with red and yellow it’s one of the “fun” colors used to enhance motivation. The dark tones of orange can convey the opposite—deprivation.

BROWN is serious, referencing both the earth and waste. On the light side, its contribution to a message or product is stability and warmth. On the dark side, it can convey a heaviness, even depression. It doesn’t photograph well in ads containing food.

BLACK is a mix of equal amounts of red, green and blue pigment. It’s also the absence of light. Its sensibility can be dark, sophistication, efficiency and security. Positively it communicates clarity. Negatively it expresses oppression, coldness and heaviness.

WHITE conveys a sensibility of purity, simplicity, efficiency and sterility. Just as black absorbs all wavelengths, white reflects them all. White light contains all the wavelengths. On the negative side it can convey strain, unfriendliness and coldness.

Color Harmony and Discordance

Along with the psychological characteristics of color, I often shared with students the creative uses of  color “harmony” and “discordance.” Color harmony is when one hue—such as reds, greens, or yellows—predominate. Because it’s rare in nature, it commands attention, creates impact and contributes to the experience of simplicity. Doing so, color harmony conveys beauty and emotion.

Conversely, images that contain a variety of different colors side-by-side—as when yellows and blues are juxtaposed—contribute to the experience of complexity. Their strength is in conveying information. It depends on what you want to say or express; different communication objectives call for different strategies.

Color and Culture

Color choices have a profound effect on our lives. Children are taught to match their clothing colors. Professionals in many fields select colors that “pick up” and enhance particular features, for instance in the food, fashion and furnishing industries. Harmony is generally more peaceful and comfortable than discordance, which can be brash.

One of the common complaints of people shopping for a home, condo or apartment is the color of the walls and floors. Scenes and entire movies are tinted to enhance the sensibility of the story—blues for crime, purple for suspense, yellow for history, red for passion and so on depending on what the director wants the audience to feel.

We even describe our moods and physical conditions that way—“I’m feeling blue today” or “That burger left me feelin’ green.” Linda, my wife said, “It it wasn’t for color, I wouldn’t be a gardener.”

The color white promotes healing spirit, white light is a natural pain reliever, increasing and maintaining energy levels and relieving depression and inertia. White dispels negativity from the body’s energy field.

Lynne Branard, Novelist. Author, The Art of Arranging Flowers

Proact / React

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In ordinary everyday living, as entropy increases there comes a point when a decision needs to be made regarding a system’s status—keep it going, shore it up or abandon it. Building or establishing a system—an object, relationship, business or social enterprise—is creative and exciting. The investment of time, energy and money flows easily in the beginning because the new is desirable—at least in our culture. At that point the purpose and function are clear and the object or system is highly valued, making it easy to see and implement programs of maintenance that will insure continuity.

Well into a structure or system’s lifespan however, as less attention is paid to it—attention is also dissipated due to entropy—breakdowns occur. Automobiles rust, relationships falter, businesses loose clients, houses deteriorate, cities experience social crises and economic decline. The image of men replacing a roof on this old  building evokes a question about a personal and social orientation. Is it best to anticipate breakdowns and take preventative action to prevent them? Or is “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” a viable alternative?” Dysfunction forces a choice—repair or replace the broken part, ignore the situation, hand it over to someone else or allow entropy to have its way completely.

We witness the consequences of such choices personally and culturally. For instance when it comes to architecture and the use of space there’s the obvious contrast between the British people and Europeans who weigh in heavily on the side of maintenance and preservation and Americans who are inclined more toward disposal for the sake of the new. Perhaps older nations place a higher value on sustainability, and that results in an ongoing examination and consideration of the social and environmental consequences of potential breakdowns. Not that one approach is better or worse, it’s just fascinating to observe how different cultures respond to entropy. Around the globe we can see it in a city’s architecture and use of space. Our impression of cities we haven’t visited may be stereotypical, the result of seeing them in movies and on television, but the choices are evident if we care to look.

An even more dramatic and telling contrast relating to the valuation and assessment of architecture and the use of space—to proact or react—is the mindset between the modern world, which perceives objects as separate and dead, and ancient indigenous people who view everything as alive and interconnected. In the United States we tend to walk away from buildings and houses that have outlived their usefulness. We even leave the expense of demolition to the next person or entity that wants to use the land for something else. And so unwanted structures become blights—sitting, deteriorating and decreasing the value of the properties around them. Juxtapose this mentality with that of the Ancient Maya who buried everything. From the poorest homestead to the tallest temple-pyramids, when a structure outlived its usefulness a holy man or king performed a termination ritual to remove the spirit of the place, and then they buried it under dirt and stone so it could revert back to jungle. They invested nearly as much time and energy burying a temple as they did building it. Hundreds of cities and villages were buried and the practice persisted for close to fifteen-hundred years. It’s why there are so many “lost cities” of the Maya. Whatever their motivation, I stand in awe of the respect that it shows—for nature and future generations.

