{"id":14575,"date":"2024-12-18T16:36:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T16:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/?p=14575"},"modified":"2025-05-20T16:38:32","modified_gmt":"2025-05-20T16:38:32","slug":"constraints2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.visakanv.com\/archives\/2024\/12\/18\/constraints2\/","title":{"rendered":"constraints2: animating spirit"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

constraints2: animating spirit \u2013 on bottlenecks, unfoldings, static vs dynamic again, the map is not the territory, the representation is not the thing but an artful representation can evoke feelings of the thing, even enrich our experience of the thing, the artist’s vocation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(2025may21: Interestingly, this post now ranks highly if I google “visakanv animating spirit”, which I expect to use more in the future. updated the title to include the phrase.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

i\u2019m currently reading Eliyahu Goldratt\u2019s The Goal (1984), which is basically about the theory of constraints<\/a>, aka bottlenecks. I\u2019m reading it in part with the intent of figuring out what the bottleneck is in my own creative process. I wasn\u2019t quite sure that I was going to find an answer, until I encountered a character saying, I paraphrase, \u201cthe parts that are missing most of the time are likely where the bottleneck is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What a simple approach to troubleshooting a production process! Take a glance at the overview of the whole (which is full of \u2018flashing lights\u2019), and look for where the \u201cPART MISSING\u201d lights are flashing in particular. What are the parts missing most of the time in my writing? It\u2019s not ideas, I have too many of those. It\u2019s not words, sentences or paragraphs. I have abundances of all of those things\u2013 almost too much, to the point where it sometimes actually interferes with my ability to work. (This too is addressed in the book: \u201cLeft unchecked, work-in-process inventory (WIP) tends to accumulate all over the factory floor, <\/em>cluttering up the space<\/em><\/strong>, causing accidents and errors, and generally interfering with all the activities that lead to high quality products.\u201d<\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suppose I shipped an essay that I was really satisfied with, and it didn\u2019t have a lot of words, didn\u2019t have a lot of ideas. What about it could I possibly have been satisfied with? And the phrase that comes to me is animating spirit.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Animating spirit\u2019 is the descriptive phrase that\u2019s resonant<\/a> for me, but it\u2019s not a particularly novel idea. Some people call it \u201caliveness\u201d. Christopher Alexander called it \u201cThe Quality Without A Name\u201d, because any attempt to name the thing tends to then lead to a superficial interpretation of the thing, a static xerox snapshot of of the thing rather than the lively unfolding<\/a> of the thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Pati<\/a>
Pati Hill, Untitled (carnation), S\u00e9rie “Common Objects”, x\u00e9rocopie, 28 x 21,5 cm, c. 1977-79<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A representation of a thing can never be the real thing. But the magic of art is that sometimes we can use representations\u2013 symbols, words, sounds, colors\u2013 to evoke meaningful experiences in others. The magic of art is that we can sometimes transcend the bandwidth limitations of communication. I love how Borges put it:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe task of art is to transform what is continuously happening to us, to transform all these things into symbols, into music, into something which can last in man\u2019s memory. That is our duty. If we don\u2019t fulfill it we feel unhappy. A writer or any artist has the sometimes joyful duty to transform all that into symbols. These symbols could be colors, forms or sounds. For a poet, the symbols are sounds and also words, fables, stories, poetry. The work of a poet never ends. It has nothing to do with working hours. You are continuously receiving things from the external world. These must be transformed and eventually will be transformed. This revelation can appear anytime. A poet never rests. He\u2019s always working even when he dreams\u2026\u201d \u2015 Jorge Luis Borges (1976)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Yeah. That\u2019s the vocation I\u2019ve chosen. The Borges quote doesn\u2019t actually fully capture the magic of it. For this I might have to turn to another one of my favorite speeches by Karl Paulnack, the director of the Boston Conservatory. The speech is worth reading in its entirety\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or perhaps you could say it chose me. You could say that I haven\u2019t yet done anything of worth or significance, and I wouldn\u2019t disagree. Many great artists\u2013 Hokusai, Akira Kurosawa, etc \u2013 have said that most of what they did until they were in their 60s or 70s wasn\u2019t of note, that it was all sketches and experimentation and they didn\u2019t even begin to understand what they were doing until they had done so much of it. I\u2019m only 34, but I feel my little share of that. I\u2019ve written millions of words and feel like I\u2019m barely beginning to understand them. Words have a rhythm to them. Every word has a history. Words interface with each other to create new effects, just like paints or sounds do. And yet, despite all the their elaborate and eccentric intricacies, words are not the point<\/em>. It\u2019s what you do with them that matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2731<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was telling a friend recently about my approach to giving talks, which feels like cheating but works really well for me almost every time. I believe that most conferences and similar events are more about sharing vibes than transmitting detailed information. This is truer than ever since we can share blogposts, slides, youtube videos and so on easily to everyone for free.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the age of high-fidelity photographs, the painter is freed to worry less about photorealism, and can focus on capturing the essence of what they\u2019re painting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet, lots of people continue to give recitals of overly-prepared, overly rehearsed speeches. It often seems to me like audiences politely tolerates these speeches, and cordially laughs or claps at the appropriate moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, I do make an effort to prepare for my talks. I like to ad-lib on camera, record the video, and then play it back, paying attention to what felt resonant and what didn\u2019t. Maybe this section isn\u2019t relevant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2731<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been reading more Goldratt and it\u2019s becoming clearer to me again\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m going to get a little nerdy and meta here, and divide myself up into both the creator and the client. I am my own #1 client. And I\u2019m not a very good client. I\u2019m both the product designer and the end user. And I have been vague and handwavey about what I want, as a user. I want everything. But what do I need? What will actually satisfy me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u2731<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I abandoned this post about a month ago and now i\u2019m looking at it again and wondering if I can get some animating spirit out of it, if i can add and remove elements to make it more artful in its incompleteness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The question that needs asking is, WHAT PRODUCES ANIMATING SPIRIT? (2025jan27) I THINK THE ANSWER IS FEELING. HOW ARE YOU FEELING? THERE\u2019S THINGS LIKE WHOLENESS AND CENTERS, HIERARCHIES, REPETITION, SYMMETRIES, CONTRASTS, ROUGHNESS, TEXTURES\u2026 BUT ALL OF THOSE ARE LIKE\u2026 ELEMENTS OF STYLE IN LANGUAGE. IT CAN BE INTERESTING TO STUDY THEM, BUT THE REAL JUICE IS IN THE FEELING THAT MAKES YOU WANT TO MAKE SOMETHING TO SHOW IT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

