February 16: Cheshire Cat's Grin, Principle of Indeterminacy, Quincy Trouple, "The Other Night"

But in 1927 Werner Heisenberg pulled out the rug, and our whole understanding of the universe toppled and collapsed. For some reason it has not yet trickled down to the man on the street that some physicists now are a bunch of wild-eyed, raving mystics.  For they have perfected their instruments and methods just enough to whisk away the crucial veil, and what stands revealed is the Cheshire cat's grin.

Of course, what Dillard is writing about is the Principle of Indeterminacy, which basically says that it is impossible to know an atomic particle's velocity and position.  It's all about the unpredictability of nature.  Dillard goes on to describe an electron as a muskrat, a creature that cannot be tracked with any accuracy.  The universe is a constant surprise.

Recently, I think my life has been an experiment of indeterminacy.  Nothing I think should or will happen comes to pass.  I think that my sister will survive her cancer diagnosis, and she dies of lymphoma of the brain.  I think that it's not going to snow, and I wake up to five inches of fresh powder in the morning.  I think that Donald Trump will be the punchline of the entire presidential election, and he wins the New Hampshire primary.  Unpredictability.

As many of you already know, I am not a big fan of surprises.  I read the endings of books first.  I read spoilers for movies.  If I could, I would live in a world of complete and utter determinacy.  That's right.  When I wake up in the morning, I want to know what I'm having for dinner.  When I go to bed tonight, I want to know when I'm going to bed tomorrow night.  I embrace sameness.  Predictability.

Now, you probably know what I'm going to do at this point in my post.  That's right--I'm going to provide a poem by the Poet of the Week.  Quincy Troupe.  Troupe is not predictable.  In fact, his poems constantly surprise me, and that's a good thing.

Saint Marty can live with poetic surprise.  As long as he knows about it beforehand.

The Other Night

by:  Quincy Troupe

the other brandy
sweetened night we was
kissin so hard & good
you sucked my tongue
right on out
my tremblin mouth
& eye had to
sew it back in
in order to tell
you about it

 Nothing predictable about Pi . . .