Linear causality was rendered meaningless in the latter half of the 20th century.
Now, don’t get me wrong; I love Cecille like the sister I never wanted, but I just don’t think it would work out. “You’re wrong,” Chester insisted, more forcefully than, strictly speaking, was necessary: “and, I truly believe that Doctor Lazarre’s tests will prove ir, if only you will lay down that weapon…”
Society had grown too quickly and become far too complex; it was now impossible to say with any certainty how everything in human experience was inter-connected.
The Sergeant knew that Rinaldi had gone over the hill despite the fact that it meant certain death; yet, although he admired the man’s bravery, he couldn’t bring himself to like the man’s aftershave. Paula looked up to the stars and wished the weekend would never end.
The cat was wet. La plume de ma tante est sur la table. Neo-realism was a creative dead end, but de Sica couldn’t see past his telephoto lens. “Haven’t I seen you somewhere before?” Alice asked, virtuously, as the band played the overture from Carmen. The dance was over, but the song had barely begun…
A more holistic approach towards the world developed, but this was not without its own difficulties.
Television news crews were on the scene even before the police, but the fire was quickly subdued, and most of them left to grab a cup of coffee. Janet wondered about her first affair; had it been as satisfying as she could have hoped for, or was she just kidding herself, her analyst and the entire brass section of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra?
I think, therefore I draw social security. The gun was still smoking in the gunfighter’s hand, but nobody thought to ask him how it related to his sexuality. Insert Tab A into Slot B. Times change, but cliches endure forever.
The forces of linear thought, as typified by the written word, met the forces of holistic thought, as typified by the projected image, on the battlefield of art.
The history of man is a history of violent change. The history of man is a history of intellectual development. The history of man is a history of transforming and adapting to new environments. The history of man is a history of physical evolution beyond the threshold of the animal. The history of man is a history of increasingly complex social structures and interactions.
When all points of view are valid, is anything true?
Unfortunately, the battle turned out to be something of a rout, because the projected image attracted and held the attention in a way the written word never could; thus, literacy declined as the proliferation of screens (televisual, cinematic and, most recently, computational) caused viewing to jump dramatically.
“At last, the world is within my grasp!” the Big Bad Wolf, standing over his atomic weapons, gloated. “What are you saying,” June asked, imperceptibly moving towards the fireplace where the poker was lying. Sadly, the bookshelf was full.
Even the novel, which had been at the forefront of linear thought, was a victim; no longer needed to communicate complex ideas in a new or interesting way, it degenerated into various formulae.
But, what of the lower classes?
“Well, now,” Jeb said, mixing his archetypes as he was wont to do, “I’ll tell you that those Indians can only be up to good, and we should let them protect themselves from us as soon as they can!” But, will Rosanna Arquette ever find happiness in the big city?
“The board does not approve,” Mr. Smithers told me, “but, I think that they can be persuaded.” The amount of soft drinks sold in the United States of America during this time was approximately equal to the amount of water that went over Niagara Falls in a less than a quarter of the period.
Baby Huey wasn’t being cooperative. Joyce looked at all the facts and made the wrong decision anyway. I wonder what is happening in South Wabash, even though I don’t know where it is, or why.
Humour is the last refuge of the hopelessly confused.
Is the world ultimately knowable? Holistic thought is fundamentally incompatible with linear thought; how are our brains coping with this radically different way of seeing the world?
Goo goo.