Under the Bed – a 100 word story
There was never any doubt. Conviction, it’s a strange thing. You end up confusing what is real, with what you believe to be real. That’s why I am convinced the little green creature under my bed is real, you see. I know you don’t believe me. No one else does. It’s fine. You don’t have to believe me. See for yourself. Just, don’t say I didn’t warn you when they find you tomorrow, mutilated, deformed, and half dead. I have to feed it you know. If I don’t, it would turn on me. We can’t let that happen, can we?
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Hi there and thanks for stopping by. I’m Guy, and you’re listening to my surreal sketchbook of reality.
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Episode 27, Little Green Creature
There are two main classes of opposites, one that is position-based and another that is based on essence and definition. This episode Is a semi-philosophical look at opposites. I’m not a professional philosopher by any means and my approach can be quite absurd, illogical, and not at all that serious, so – you’ve been warned. Do not take this podcast too seriously. If you tend to take things too seriously, this might not be the podcast for you. Seriously. I mean it. Find another podcast to listen to.
You’re still here? Good. Let’s talk about opposites. Position. A line connects two dots. Those dots are on opposite sides of the line. They are opposites because of their position on opposite sides of a line. Let’s say we take the line, curve it, bend it until the two dots connect and the line is closed into a shape. Those are the same two dots, but they are not opposites anymore. The condition of the dots and the line changes, negating the oppositeness of the dots. This example shows us that positional opposites don’t always stay opposites.
Let’s say we are sitting on opposite sides of a very long table. Our position is opposite each other. Now, let’s say that the table is slowly growing in size. Since the earth is round, our table slowly curves until one end reaches so close to the other that we end up sitting back to back. We changed our position so we are no longer facing each other. We are no longer opposite. Position based opposites are fragile and can break as the position of opposite components changes. For example, I can get up and leave the room where the table is, then I won’t be opposite you anymore. I’ll be somewhere else. Let me just check for a minute if I’m here or there. I’ll be right back.
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Orthodocile – a 100 word story
There was a sound, unlike thunder but resembling it. Something was approaching very fast. Something big. I knew it was a dead-end. I couldn’t turn back. In the minimal lights, I could barely make up the walls, tunnels, and watery floor. I concentrated. Being a being of light, I glowed, painting the tunnel in green and yellow. There it was, a huge Orthodocile, all teeth, horns, and thick hides. I quickly integrated myself into the water, leaving substance behind, becoming pure light. The Orthodocile passed me, reached a dead end, and turned back. Predator problem averted, at least for now.
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Welcome back. When we get to opposites that are based on essence and definition, every opposite might hold the seed of it’s opposite and nothing is exactly what it seems. Take black and white for example. They are considered the absolute opposites in color theory, but if you examine them closely, you’ll find that there is no absolute white, and there is no absolute black. You can always find a lighter white or a darker black. In truth, all whites and blacks are different shades of gray, and gray is a mixture of black and white. In that way, white holds the seed of black inside it and black holds the seed of white.
Finding the opposite of something depends on how you define it and how you perceive its essence. It also depends on what “an opposite” really means to you. While definition is determined by the solid qualities of something such as shape and color, essence can sometimes be much more amorphic in nature, more subjective, and open to interpretations. This is especially true in abstract opposites, such as good and evil or determinism and randomness. The essence of abstracts often depends on your point of view and when the point of view of someone else is the complete opposite of your own, you might and up with opposites that are the same but only differ in subjectiveness.
Let’s look at the example of good and evil as opposites. When the essence of good from your point of view is the same as the essence of evil from an opposing point of view, opposites collide and this could lead to chaos. That is the problem with opposites. They are an illusion. They don’t really exist, like the white that isn’t exactly white, or the black that isn’t exactly black, there are no absolute opposites. You have to look at every case of opposites and determine how far opposed they are while keeping in mind that it is that way from your very own, unique point of view. You might end up finding those opposites sitting on a table opposite each other, drinking tea. This concludes episode 27 of this podcast. Close the door on your way out and don’t forget – I’m just a figment of your imagination.
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