March 27, 2007As many times as I’ve read Dune and watched the several versions of the movie, I’m still left guessing what Frank Herbert was up to. I haven’t read anything about Herbert’s life but I’m guessing he spent some time in either the Middle East or North Africa. The landscape of Dune is defined by the desolation of desert and the scarcity of important resources like water. I had seen the David Lynch movie several times before ever reading the book. I asked a friend once if the book was good. She said, “if the book is as beautiful tree in full bloom, then the movie is the same tree dead in the winter. The structure is the same but the beauty is missing.” Well … I had to read the book.
December 3, 2006Two solid conclusions that come out of modern mathematics and physics is that all matter is connected and that once two particles come into contact with one another, they are forever connected. Another conclusion, from chaos theory, is that events that seem completely unrelated and inconsequential can be connected in a profound way. The most common metaphor given is the butterfly flapping its wings in Central Park. The idea is that a butterfly flapping its wings in one spot on the planet can cause a hurricane or tsunami on the other side of the world. It goes back to all things being connected and all actions having a reaction.
