Non binary

⧖ 𝄋 Nick Kempinski§ Into the Postliterate# ,

Orality is fluid; so are we.

Last week I introduced Walter J. Ong and my first comparison with his characteristics of oral cultures. The power in the choice of a pronoun.

And this leads me to a perception of what could be a characteristic of a literate culture

Binary thought

McLuhan, Postman, Ong, and I’m sure others, have looked at the ecology of the written word and quickly seen its influence on our logical nature. It’s not a far leap to see how literacy and math, science, law progressed together.

Yet in this ability, is a simple mental foundation. Until recently our technological mountain has been composed of this smallest foundation. True (1) and false (0). On (1) and off(0). Is (1) and isn’t (0).

After all – a word is or isn’t printed on a page. It is or isn’t in paragraph 3 subsection 4. It was or was not successfully reproduced. 1+1 is or is not 2.

We tend to think lately that our capacity and attention has whittled down to almost nothing. It might be true. Postman, in Amusing Ourselves to Death shows us the legal & political celebrity & prowess in the early days of the United States; their once staggering high literacy rates combined with the public’s ability to keep up with and even enjoy hours of complex debate & deliberation.

On the flip side of literacy, I recently read Cultural Development: It’s Cultural and Social Foundations by A.R. Luria, a fascinating opportunity to collect insight into a changing subculture as it transitions into literacy. And it shows cracks in human thought, that with Oral cultures, the fundamentals of logic changes. It’s not that there isn’t any, it’s just not the same.

Inference goes out the door.
Reasoning becomes cluttered with complexity.
Perception itself becomes void of classification.

Perhaps it’s not so Binary. Perhaps how we categorize, or logically organize our world is up for review.

And how interesting that now, as we delve into quantum computing we are opening our thoughts to “maybe”, “maybe not” and “maybe both.”

The diversity of a Roman

I think this picture is amazing. Look at it with me. A designer used AI and photoshop to give details back to the busts of Roman emperors

What I think is relevant to binary thought – are any preconceived notions of a Roman.

If our category, inference, definition, and judgment are based on a literate characteristic of binary thought, how we are trying to define life or imagine history might be as well.

Photo credit: Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Originally posted on Substack

Who’s Ong?

⧖ 𝄋 Nick Kempinski§ Into the Postliterate# ,

Walter J. Ong: Orality and Literacy

I’ve already introduced you to McLuhan. Now, let’s introduce you to another figure that’s currently shaping my perspectives. Walter J. Ong.

How he influence the conversation of “Orality”? His work is foundational. While I still have to get into his more history-based works, his main focus was in a small pocket of time in human history, the transition from Orality into Literacy. Hence one of his seminal works Orality and Literacy.

But, Nick, is this a religious thing?

Ah, you noticed what he was wearing in the picture did you? I did say that, didn’t I? While he may be an American Jesuit priest, at no time while reading Orality & Literacy did I ever get the sense of religion.

So sure, his specific curiosity may have been triggered by religion. I can only speculate it’s not a large hop skip and a jump to wonder if it was sparked around the effect missionary work had on an oral society. How at the heart of his religion was, in a sense, literacy. But that’s where we mostly stop.

Compassion of orality

I say mostly because with Ong, perhaps his religion helped, but nowhere yet in my readings, have I felt any portrait of superiority between literacy and orality.

Which seems against what I’ve found from my informal conversations. From my discussions, so far, when I even suggest a post-literate oral culture is emerging, I seem to hit this wall. “Well, I know how to read!”

Maybe?

Where I’m going is, that as we go on this ride, I do not want to suggest any sort of inferiority or superiority between literate and oral. They are merely different. And that difference changes our minds which in turn changes our perceptions of each other and the world we live in.

I realize now, my first post, may have been suggestive of this backslide, talking of tribal darkness. I think I might have to rectify that in future posts.

Back to it

Where were we… oh yes, what does Ong have to do with Orality… everything.

He coined the term “Secondary Orality” mainly orality steeped in literacy. TV & Movies start with a script. But somewhere it gets a little twisted and muddled when written feels spoken. It’s a fancy term you can use at a cocktail party when discussing slang, emojis, tweets ( micro-blogging ), memes, and other oral-like text.

But the main pièce de résistance is his characteristics ( psychodynamics ) of an oral culture. It’s a pillar in everything. While there is debate, he devised a series of traits in oral cultures. I’m not going to list all of them all right now because well… spoilers, however, if you really want, Wikipedia has a decent list.

What I will do, is leave you with a teaser of what I want to do throughout this project. What if we re-examine society today against the characteristics of an oral culture? What do you think we would find?

