Bro. Bartleby left a link to an interesting website that provides examples of maps of visual complexity. I looked through the maps, trying to find something that reminded me of how I visualize the cosmos -- I'm not sure why, but I do -- as a sort of hyperdimensional toroidal fractal klein bottle with God in the middle. So I googled "fractal toroid klein bottle" and found the following idol (courtesy Gavin Kistner):
Then it struck me how similar the pattern is to the Gustave Dore engraving from the Divine Comedy on the cover of my book. While I specifically chose this cover, I didn't consciously do so with the fractal toroid pattern in mind. In other words, I wasn't trying to be allegheirical:
So there you go. Just like Richard Doofus in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
(BTW, that's Petey on the right, goosing me from behind, saying "see, I told you it looked like a donut.")
Ha! just one more example of your overweening arrogance, Gagdad Bob.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who is truly enlightened knows that the universe more closely resembles a Krispy Creme fried donut with extra sprinkles.
(I got this on good authority from a Recognized Source so it must be true.)
JWM
Come to think of it, could be an infantile projection of the "good breast," which is the first image of ultimate reality that greets us when we come into the world. Some people move on....
ReplyDeleteThose images remind me of the descriptions of Near-Death-Experiencers of going down the tunnel toward the light.
ReplyDeleteGood point. As lousy as I feel with this baby-borne stomach virus, I feel like I'm about to find out first hand.
ReplyDelete