Outer Reaches of the Palindrome Page: 37
View a full description of this thesis.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
CORKSCREWED
"I do not ask you to believe that the occurrence of similar curvilinear formations in
various organic and inorganic phenomena is a proof of "conscious design." I only suggest
that it indicates a community of process imposed by the operation of universal laws."43
Theodore Andrea Cook
Infinity is a concept that has always fascinated me. I feel that fascination when I look at
palindromes, or anything symmetrical or patterned. Nature is a boundless continuum of patterns
that evoke awe, that feeling which Joseph Campbell says is the individual participating in the
divine, and something inside of me intuitively insists that the palindrome might some way be a
principle of infinity. According to "The Divine Proportion" author H. E. Huntley:
A sense of wonder, even of awe, in the presence of the infinite, is one of the basic human
emotions. Through all the aeons of time when man has stood beneath the cold light of
stars and gazed into the unbounded depths of space; and especially since man first
understood, a century ago, that an age-long stretch of evolutionary history lies behind
him, infinity has been for him an emotionally charged concept. Music has power to
arouse this emotion. So has mathematics.44
That's always the clincher in a conversation about the infinite - the mention of emotion often-
times seems to take the steam out of any hope for an empirical argument. Emotion cannot be
measured the same way water in a beaker can be measured.
Emotion, however, may be the most accurate way to gauge infinity. The Oxford English
Dictionary defines the adjective, 'infinite,' as, " ... having no limit or end (real or assignable);
boundless, unlimited, endless; immeasurably great in extent, duration, or other respect."45 By the
very nature of the term, immeasurability is innately immeasurable empirically, but just because37
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This thesis can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Thesis.
McConnell, Michael Constantine. Outer Reaches of the Palindrome, thesis, December 2003; Denton, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4407/m1/40/: accessed May 22, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; .