Ah, Socrates has so much to teach in a couple paragraphs. You can get amazed in how much you can get out of those.
In the paragraphs read in this phase, Socrates is arguing how he is not afraid of death, of the unknown. Also, how his death is more harmful for others than that to himself.

He gives us an interesting lesson. I made a vlog for this one.

Ah, Emerson. You just keep amazing me.

"The picture waits for my verdict: it is not to command me, but I am to settle its claims to praise."

In the first paragraph we read today, the quote I just wrote was mentioned. Amazing, it is, that we are the meaning makers. We are the humans that give things that power to be valuable according to out own values. And us, as individuals are those who dictate that value.

Also, Emerson goes to the categorizing, hierarchical issue we've been having for centuries. We're trained to think with a category from the very first time we start to learn things. But we must be free and care about our own shining. That is were the real selves lie.

We first share the life by which things exist, and afterwards see them as appearances in nature, and forget that we have shared their cause. Here is the fountain of action and of thought. Here are the lungs of that inspiration which giveth man wisdom, and which cannot be denied without impiety and atheism. We lie in the lap of immense intelligence, which makes us receivers of its truth and organs of its activity. When we discern justice, when we discern truth, we do nothing of ourselves, but allow a passage to its beams. If we ask whence this comes, if we seek to pry into the soul that causes, all philosophy is at fault. Its presence or its absence is all we can affirm. Every man discriminates between the voluntary acts of his mind, and his involuntary perceptions, and knows that to his involuntary perceptions a perfect faith is due. He may err in the expression of them, but he knows that these things are so, like day and night, not to be disputed. My wilful actions and acquisitions are but roving; — the idlest reverie, the faintest native emotion, command my curiosity and respect. Thoughtless people contradict as readily the statement of perceptions as of opinions, or rather much more readily; for, they do not distinguish between perception and notion. They fancy that I choose to see this or that thing. But perception is not whimsical, but fatal. If I see a trait, my children will see it after me, and in course of time, all mankind, — although it may chance that no one has seen it before me. For my perception of it is as much a fact as the sun. 


I must apologize for such a big quote I just posted, but it is of great importance for me to share this. I first ought to mention that Emerson is a Transcendentalist, for this I mean that he believes in an external universal ethic. He is a theist, undoubtedly. But in this, Is there consilience breathing underneath these words? 

Diego, Ana Isabel, Pablito y yo leimos el capítulo 5 y 6 de Don Quijote en el Jardin Ayau. Descubrí lo importante y magnífico que es Don Quijote. También la cantidad de libros que desconocemos que tenía nuestro personaje principal.

Don Quijote, siendo una persona íntegra y fiel a su Dulcinea había sido apaleado por unos hombres que se había encontrado en el camino, a los cuales les había mencionado de la belleza de su señora, pero nadie le hizo caso  y esto había enfadado a Don Quijote.

Aun así, se encontró a un conocido suyo el cual le mencionó quien era el: "el hidalgo de Quijana"...

"Yo sé quién soy —respondió don Quijote—; y sé que puedo ser no sólo los que he dicho, sino todos los Doce Pares de Francia, y aun todos los Nueve de la Fama, pues a todas las hazañas que ellos todos juntos y cada uno por sí hicieron, se aventajarán las mías."

Llevó pues el labrador a Don Quijote a su casa, en donde el ama, el barbero y el cura decidieron quemar una gran cantidad de los libros del caballero. Y los que no quemaron, los escondieron.

En el dialogo con Amable, el hizo una pregunta muy relevante para el libro. Si Don Quijote estaba siguiendo a ciegas su propósito (un nivel de idealismo a donde no se puede más), será seguir uno su propósito algo que equivale a locura?

Ah, yo prefiero que se me seque el cerebro como a Don Quijote y seguir eso que amo a que no se me seque el cerebro y vivir una vida de "cuerdo".

Tambien, elegí a la señora de mis ideales, mi Dulcinea, y ella se llama música.

Aye, I made that one up. I remember my mom wouldn't stop teasing me telling me that "curiosity killed the cat". Well mama, I ain't no cat!

Why do we have an epigenetic rule that let's us be free, innovate and create? That is a question that has really concerned me. We're somehow hardwired to have this space for freedom. It is amazing, though it has helped us to survive.

But still, our human nature have that emotional fact that searches for beauty and mystery. The dialogue went around this topic, and it went amazing. There was a lot of "awe" and smiles. I really enjoyed it.

But one of the things that I really liked was, that when we're in a critical moment, we start creating. For this I'll say, we're in crisis if we don't create. An individual crisis.

This was the first dialogue I enjoyed with the MPC talking about Words and Rules. Definitely, this experience was really cool.
We decided to understand the theories that were introduced in chapter IV "In Single Combat".