Valuations and assessments prompted by breakdowns are in evidence in most of our neighborhoods. Some folks do little or no maintenance, others only do what’s necessary. Still others engage in preventative maintenance, but they appear to be in the minority. Understandably, it takes time, money and energy to maintain and plug holes—literally.

My pattern has been and continues to favor more of a reactive posture. I generally wait for a sign that some object or system is exhibiting entropy. The attitude of why fix it if it ain’t broke allows me to continuously focus on the things that are uppermost in my mind moment to moment. Linda reports that the downside to the proactive approach is that thinking ahead to possible breakdowns contributes to worry. Yet we often benefit, sometimes grandly so, from her preventative measures. It seems that women tend to favor the proactive approach, but I wonder if that’s not just another stereotype—or might it be due to the nurturing mother role.

I do know that my reactive set point shifts toward proaction as the system under consideration increases in complexity and scale. I’m okay with forgetting to change the furnace filter or ignoring the “low tire pressure” warning in my car, at least for a while. If the consequences are small, I can tolerate some risk. What I can’t abide are the consequences of not maintaining my teeth and other physical systems. And when it comes to complex physical and social structures, systems and issues over which I have little control—like cybercrime, climate change, gun violence, poverty, etc.—I am eager to become proactive. Minimally, I vote.

Real freedom is creative, proactive, and will take me into new territories. I am not free if my freedom is predicated on reacting to my past.

Kenny Loggins

ABOUT THIS IMAGE

I was driving back to the office from a meeting when I saw these workmen on the roof. What struck me was their strong silhouette against the sky. I happened to have my digital camera kit with me and because the rooftop was quite a distance I put on a telephoto lens. I made several exposures, all on a tripod to minimize camera shake. I liked the above shot because the postures of the men indicated the energy they put into their work.

In preparing this image for presentation I graded the otherwise blank and bright sky, and lightened the moulding to bring out the detail. In doing so I enlarged the image on the screen and found a little surprise in the distance—a bird standing on a church steeple, and what looks like a finger pointing to the sky.

Workers On Rooftop

Layering

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Life’s determination to expand from a center or core

Layering is how many things grow organically—from the inside out. Metaphorically, when we want to understand an object, system or process we “peel away” the layers so we can see what’s inside or what’s happening. It’s the basis for analysis, taking things apart to look “under the surface” in order to discover the “underlying truth” of whatever is being examined. Due to the onion’s obvious layering, it has become a metaphor in a variety of fields.

In “social penetration theory” interpersonal relationships develop from a relatively shallow, non-intimate level to deeper, more intimate ones. Psychologists Irwin Altman and Dalmas Taylor advanced the “onion theory” to illustrate how personality is like a multi-layered onion where the public self is the outer layer and the private Self resides at the core of the person. They observe that as time passes and intimacy grows with the disclosure of more personal information and shared experiences, the layers of one’s personality begin to unfold and reveal the core.

In the field of organizational development, “peeling the onion” refers to searching for  the underlying causes of breakdowns within a company’s many departments or branches. It’s a learning process that seeks more data by penetrating the layers of interaction and engagement, interpretation and meaning. Even feelings. It asks “Why?” and “What else is going on?” in order to discover the authentic needs, wants and interests of employees and clients. Perhaps most important for administrators and managers, the peeling back of personality layers can help identify or examine their life’s purpose and seek increased alignment with the corporate or company mission. The periodic process of defining and updating a company’s mission and vision statements is, in fact, a matter of peeling the onion in order to reconstruct it as a renewed and vitalized whole system.

Peeling the onion in government asks if and how the current layers of bureaucracy relate to the values and ideals of the founders. Likewise it calls religious organizations to examine whether or not policies and practices reflect the teaching and example of the founder. Individually, it amounts to an examination of conscience. Am I spending my time on the layers of my life that matter most? Are they an outgrowth of my reason for being here? And as a person, am I growing from that core—my soul?

My Maya guide in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala (who had a doctorate in Anthropology from Harvard University) told me that “everything and everyone in the village is seen to be at a different layer of development. You’re considered an asset to the community if you speak well in your layer. And you’re not expected to talk like or behave like someone in a higher layer. Child development, building construction, farming, the life of the family and the attainment of wisdom all happen in layers.” For the Maya, the model for horizontal layering is a tree. According to Anthropologists Jennifer Mathews and James Garber, “Vertical layering is a fundamental part of Maya ideology that arranges everything from the heavens to simple features.”

