What's in a name? Quite a lot if one pauses to contemplate what
a name is. First, a name is a symbolic handle. The word
"apple" is
the name of, obviously, an  apple.
The word "apple" is not an apple. (Neither is the picture
shown.) The
word "apple" is a symbol for an apple. As such a symbol, the word
"apple" is encoded with much more information than one would suspect
from a mere five letters in a string. It is this encoded
information
that allows us to communicate... IF we have common information encoded
in our brains. When you think of apples, what do you think
of?
Heaping piles of apples in the grocery store, and the juicy sweet
taste? Almost ripe apples snitched from the neighbor's tree, and
the
sweet-sour taste? Mom's apple pie? (Which is actually a
symbol
thought to be distinctly American... As in Baseball, Hotdogs, Apple
Pie, and Chevrolet.)Different groups of people have different meanings encoded. If I refer to a "chip" and I'm a Baker, I'm speaking of tiny pieces of chocolate to go in some cookies. If I refer to a "chip" and I'm a Painter, I'm speaking of the old loose paint I just scraped off of a wall. If I'm a Hollywood movie producer, I'm speaking of Eric Estrada. If I'm an Electronic Technician, I'm speaking of an Integrated Circuit (Also called an IC (EyeSee)). About now I hope that you are thinking, IC what he is writing about. (There's two groups of people in the world-- Those that can make puns-- And those that hate those that can make puns) Puns are no more than showing weird connections of information that may be encoded in a word, even if not regularly used. Words can also be mnemonics, tricks to encode greater amounts of information so that it can be remembered. Words can be acronyms, to encode greater amounts of information to be conveyed quickly. For instance; ASAP; ID; AWOL; TDY; URL. What's in a name? I needed an easily remembered name. I needed a short name. I needed a name that would convey information about the web site. (I could never remember the URL to the web space that Earthlink assigns to the 10 mb that is part of their internet access package.) So what's in the name Synaptic Sparks? Synaptic, as in, Of or relating to a synapse. Synapse, as in, The junction across which a nerve impulse passes from an axon terminal to a neuron. And Sparks, as in that jolt of electricity that tingles your finger as you grab a metal object after you shuffle across the rug on a dry winter day. Brain and nerve impulses are electro-chemical in nature. Just like exercising your muscles, the more you exercise your neurons, the better they get at doing what they were designed to do. Repeated firing of neurons makes the process more efficient. That is why there is so much repetition involved in learning the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic. So, Synaptic Sparks is about firing those neurons in new and different patterns. Synaptic Sparks is about observing, thinking, and learning about our world. Synaptic Sparks is about my showing to you, the things I have observed, thought about, and learned of our world. If I am right about something, because I have studied it in detail, thought about it long and hard, and know the subject backwards, forwards, and inside out, then it does not matter to me if one, or ten, a hundred, a million, or even ten million think I am wrong. If they have not studied the subject at all, then they have nothing to say to add to the discussion. Some of you, upon examining the things I intend to present in this web site, will think I am just a plain old crazy nut-job. Don't let the URL hit you in the ass on your way out to the porn sites. I don't care if you leave here just as stupid and ignorant as when you arrived. Only you can control the level of your stupidity. That job is not mine. The words of Patrick Henry are appropriate: "For my part, whatever anguish
of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know
the whole truth, to know the worst, and prepare for it."
The "truth" is nothing less than reality. For the rest of you who are curious and interested in sparking your own synapses; The rest of you who are willing to know the whole truth; The rest of you who are willing to understand reality; I will present Logic to the best of my ability in support of the crazy things you are going to read on this web site. Be forewarned, Cognitive Dissonance is a real threat to your comfy world views and peace of mind. |