Here’s the first of many:

Sounded Word As Power and Action

The very first is a topic Ong tackles is an oral cultures association of words and power. Every Tolkien-like fantasy story has an elemental knowledge of this. Know someone’s “true” name, and have power over them. Or better yet, read The Name of the Wind, a good fantasy book if I do say so myself.

In the non-fictional world, for some traditions & cultures, it’s a source of deep connection. Used sparingly. A way to declare family, special relationships, or sacred moments.

Outside of these oral traditions, there has been a resurgence of re-appropriating words. Derogatory slang is taken back as empowerment.

Currently, one of the most powerful examples of a cultural rekindling that sounded word has power, and one I believe we’re “feeling” is a re-appropriation and a declaration, that of the pronoun.

Imagine the neuropathways in the human mind learning and changing.

How amazingly beautiful!

Originally posted on Substack

What is Orality?

⧖ 𝄋 Nick Kempinski§ Into the Postliterate

Good question

Since I’m going to say the word a lot, we might as well set the ground rules around it, eh? ( yes, I’m Canadian )


“the quality of being oral or orally communicated”

– the dictionary

That’s it.

Think of it as the verbal version of literate. I tried to play with language around all of this, and as you can see, it doesn’t seem to always pan out…

Literal : Oral Literary : Oratory Literacy : Orality Literate : ??? What is the oral equivalent of literate? [ Given, I think verbal is the comprehension of words both oral and literal. That "said", it seems to be muddled a bit ]
Literate : Oralite??? Let's try it in a sentence: "Literates and oralites have fundamental differences in what is considered 'logic'" Meh…

but you get the gist, right?

So what’s the big deal?

The deal is when you see how the word is being used. It seems to have a good amount of baggage. Baggage that I’m going to ask you to throw away.

Like religious baggage. Looking over Twitter’s #Orality,  from what I can tell, some use it when referring to the art form of a sermon and preaching, and some use it when discussing bringing the bible to the illiterate.  While there could be overlap with religion – I will not mean anything religious when I use the word.

Then the academic baggage. A few of the “big wigs” (Harold Innis, Eric Havelock, Marshall McLuhan, and Walter J. Ong) have determined Orality and Literacy are in total opposition. These worlds were exclusive. Ong added some nuance defining terms like “oral residue” (yuck) or primal morality. He tried to give some complexity, but in the end, they felt you lost your orality the moment you became literate. All said and done, this also, is not what I mean.

I believe it’s not as cut and dry. Like introverts and extroverts, it’s more fluid. Non-binary ( ooo I’ve got a thought around that too ).

Fortunately, in later years there have been more arguments supporting my current use and belief of Orality.

“orality is not what is spoken, but what allows one to speak.”

Donald Wesling and Tadeusz Slawek, Literary Voice: The Calling of Jonah, 159

The same could be said that literacy is not what is written, but what allows one to read.

It’s a skill. Perhaps, once learned, becomes more…

Right, and…

So where I’m going to be going? Orality and an oral mind make a big difference in our world in ways I’m not sure we fully understand.

Originally posted on Substack

3 Words

⧖ 𝄋 Nick Kempinski§ Blog

I’ve done a few different methods to help give a year a barometer for success. Most years I’ve stuck with only 1 word. But I’ve always watched Chris Brogan’s 3 Words method – and I’m going to give it a shot this year.

For those curious to know more. Here’s the run down.

BE.

I’ve always struggled and consistently ask myself “Who is nick?” hence the domain name. This obsession with self-awareness and assessment perhaps has taken me out of the world instead of being in it.

I want to accept and just “be”. To “be” in the world. To “be” me and not try and justify, or assess, or ask why do I like all these different things, or try an make them fit into something. Just “be”.

EXPOSED.

Why not expose? Because that “d” at the end gives it a naked context.

To continue on the same path as “be,” not only do I want to accept myself, but I also want that person to participate in the world, and my self-censor is strong.

Maybe I need to be uncomfortable and raw in the world. Learn to have that small pang of fear with everything I do – like walking onto a stage.

CREATE.

No matter what. I am a creative person. Look back at all my projects and blogs. All the things I make. This is not just a reminder that I should “create”, but I should create no matter what’s going on in my life.

While I’m not going to make one of those “I will make something every day,” declarations, I am going to use this to strive for that. And if I can combine it with “Be” and “Exposed” – maybe something might happen.

The WordPress Yo-Yo

⧖ 𝄋 Nick Kempinski§ Blog

It’s that time again. Github and gitpages you’ve been great. But I’m lazy. Lazier than lazy lately.

So it’s time to head on back to wordpress. I’ll be doing this slowly. So chances are, this site will flicker and flub, maybe even a blorp to a final kapow!

Thanks for all the fish.