The modern perception of layers and the processes of layering—learning and growing—derives from the ancient Maya conception of the Earth as a flat expanse of land, resting on the back of a gigantic turtle who floats on an enormous tropical pond full of waterlilies. In the middle stands a great tree, the Axis Mundi, symbolized by the giant ceibas that rise above the canopy in the jungles of Central America. This cosmic tree, seen by the ancients as the Milky Way, connected the three worlds—upper, middle and underworld, with its starry buttresses rooted in the south.

With their penchant for modeling the cosmos in every aspect of daily life, Maya kings associated the layering of trees with everything that grows, particularly human beings. “Great Tree” was one of a ruler’s titles, signifying his role as world grower and sustainer. In the inscriptions and on works of art, the World Tree was referred to as “First Tree Precious.” We refer to it as “the tree of life.”

Trees and onions, animals and people grow from the inside out, small-to-big. Whether we’re talking about food, money, businesses, artworks, architecture, communities or nations, the process is one of accretion—adding not just a duplicate layer, but an expanded expression of the previous reality. Entrepreneurs, artists, politicians, venture capitalists and scientists all know that big things come from little beginnings—seeds that are nurtured. Giant leaps may occur occasionally, but it’s usually the small steps that lead to it. The haste to accomplish has to be tempered with the realization that an onion grows one layer at a time. It’s the same with ideas and initiatives. Every successful invention and innovation we can name began with a seed in consciousness.

What’s so special about this pattern of growth? Why has layer building upon layer become one of the most common patterns in organic growth and development? The science is complex, but more generally and for the purpose of contemplation, it has to do with life’s determination to expand from a center or core. The lesson for me is to begin every new endeavor by creating a seed thought and then nurturing it.

From the movie “Shrek”—

Shrek: For your information, there’s a lot more to ogres than people think.

Donkey: Example?

Shrek: Uh—ogres are like onions!

[He holds up an onion, which Donkey sniffs]

Donkey: They stink?

Shrek: Yes—No!

Donkey: Oh, they make you cry?

Shrek: No!

Donkey: Oh, you leave ‘em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin’ little white hairs.

Shrek: [peels an onion] NO! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. You get it? We both have layers.

Donkey: Oh, you both have LAYERS. Oh. You know, not everybody likes onions. CAKE! Everybody loves cake! Cakes have layers!

Shrek: I don’t care what everyone likes! Ogres are not like cakes.

Donkey: You know what ELSE everybody likes? Parfaits! Have you ever met a person, you say, “Let’s get some parfait,” they say, “Hell no, I don’t like no parfait.” Parfaits are delicious!

Shrek: NO! You dense, irritating, miniature beast of burden! Ogres are like onions! End of story! Bye-bye! See ya later.

Donkey: Parfait’s gotta be the most delicious thing on the whole damn planet!

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My other sites—

Love And Light greetings.com: A twice-weekly blog featuring wisdom quotes and perspectives in science and spirituality intended to inspire and empower

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com: Black and white and color photography

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique 

A Father’s Day Card

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My father didn’t tell me how to live. He lived, and let me watch him do it.

Clarence Budington Kelland, American writer

Here’s a selection of images, reflections on automobile surfaces, for dads. 

1948 Buick Roadmaster hood

1948 Buick Roadmaster

'73 Corvette Stingray

1973 Corvette Stingray

1934 Ford Coupe

1949 Oldsmobile

'73 Corvette

1973 Corvette

'42 Willis

1942 Willis

1949 Oldsmobile fender

1949 Oldsmobile

1948 Chevrolet hood

1948 Chevrolet

'48 Buick

1948 Buick

1934 Ford Coupe

1934 Ford

2003 Ford Thunderbird

2003 Ford Thunderbird

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My other sites—

Love And Light greetings.com: A twice-weekly blog featuring wisdom quotes and perspectives in science and spirituality intended to inspire and empower

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com: Black and white and color photography

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique 

Seeing And Interpreting

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The wider our view, the more we can encompass

In a previous blog I noted that it’s the brain that sees, not the eyes which send data via electrical impulses to the brain where they are interpreted to make seeing instantaneously possible.

The image above, taken with a zoom lens, reveals something about perception—beyond merely seeing. In an instant, the eye/brain/nervous system have us looking closely, as on a word, and then shifting our sight to a wide view—for instance to a computer screen, wall or something else. It’s so natural, that we sighted people take it for granted.

More broadly and perhaps less appreciated, is the phenomenon of shifting our focus by zooming in and out to gather data on relationships, society, politics, religion and science—all the domains of our experience—in order to construct meaning and direct our lives to what’s important to us. What we see and how we interpret the data collected is determined by three key factors: position, lens and filters.

