Usain and Hussein have been on my mind in the past week; the lightning Bolt—aka the fastest man alive—and Hussein Obama. I made this image for my son who wanted a poster of Obama using a photo by Callie Shell of Time magazine:
“A Paradigm Shift is a change from one way of thinking to another. It’s a revolution, a transformation, a sort of metamorphosis. It just does not happen, but rather it is driven by agents of change” according to Thomas Kuhn; he believes that Change is difficult and that human beings resist change— awareness is prerequisite to all acceptable changes. A Paradigm Shift is when a significant change happens—usually from one fundamental view to a different view. In most cases, some type of major discontinuity occurs as well. Khun thinks that “a series of peaceful interludes punctuated by intellectually violent revolutions cause one conceptual world view to be replaced by another view”.
My question for you boys and girls is that what makes one cling to the atrophied McCain—aka the off-line American—over the uber-eager Obama? I didn’t vote for Obama in the primaries but neither can I imagine voting for mister “I want to relive vietnam ad nauseum”…
What are these posters from the good senator’s camp? Martin Luther King, the second coming? I frankly like my version better.
Another paradigm shift came this last week of the Olympics with the other Hussein or Usain:
What can I say? the man can run! Look at him here on cruise control going the 100 meters on 9.68 seconds; this guy with all his antics was a breath of fresh air.
Excellent graphics! Usain’s accomplishment was amazing. During my last visit to Kingston Jamaica, I too wished I could run the 100 meter dash in similar time and avoid getting mugged. Too bad I’m not as fast and had to fork over some cash. So, I can understand why these guys are such fast runners! But Hussain’s Joe Biden pick was also dashing. It proves the old adage that politics makes for strange bed fellows! Biden was one of Obama’s most vocal critics earlier this year. But I agree, their ticket seems better than the alternative. Anyway, I guess change is the zeitgeist nowadays. Look at another Joe, Joe Liberman! Now, that’s change!
Now all this change makes me think of evolution. To get back to sports, I love it when world records are broken. It always makes me wonder when will we reach our full potential. And is our potential static, or is it also evolving with us? In sports, just like in life, every time a broadcaster says that the so and so record will most likely never be broken, I cringe. The human physique, it turns out, is as resilient as the human spirit. And we’re not even done with evolution! Every molecule of our body seems to change, improve, and become a more serious contender at the subsequent Olympics. Records only remind us of what has already been done, but leave what is about to come to our imagination. And that’s what makes watching the Olympics exciting. By that account, it may one day be possible to run the 100 meter dash in a single second! Yes, you heard it here first! And according to my calculations, such person would have to be 300 feet tall and reach the finish line in a single step! See, it’s possible!!! So, go on evolution! Churn your mighty engine and create a race of giants!!! We have 8 seconds to carve off of Usain Bolt’s World Record at some point in the future! 🙂
Nice Topical Post..and interesting connection with Thomas Kuhn seminal work A Paradigm Shift.
Wish to reproduce excerpts from NYT recent Editorial
There is a temptation to feel jaded about the presidential conventions, with all of their careful staging and production values, but they are a chance for Americans to get a good look at the politicians who would be president. The impressions made at these obsessed-with-prime-time events can be defining.
One part of Mr. Obama’s task will be easy: showing how much damage the Bush administration has done to Americans’ lives and their country’s reputation.
Read the full edit here
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/25/opinion/25mon1.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
I definitely like your version better. But isn’t it a waste of time to do politics? To work on politics? Well, it requires paradigm shift to agree. Isn’t it a waste of time to do a poster of politics, well again it requires a paradigm shift to believe. I admire you who did this for your son. Here you go I have also one for him.
(Sorry, I thought I could paste it here. I will email it for you)
This is my kind of paradigm shift going away from working on love to working on a political figure. But isn’t it worth while to make your son happy? I am sure it does, so I am happy too doing this reverse shift for an hour to make a difference in my life, not to stick on one paradigm for ever.
Very appropriate, very thoughtful. Thomas S. Kuhn on the nature of scientific revolution in this case is truly applicable. It is in the core of human frailty that we are scared of novelty. It was always so. Witchcraft as opposed to the elegance but lean mathematics. The choice is scary.
Michele, yours is the only blog I read faithfully. I always know I can find wisdom there and a challenge to my paradigms.
PS: I’m still waiting for your comments about my book, “The Wisdom of Les Mis.”
What I find really scary is that this election is even close. How many times are the american voters going to be hoodwinked into voting for a politician who is going to drive the country even farther into the ground by: increasing the powers of an imperial presidency, ignoring the constitution when it suits him, cutting benefits for the poor, and cutting taxes on the rich.
Of course neither candidate is likely to restore more balance between the executive, legislative and judicial powers. . .