Latest revision as of 13:35, 16 February 2011

part of the Sacred Chao Te Ching

Chapter 41

Some hear about Discordia, and plot against the Machine™.
Some hear about Discordia, and think about it at great length.
Some hear about Discordia, and decide it means they should get high and doodle.
If it weren't for those spags, Discordia wouldn't be as interesting as it is.

Order appears calming and sensible.
Disorder appears unsettling and unstable.
Doubt appears ignorant.
Certainty appears true.
Aggression appears confident.
Mirth appears uncaring.
Horror appears powerless.
All these are lies.

Uncertainty reveals itself as a narrow footbridge,
but with its heart in Chaos, the path is clear.

Chapter 42

Chaos is One;
Order and Disorder are Two;
The Two produce Confusion, which is Three;
And Confusion produced everything else.

All things contain Order and Disorder,
depending on how you look at it.

People hate when someone is being an asshole,
but their leaders are all assholes.
Sometimes, things that fall apart are helpful.
What others teach, I teach as well:
"And this, too, shall pass."
That's the first thing you need to know.

Chapter 43

When discussing "Reality,"
the Professor and the Poet
speak loftily about how things are figments.
Matter is made up mostly of empty space;
We only perceive sensations;
Everything could be a hallucination.

The wise spags heft a barstool,
feel solid wood in their hands,
and with a simple application of  F=ma
refute their arguments.

Chapter 44

Order or Disorder, which do you prefer?
Creation or Destruction, which do you choose?
Those who chase one are led to the other.
Those who embrace both
are free to choose which is more effective.
The only thing is, can you be sure
which is which?

Chapter 45

The greatest mindfuck seems normal;
Only later does it infect the mind.
The best argument seems specious,
but a flaw cannot be found.
The greatest Order seems random.
The greatest Disorder appears stable.

Just as the Zen master's staff strikes to cease thought,
The Barstool crashes through castles built on clouds.
What "works" in the real world is correct.

Chapter 46

When people understand Chaos,
they live their lives as they please.
When people misunderstand Chaos,
the Machine™ grinds them into grist.

The greatest cause of Disorder is Order.
The greatest motivator of Order is Disorder.
Whoever can embrace both will see for miles.

Chapter 47

You can't view the Universe
without one map or another.
Glimpses outside your Cell
are obscured by the bars.
The more you insist you are not in Prison,
the less you will understand what restricts you.
Therefore the wise spags wander through the world in doubt,
and constantly ask for directions.

Chapter 48

If Order and Disorder are illusions,
then turning one into the other
is simple as changing your mind.*
But we tense our muscles, furrow our brows 
and plug away at life.
Meanwhile, our Lady laughs at the silly Cabbages 
trying too hard to be spontaneous.

*Please note that changing your mind is not simple.

Chapter 49

The wise have more than two options.
They see beyond True and False;
They recognize a Maybe.
This is what is meant by, "there is no box".
They understand that a spag who does not see their Cell
is eternally trapped by it.
This is the freedom of limitations.
The wise spags see more of the Universe
by understanding how little of it they see.

Chapter 50

Coming to an argument,
the ways to win seem clear;
The ways to lose look distant,
but the losses come swiftly.

How did this happen?
Because the mind held one side too strongly.

It's said that those who are curious
explore myriad aspects of life without judgment
and in arguments are not affected by fallacy.
They can identify the pitfalls
and recognize valid points,
all while staying true to their goal.

How is this possible?
By seeing all possibilities as valid.
Whether or not they are probable
is an entirely different matter.