Position

Position is where we stand—physically and mentally—in relation to the object, person or event being observed. When my car door gets badly dinged, I care. When a stranger’s car gets dinged I care less. I may not even notice. From the standpoint of a watchdog journalist, the world is filled with corruption and abuses. Another journalist—CBS’s Steve Hartman comes to mind—looks for and finds a world filled with love, compassion, accomplishment and consideration for others. The position we take relative to our everyday perceptions depends on where we are and “where we’re coming from.” It may be dynamic and changeable, but it’s our point of view.

We take positions on everything physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Because politics is polarizing, it provided a good illustration. There’s the perception that the world is composed of black vs white, good vs evil, haves vs have-nots and us vs them. This perspective is past oriented, favoring measures that protect, defeat or punish in order to maintain or manage the separation. In this worldview, subscribers see themselves as independent individuals, authors of their own destiny; government should interfere as little as possible.

On the other hand, there’s the perception that the world is better managed through cooperation and collaboration, rather than competition. Because it looks to future and asks how it can be improved, it favors initiatives that improve, empower, expand and unite. As interdependent members of a greater whole system, the perception is that we’re “all in it together” and “we can do so much more together than we could ever do apart.” The role of government, aside from security, is to discover and facilitate whatever contributes to the general well being of the whole system. Both perspectives have  costs and benefits. It’s why the American system has checks and balances. And why, over time, the pendulum swings both ways.

Lenses

The purpose of a lens is to gather light and organize it into a comprehensive, well-focused image. A zoom lens gives a photographer the ability to quickly—or slowly—change from a wide to a closeup view, to see more or less of what’s in front of the camera without changing position.

In the realm of perception, lenses amount to personal preferences relating to what we want to see. Extending the metaphor, some of us prefer zoom lenses because it allows us to get both a wide and closeup view while maintaining a fixed position. Others prefer “prime,” fixed focal length lenses, which require a shift in position but render better definition or “resolving power”—a clearer picture. And of course, there are those who, like professional photographers, shift back and forth depending upon the circumstances.

We come into the world fully zoomed in. Everything is close. As our eyes adapt, we see mother, then father. In time the view widens out to include other people and the environment. As we age, our perception widens to include more of the world physically, and then psychologically and socially, politically and spiritually. Our point of view—and along with it awareness—expands, as does the widening of our perspectives relative to relationships, play, work, interests, values and beliefs. And as we approach adulthood, one of the clear perceptions is that other people and institutions have different preferences, they’re seeing the world through different lenses.

Socially, this difference can be illustrated by television. The viewer’s preference is to see it as a source of information and entertainment. They want fewer commercials and more programming. On the other hand, television executives see it through the lens of business. Their preference is to have more commercials and less programming.

The lenses we inherit from past experience color our present and future experience. But we can and often do, change lenses. A photographer decides to change lenses for a variety of technical and aesthetic reasons. Our reason for changing lenses has more to do with exposure to new ideas, perspectives or experiences. We read a book, watch a movie or television program, attend a class, overhead a conversation or observe some life-altering event. The more we indulge in these, and the greater their influence, the more our point of view will expand. And that affects a shift in position. And then something happens, resulting in another shift. In human development language, it the process of consciousness rising. We’re always learning more.

Filters

Filters modify, shape or color light as it comes into a camera—or mind.  Through one filter a rocking-chair approach to retirement can be viewed as a waste of time. Viewed through the filter of Buddhism, a mindful approach to sitting still can lead to enlightenment. A Christian filter might urge us to get out of the chair and help those less fortunate. A business CFO sees everything through cost analysis, spreadsheet and marketshare filters. Their customers are looking at the price, application and safety of the product.

From where I sit, considering the limited focal length of my lens and filters, I have reached the conclusion that every position, lens and filter is valid, perfectly suited to the perceiver given the times and their circumstances— with the exception of those who are intent upon or benefitting from violence.

While perceptions differ widely and in opposition can result in personal and social tragedies, I suspect conflict is life’s way of refining the perception of self and others in order to bring individuals and nations into right relationship with each other and the planet. Eventually. In the image of the tree above, I notice that zooming-out produces more light and richer color. I think the same is true of the human mind. The wider our view—the more we can take in, encompass, accept, appreciate and love—the greater our illumination.

 

Power rests in the conjunction of what the individual perceives of his own internal being, what he perceives in the world about him, and how he relates these perceptions to establish his relations with other human beings.

Richard Adams, English novelist

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My other sites—

Love And Light greetings.com: A twice-weekly blog featuring wisdom quotes and perspectives in science and spirituality intended to inspire and empower

David L. Smith Photography Portfolio.com: Black and white and color photography

Ancient Maya Cultural Traits.com: Weekly blog featuring the traits that made this civilization unique