EARLIER TODAY I NOTICED THAT I FOUND MYSELF WRITING SOMETHING LIKE A GIFTED KID TWEET. AND I HAVE BEEN AVOIDING MAKING GIFTED KID CONTENT BECAUSE IT\u2019S SO PASSE. BUT THERE ARE ALSO FEELINGS THAT I HAVE AT THE HEART OF MY PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH GIFTEDNESS THAT I THINK ARE WORTH EXPLORING. THE TECHNICAL CHALLENGE FOR ME AS A WRITER IS TO FIND THINGS TO DESCRIBE AND TALK ABOUT THAT KEEP THINGS COMPELLING. I WROTE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IT\u2019S LIKE BEING A PARENT AND SO MANY PEOPLE RESONATED WITH IT. AND YET I FIND MYSELF BEING RATHER DISMISSIVE OF IT, LIKE YEAH YEAH IT\u2019S PARENTING STUFF, WHATEVER, THAT\u2019S EASY TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL. I\u2019M TIRED OF DOING EASY STUFF. BUT I\u2019M SCARED OF DOING HARD STUFF. I NEED TO FIND THINGS THAT ARE SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN. WE ARE ONCE AGAIN IN MIHALY C\u2019S TERRITORY RE: FLOW. HOW CAN I EXPERIENCE FLOW IN WRITING? WELL I\u2019M EXPERIENCING IT RIGHT NOW. WHY AM I WRITING IN ALL CAPS? BECAUSE IT\u2019S HELPING ME NOT TAKE MYSELF TOO SERIOUSLY IN A SENSE. \u201cOH VISA, DIDN\u2019T YOU WRITE AN ESSAY TITLED \u2018ARE YOU SERIOUS\u2019? YES I DID, AND I STAND BY ALL OF IT, AND IN THAT ESSAY ITSELF I TALKED ABOUT RUINOUS SOLEMNITY, OKAY? OKAY.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019M FRUSTRATED WITH MY OWN BANDWIDTH AS A HUMAN BEING. I\u2019M FRUSTRATED THAT I GET TIRED AND SLEEPY AND RUN OUT OF ENERGY. I\u2019M FRUSTRATED THAT I GET INTERRUPTED BY MY FAMILY, AND THEN I FEEL GUILTY FOR FEELING THAT FRUSTRATION BECAUSE I LOVE THEM AND I WANT TO BE PRESENT FOR THEM, TO BE A GREAT HUSBAND AND FATHER. BUT I ALSO WANT TO DO GOOD WORK AS DEFINED BY MY OWN CREATIVE PROCESS. HOW DO I BALANCE THE TWO?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LET\u2019S RETURN TO THE BANDWIDTH ISSUE. WHY IS IT A PROBLEM THAT I GET TIRED AND SLEEPY AND RUN OUT OF ENERGY? IT\u2019S BECAUSE THAT MEANS I CAN\u2019T WORK ON BIG CHALLENGING PROBLEMS FOR EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME. BUT DOES THAT MEAN BIG CHALLENGING PROBLEMS CAN\u2019T BE ADDRESSED IF YOU DON\u2019T HAVE EXTENDED PERIODS OF TIME? I BELIEVE THERE MUST BE A SOLUTION TO THIS PUZZLE. IT HAS TO DO WITH SOMETHING \u2018PROJECT MANAGEMENT\u2019 FLAVORED. I HAVE TO DESIGN A WAY TO DO A BLOCK OF WORK IN 10-15 MINUTES, LIKE PLAYING A GAME OF CHESS. AND I GUESS I SHALL SLEEP ON THAT THOUGHT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2731 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

some interesting replies here to revisit:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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open Q to jam on: what produces "animating spirit"?

when a piece of work feels like it "comes alive", where does that come from?

if it's something like "the interplay of its parts", how does that really work exactly?<\/p>— Visakan Veerasamy (@visakanv) December 18, 2024<\/a><\/blockquote>