He is quick, thinking in clear images;
I am slow, thinking in broken images.
He becomes dull, trusting to his clear images;
I become sharp, mistrusting my broken images.
Trusting his images, he assumes their relevance;
Mistrusting my images, I question their relevance.
Assuming their relevance, he assumes the fact;
Questioning their relevance, I question their fact.
When the fact fails him, he questions his senses;
When the fact fails me, I approve my senses.
He continues quick and dull in his clear images;
I continue slow and sharp in my broken images.
He in a new confusion of his understanding;
I in a new understanding of my confusion.
– By Robert Graves
Kevin Barrett's Blog 
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You, in a new understanding of your confusion?
😉
Absolutely!
My “study” of poetry has been about a few authors and their limited works. (This was mostly high school.) It is only in the last few months of reading blogs that I have been introduced to this formal study of poems.
Without Wikipedia I would be lost. Although, yesterday, I did go out and buy a used book on poetry. To be honest, it was in the $2 rack and pure serendipity. Sometimes, the universe tells you (me) to learn more about something. I’ve been blogging since ’09 and learned a tremendous amount in just the last week (from poetry related blogs I’ve found). And from our conversation, of course.
I don’t know that there is a formal study of literature, Kevin. And the $2 racks are the beST! I am excited for you. =) You know, a lot of what I’ve written about is self-taught. It’s stuff that’s OUT there. I’ve written that there is nothing new under the sun. But it’s stuff I’ve seen works (or doesn’t) in writing.
I just realized the personal implications of how you and I seem to (literally) see and hear words differently: gee…CAN be a recipe for communication difficulty in a relationship, eh? Have you thought about how this may have affected your communication with your wife/friends?
Yes. I have always had difficulties with relationships – male and female. Fortunately, my wife (Hilary) is a one in a million person who accepts (loves) me as I am while my kids don’t know any different and can’t imagine me any other way.
I have been fortunate to find my “level” (carpentry term).
And this difference in how I see and hear the world has made all the difference…
Hmmm….explain finding your level.
?
Highly competitive, A+ driven personality. Embraced change for change sake because it offers the greatest opportunity for risk / advancement / success. Damn the consequences (mostly personal).
I have since learned, through my Hil and through being a parent, that nothing matters but my family. Everything else is “nice” but not “need”.
You can see this over and over when folks lose their homes, possessions and mementoes to fire or other disaster. As long as your family is safe, everything else are just “things”.
I still work hard and take pride in my accomplishments, but it (work) doesn’t consume me (as much). I have found my level.
What I took away from this…thinking unquestioningly in a straightforward manner will lead to confusion when contradicted, whereas not assuming one’s reality but questioning it can lead to organized chaos. You can only sharpen your mind by questioning?
I found the poem in my high school biology text book. According to my instructor, it is a cautionary tale for future scientists that ALL theories (no matter how old or well established) are valid only until data contradicts the theory. Then, a good scientist MUST re-examine the data and the theory. If a conflict between theory and new data continues, the theory must be discarded or postulated as only partly true within particular circumstances which may or may not be repeatable.
In any case, “reality” (the “truth”) is out there… Question everything. Particularly authority…
He in a new confusion of his understanding;
I in a new understanding of my confusion.
Since high school, I have been amazed at the number of situations (government, war, religion, politics, personal relationships) this simple philosophy has been applicable to.
As you so aptly put it: “belief becomes very resistant to anything other than confirmation bias. People tend to work within their own belief systems, even if it does not seem logical or rational to do so.“
I am surprised at the scientific context as it does not seem to overtly reference anything scientific, but after I read your explanation, I reread the poem and it makes beautiful sense in this theoretical frame. I’m so happy you explained it to me. Thank you for this enlightening conversation! 🙂
Whoa there, “La Gata”… Just cause I said it, doesn’t make it so.
The poem was in the front of my high school biology book and what I relayed was the explanation of my biology teacher. I liked it and it made sense to me. It also helped me view the world in my own peculiar way.
In researching Graves though, I’ve also heard it (the poem) explained as a mental conversation between him and his lover, where he is the certain / masculine role (the odd lines) and she is the less absolute / feminine role (the even lines). I don’t know if Graves ever explained the poem himself, so this is all guessing. In any case, poetry can mean different things at different times in your life (at least it’s been able to for me).
Thank you too for sharing in the conversation!
The honor is to serve…