NP: Sympathy for the Devil

[bandwraith at aol.com]

Relativity began with the discovery that the speed of light appears the 
same to all observers, no matter their relative motion. That, 
apparently, is why spacetime and mass do not. The speed of light in a 
vacuum is the same for all observers whether they are moving towards or 
away from the source, but the wavelength changes- redshifted if away, 
blue if towards.

Why "fairly"? I'm not sure. I liked the way it sounded. I like 
uncertainty. The universe is still changing. Basic laws, constants of 
nature, might also change in the future.




-----Original Message-----
From: malignd <malignd at aol.com>
To: pynchon-l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Sat, Dec 22, 2012 3:14 pm
Subject: Re: NP: Sympathy for the Devil


These laws of nature to which you refer are now well understood as well 
as why they are invariant -- not sure which are "fairly" invariant. 
 Not sure what you mean by "that's the basis of relativity." ?


I don't think at all it's a great mystery that different perspectives 
exist.  Many people are ignorant and happy to remain so; many take 
their information from charlatans and people with power bases to 
protect; from ministers, politicians, etc.


God or not, reality does seem to conform to a number of regularities
(laws of nature) which remain fairly invariant no matter the
perspective. I guess that's the basis of relativity. That different
perspectives exist at all seems to be both a great mystery and the
source of any potential sympathy or empathy.





-----Original Message-----
From: bandwraith <bandwraith at aol.com>
To: pynchon-l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Sat, Dec 22, 2012 10:00 am
Subject: Re: NP: Sympathy for the Devil


God or not, reality does seem to conform to a number of regularities
(laws of nature) which remain fairly invariant no matter the
perspective. I guess that's the basis of relativity. That different
perspectives exist at all seems to be both a great mystery and the
source of any potential sympathy or empathy. We all come from the same
place and are made from the same stuff. It's only with effort that any
of us maintains our distinctiveness- which might just be a dream,
certainly a temporary situation. Y'all can be in my dream...


-----Original Message-----
From: malignd <malignd at aol.com>
To: pynchon-l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Sat, Dec 22, 2012 9:40 am
Subject: Re: NP: Sympathy for the Devil


I meant, merely that if one believes in a god, then one has a rooting
interest that one who does not does not. 



-----Original Message-----
From: Henry M <scuffling at gmail.com>
Cc: Pynchon Liste <pynchon-l at waste.org>
Sent: Sat, Dec 22, 2012 8:29 am
Subject: Re: NP: Sympathy for the Devil


Malign, I don't believe that you really believe that believing in
something makes anything interesting. IMO, once one believes, the
delta between the thing believed in and oneself becomes too small for
interest, as interest concerns things that are separated by a
distinction that no longer exists.

Yours truly,
٩(●̮̮̃•̃)۶
Henry Musikar, CISSP
http://astore.amazon.com/tdcoccamsaxe-20


On Fri, Dec 21, 2012 at 9:04 PM,  <malignd at aol.com> wrote:
> Agree it's more interesting that God is as big a prick as the devil.
Even
> more interesting if one believes any of this supernatural tripe.
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Henry M <scuffling at gmail.com>
> To: Pynchon Liste <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Fri, Dec 21, 2012 7:01 am
> Subject: NP: Sympathy for the Devil
>
> Hey, Godard liked the son well enough to feature it a movie!
>
> Has anyone who knows this song considered that the last verse subverts
> the name that one is likely to have guessed beforehand, namely "the
> devil?" All of the conflated opposites at the suggest that the writer
> believes that things are not as they seem, and that, while people are
> more comfortable calling the entity that causes tragedies "Lucifer" or
> "the Devil," the entity that is often described by some people, e.g.
> the Westboro Baptist church, as one that will send your soul to hell,
> i.e. "lay your soul to waste" if you don't pay tribute, i.e. "use all
> your well-learned politess" is God, not Lucifer.
>
> It makes the song a whole lot more interesting, IMO.
>
> Yours truly,
> ٩(●̮̮̃•̃)۶
> Henry Musikar, CISSP
> http://astore.amazon.com/tdcoccamsaxe-20