[18 February 2024]: "Primitive Hypertext" — "poetic knowledge is born in the great silence of scientific knowledge"; x-files; interspecies learning; plants see with entire bodies; love is everywhere
"poetic knowledge is born in the great silence of scientific knowledge"; x-files; interspecies learning; plants see with entire bodies; love is everywhere
Bismillah. We begin everything with the name of Allah. We say Bismillah to initiate an act to acknowledge the intention and the ethics we carry with all that follows Bismillah.
This is part of the newsletter's “Primitive Hypertext” (Octavia Estelle Butler) strand.
An annotated list of five things I’ve read/seen/heard and want to share. [weekly: every Sunday] Read more about the changes in the newsletter rhythm here.
Hiya!
Hello from Houston! I am here to give an artist talk at Rice University. I was planning to stay inside all day and work, but the sun was shining, and I went out for a bit. I spent some time at the Menil Collection, recharged in the sun. I had one of the best hamburgers I have had in quite some time at the onsite bistro. Now, I am back at the hotel. Today, I have a quicker offering so I can hit some midnight deadlines.
On to the primitive hypertext!!!
An invitation for me: What is a word or phrase connecting all five links?
***Scroll to the end to see where I landed***An invitation for you: What is another word or phrase connecting all five links?
Another invitation for you: Which of these links do you want to share with a friend?
I am rewatching X-Files and want to share an excerpt from the first episode. I remain fascinated by the multi-season epistemological battle between “science” and “non-science”. I would argue that a close read of this TV show could make for an amazing class on the importance of interdisciplinary study and private knowledge systems. This show excited me about platonic and romantic relationships where healthy tension and challenges to knowledge systems can lead to mutual growth and learning.
Kimmerer, Robin Wall. Braiding Sweetgrass. United States: Milkweed Editions, 2013.
Elbein, Asher. Plants Find Light Using Gaps Between Their Cells. Quanta Magazine. January 31, 2024.
And speaking of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s reminder to “look to our teachers among the other species for guidance...they've been on the earth far longer than we have been, and have had time to figure things out,” this new research explores the wide diversity of sensory technologies in our living world. In this case, plants mobilize their sensory system, as the article notes, and that system is “the ability in effect to ‘see’ with their whole bodies.”
As always, I suggest that you read the actual scientific paper, Air channels create a directional light signal to regulate hypocotyl phototropism. Quanta Magazine is one of my favorite science publications, but there is nothing like wrestling with the actual research paper itself.
An invitation for me: What is a word or phrase connecting all five links?
rival knowledge systems, new sensory technologies, new modes of learningAn invitation for you: What is another word or phrase connecting all five links?
Another invitation for you: Which of these links do you want to share with a friend?
Thank you for reading,
Kameelah 👽
Finally, while I do not organize my finances around paid newsletter subscriptions, wouldn’t it be cool if this wee little newsletter could allow me to take quarterly self-imposed writing retreats? Consider getting a one-year membership at $70 USD :)
How to cite this newsletter: Rasheed, K. (Year, Month Day). Newsletter Title. I Will (?) Figure This All Out Later. URL
Between its cells to scatter light
I would describe the connection between these 5 links to be "breaking down the the false dichotomy of science & non-sciences"! 🥹