Pablito commented something that is really relevant in this chapter: It is not just a matter of understanding verbs, language or grammar. It goes beyond: it is a study of the mind, of the methods of thinking. Are we fully rational? Are we fully empiricists?

The dialogue evolved beautifully, and I was able to understand many things I didn't see before in the chapter. Those are written in my reflections of the chapter.

This was our last dialogue with Dylan this year, but, I have to admit we had lots of fun. This dialogue was primarily concentrated on the "Patterns" topic.

Humans search for patterns. Everywhere, (music. Yes.) Chaos and uncertainty are uncomfortable, and we like to know that things go on certain way. I think this uneasiness keep us in this process of discovering what is beyond our knowledge.

I wonder how this acquired taste for conceptual art, or experimental music came up. Is this a matter of searching for patterns? I think it is more about knowing the concept, so maybe in this case it's not the quest for patterns, but the quest for understanding what is going on with this is more about understanding meanings. So if we are presented to this cases in the future, we are able to find the pattern. To categorize this as conceptual.

Leimos los primeros cuatro capítulos de Don Quijote para empezar nuestros dialogos sobre la obra de Cervantes.

Tuvimos como visita a Amable Sanchez, Sussete España, Karen Parada, Giancarlo Ibarguen y Carla Hesse. Fue una experiencia extraordinaria, Amable nos introdujo perfectamente a Don Quijote.

Es sumamente interesante. El dialogo no pasó del primer párrafo, pero eso es algo absolutamente positivo. Me hizo aprender que realmente, se puede aprender muchísimo de unas cuantas palabras.

Una de las preguntas que Amable hizo en el dialogo fueron como "¿Cómo nace un genio? ¿Cómo se crea un genio?". AH, no creo que se pueda crear... ¿Qué es un genio? primero que nada.

Amable nos introdujo a orígenes de palabras, tales como hidalgo (quienes por cierto, llevaban una vida diferente a la de otros ciudadanos: no tenian que pagar todos los impuestos y podían portar armas).

Primero que nada Cervantes nos introduce al escenario. "El mundo es el escenario" mencionó Sanchez. Cervantes nunca menciona específicamente donde había nacido Don Quijote. "¡Nació en la cabeza de Cervantes!", dijo Amable, con un tono que realmente me emocionó.

Don Quijote hasta ahora, me ha parecido una persona que hace las cosas porque las ama y porque las aprecia por lo que son. Don Quijote se preocupa por hacer bien lo que se propuso. Aunque la gente lo tome como un loco, cosa que pasa con muchos genios, el se mantiene íntegro a su sueño y deseo. 

Pablito presented Proposition 7 today. His presentation was beautiful, I got more excited with Euclid! Again, Euclid is conquering my heart.

Given two straight lines constructed on a straight line (from its extremities) and meeting in a point, there cannot be constructed on the same straight line (from its extremities), and on the same side of it, two other straight lines meeting in another point and equal to the former two respectively, namely each to that which has the same extremity with it.

This is the proposition. One of the cases (the one we worked) is like this:

I got some "Aha moments", and understood Euclid perfectly. Now, this is what social cooperation means! It would've been even more fruitful if absolutely everyone had said their thoughts.

Amazing. Thanks Pablito.

Today we spoke of a really beautiful topic: of Epigenes.

Before starting my insight, I want to mention that Bert decided to step away from the circle. I feel that made this dialogue something really interesting. We actually got to learn from each other.

"What is Human Nature?" Carmen asked.
"It  has something to do with epigenes" Marcela mentioned.
                        BUT WHAT IS AN EPIGENE?
Ah, and there the journey started.
The first paragraph mentioned by Kata:

"As recognized in biology, epigenetic rules comprise the full range of inherited regularities of development in anatomy, physiology, cognition and behavior. They are the algorithms of growth and differentiation that create a fully functioning organism."

Epigenes are not exclusive from culture, they're not exclusive from genes. They're the link that make these two interact.
"Etiology of culture its way tortuously from the genes through the brain and senses to learning and social behavior. What we inherit are neurobiological traits that cause us to see the world in a particular way and to learn certain behaviors in preference to other behaviors. The genetically inherited traits are not memes, not units of culture, but rather the propensity to invent and transmit certain kinds of these elements of memory in preference to others."

Ah, this is an amazing part of the topic. Actually, our mind is wired. I see this like a set of connections, and if you use one, it's somehow programmed and these systems have more propensity to be repeated. But yes. We  have space for freedom. And this part stroke my heart.

Epigenetic rules "... leave open the potential generation of an immense array of cultural variations and combinations."
Where do these rules come from? Are they part of this tendency of growth? Because these rules leave open a space for people to change and reprogram these rules. We're a species that can perfect themselves. Individually!