Well, after last week’s fumble, resulting in still-unsolved clues as to the future of string theory, I’ve decided to have another go. I’m going to ask the ipod again for clues about the future of strings, since it still is on everyone’s mind.
So here goes:
1. The Covering: Succotash, Herbie Hancock, Inventions and Dimensions.
2. The Crossing: Oblivion, Bud Powell, The Genius of Bud Powell
3. The Crown: Once Forgotten, Roy Hargrove, With the Tenors of Our Time
4. The Root: I Left My Baby, Kansas City Jazz Band, Kansas City
5. The Past: Assunta, Freddie Hubbard, Here to Stay
6. The Future: Scene by the Brook- Andante molto mosso, Herbert von Karajan/Berlin Philharmonic, Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, Op 68
7. The Questioner: Where are You?, Dexter Gordon, Go
8. The House: Synchronicity I, The Police, Synchronicity
9. The Inside: Wild Flower, Wayne Shorter, Speak No Evil
10. The Outcome: Homeless (Song No. 43), Rena Kyriakou, Mendelssohn, Songs Without Words
(I must admit that I ignored a podcast episode of a spoken word programme, KPCC’s “Talk of the City”, which came up as number 3. In case it is important, it was the episode where they broadcast live from MOCA in downtown LA. )
So, what do we learn from this? Remember that the key is here.
Well, for those working on string theory and worried about its future, there are really nice and encouraging signs, troops! Let’s have a look:
(1) Concerns and Influences of the current situation? Succotash is from the album Inventions and Dimensions, and so there might be some accuracy there (you know, dimensions and so on). (2) Current Obstacle seems to be Oblivion. Bit scary, but it is just an obstacle. Perhaps it’s telling us about some unbounded potential we need to be careful with. (3) The best that can be achieved with current situation: Once Forgotten. Hmmm. (4) The Root (important key events from past): Bit of a worry here. I Left My Baby might be telling us that in the past, we threw out some important thing which is key (as in “baby with bathwater”)? (Someone is bound to say Loop Quantum Gravity at this point, so let me nip that in the bud.)
(5) The Past (key recent past events), I don’t get, but I certainly like (6), the Future. Perhaps my long-held hope that RHIC might see a stringy phase of QCD is going to come true. (Brookhaven, you see.)
(7) It is apppropriate and a good sign that the Questioner is indeed a question. Signifying the basic question I have in mind? I could use some help interpreting (8), the House.
(9) (My hopes fears and expectations) Well, Wild Flower might have something to do with all the time I spend gardening…but not Landscaping, I must add.
So, the outcome. (10) Homeless? I’m sure there is a positive spin on that somewhere…. Maybe strings have no natural home, for they are of great facility and application in many fields. Yes, yes….that’s it.
-cvj
July 29th, 2005 at 4:48 pm
Let’s see, you have Oblivion, Once Forgotten, I Left My Baby, Where Are You?, and Homeless … and you manage to read this as nice and encouraging? You’re reminding me of the Iraqi Information Minister.
July 29th, 2005 at 5:01 pm
5/10 ! Is the glass half full or half empty? You know me…I’ll choose the former every time!!
Anyway, only *Oblivion*, *I Left My Baby*, and *Homeless* need a bit of wriggling. The others are as ambiguous as *Succotash*. So the glass is in fact 7/10 full. Whoo-Hoo!
-cvj
July 29th, 2005 at 5:37 pm
You shouldn’t have skipped the podcast entry – they all count!
Look how the future changes if you just include it…
July 29th, 2005 at 5:43 pm
I agree with Steinn, if it is in the ipod it counts. You can’t mess with the ipodChing rules. Plus homeless gets bumped right off the table, quite nice
July 29th, 2005 at 5:59 pm
Yes… I was considering that possibility. I broke the rules. And I noticed that at the begining of the KPCC program, there is a piece of music. It is a jazz standard. I just need to recall what its called, and identify who’s playing. Then we’ll see the future properly. Thanks so much for your help. I’m new to this. Can you help with interpreting the numbers from last week?!
-cvj
July 29th, 2005 at 6:18 pm
Steinn, Jennifer, I found it! It seems that all my radio podcasts have been being saved as albums. I seemed to have it set so that all my KPCC Talk of the City episodes were living there, for example. Going to have to set a smart playlist to eliminate that. Anyway, after closing my eyes for a few seconds, I realized that the piece is a standard called “Cherokee”. (Not sure of the lead alto player…its a Parker disciple….). Maybe we don’t need that info.
So now can we tell the future of strings?
The outcome is *Wild Flower*! That’s got to be good, right? Also the fact that it is from *Speak No Evil*, a rule I try to live by.
(Perhaps Frederik Denef or Juan Maldacena, from the two cheers thread, would argue that this is a sign that the study of the *landscape* in string theory is going to bear wild flowers? Maybe I am being too literal…..)
-cvj
July 29th, 2005 at 11:56 pm
OK, I think this clarifies why I really can’t get a grip on string theory. I just don’t know enough popular music!
July 30th, 2005 at 3:16 am
I think it’s wonderful to have music such as Bud Powell, Dexter Gordon, Freddie Hubbard, Beethoven and Mendelssohn referred to as popular music. I guess that makes you at least 250 years old. One of the ancients in our midst?! Maybe you have the answers? -cvj
July 30th, 2005 at 4:36 pm
“Homeless” obviously indicates Background Independent. Key Smolin.
August 1st, 2005 at 9:32 am
Dan’s Monday links, etc.
Roxanne: How can the non-hip and uncool proclaim the death of cool hipness? Or as one commenter wrote: if uncool is the new cool, then that makes the old cool uncool, which makes it cool… (I’m not sure how I’m
September 7th, 2005 at 5:50 pm
[...] This is sweet. My attempts at predictions about the future of string theory (see e.g. here and here) are sure to be sharper, more well-defined, and….um, thinner and lighter than ever. [...]