If, in the
midst of this text, I pose to you a question which seemingly hinted to question
your core beliefs, would you continue reading? Fear not if your answer is no,
for the majority of interpreters of a certain Mr. William of Ockham seem to
have concocted a theory which serves as a rather lofty substantiation of the
possibly naive solution to this contemplative dilemma which may have interested
you. Let me assume that anyone who is reading this is a victim of the countless
psychological biases which seem to be omniscient, and let me also take the liberty
to assume that there are not many readers who are completely at ease when
confronted with the rather compelling prospect of introspection. But let us
bravely trudge on in the hope of an objective truth. ‘The simplest answer is
the one with the least assumptions’ is what is taken as a form of Occam’s
Razor, as it is popularly known, an interpretation which need not necessarily
be right, not only in accordance with my interpretation, but also in accordance
with the thought processes of Mr. William of Ockham, for he simply stated
“plurality should not be posited without necessity”. Let us not assume anything
else, for I don’t want to irk the staunch supporters of the former form of this
partially correct theory.
For some people
prefer to bask in Mr. William’s conclusions about multiple hypotheses, I choose
to be particularly skeptical about it’s manifestations. Occam’s Razor may be a
beautiful way to justify simplicity, which, at times, seems paramount. Mr.
William’s theory, can also be considered to be a point of view which undermines
complex, elegant and probably spectacular solutions to a problem at hand. As a
result of some thought provoking examples in my day to day life, I will try to
analyze an alternate situation, one which doesn’t fit Occam’s Razor: what if,
in the process of generating a more complex explanation with more assumptions,
one goes on to discover a completely original way of looking at the same
problem? Now that’s not so bad, is it?
While one is
on the verge, while one struggles through the long maturing process inherent in
every creative art and science, one may profit by occasionally creating and living
in a state of cognitive dissonance, so as to create a state of affairs which
intrinsically demands exploration, creativity, rationalization and the need to
experience something out of the ordinary, in the hope of achieving, eventually,
a perceived consonance in cognition: maturity, brilliance, innovation and
excellence. The dissonance, here, is essential as it acts as the pushing force,
the drive and the inspiration towards consonance.
What creates
this dissonance, i.e. the Dissonant, is a variable and can be
determined only by the person, as the definition of dissonance must vary (a
manifestation of the Randomist View, presented in my
previous article). It could be anything which challenges the senses, the
sensibilities, thought processes, personality influencing states of mind or the
core beliefs; it is the stone which creates a ripple in an ocean of thought,
the ripple which then goes on to streamline thought so as to see a solution to
the same conundrum in a way which makes sense, so as to make order of chaos, so
as to transcend the boundaries. It
could be a new experience which conflicts with one’s day to day life. It could
be an intriguing or random journey. I know what many people are thinking of at
this stage. Unfortunately, I’m not advocating any ‘substances’. You can look
for your own justifications. Whatever ‘floats your boat’, my friend.
Consider an alternate
example. If a devout follower of a certain religion chooses to question and
then unavoidably explain, because of his/her uncontrollable and natural urge to
adhere to reason and eliminate contradiction in their own heads, the activities
of another person who has engaged in spiritual manipulation of people under the
name of the same religion, the follower may, after much thinking, reevaluate
his/her own religion, discover facets and realms of the spiritual experience
which were hitherto missing. The devout follower’s decision to enter such a
predicament is at the very heart of my proposition. The spiritual manipulator and
his activities act as the Dissonant for the devout follower.
The act of discovering unchartered territories of the spiritual experience due
to the Dissonant would constitute what I would like to call Creative
Dissonance.
The human
mind is desperate to free itself from contradictions and finds ways to reduce
the dissonance, to maintain order and avoid conflict. The Creative Dissonance theory
can be used to embrace and make productive use of dissonance, a seemingly
undesirable cause. The cause is the Dissonant and the effect is the Creative
Dissonance.
The musical
genre of Jazz is built on similar principles. As a result of the staggering
innovation and experimentation of a great number of jazz musicians, who were
desperate to expand the boundaries of music, startling harmonic discoveries
were made (for people who aren’t musicians, harmony, in essence, is the effect
generated when two or more notes are played simultaneously, their interaction
creating something which cannot be achieved by a single note). They started
experimenting with dissonant notes (dissonance in music can be taken as ‘off’
and ‘incorrect’ sounding notes relative to a particular note). They discovered
that a dissonant chord (a set of dissonant notes played together) did
tremendously well in building up tension in a song. This dissonant chord, when
followed with a consonant one, brought about a sense of greater satisfaction
than direct consonant transitions. In essence, the Dissonant in this case is
the dissonant chord, and the Creative Dissonance is the
exceptional effect produced as a result of this experiment. If jazz isn't your thing, you can use the following links for a better understanding.
Consonance and dissonance explanation -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1Ph0sa0Gc0
Dissonance followed by consonance -
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Tritone_resolution_inward.ogg
Psychology
provides a reason as to why Jazz produces the effect described. There is ample
material and research available about Cognitive Dissonance, but its genesis lies
in Leon Festinger’s thought provoking Theory of Cognitive Dissonance, the
hypotheses of which are-
1.
"The
existence of dissonance, being psychologically uncomfortable, will motivate the
person to try to reduce the dissonance and achieve consonance"
2.
"When
dissonance is present, in addition to trying to reduce it, the person will
actively avoid situations and information which would likely increase the
dissonance"
The person
who is in the quest of Creative Dissonance will be
extraordinarily desperate to make order of the chaos, and in the process, may
find a new interpretation or an innovative combination of his/her knowledge and
the Dissonant
as a result of their need to achieve consonance, as stated in
Festinger’s first hypothesis.
The second
hypothesis is in contradiction with my theory, as creating and/or living in dissonance
is the cornerstone of my theory. The theory of Creative Dissonance is
about embracing dissonance. The dissonant can be considered to be an investment
with possible returns. This stark contrast with Festinger’s theory, according
to me, has occurred as a result of the very concept of original creation. It is
exceedingly difficult to create something totally original, and in essence, one
is always influenced by one’s predecessors in the field. If not truly original,
the best one can hope for is an eclectic mixture of a large number of predecessors,
accompanied with one’s originality. The theory of Creative Dissonance will
definitely encourage innovative thinking and originality. It will not work all
the time, and I’m not giving any assurance here and too much dissonance may
lead to depression and madness. Analogous to how investment bankers make it deceivingly
‘lucid’ in their warnings regarding investments, my theory too has its elements
of risk. And as others have pointed out, madness seems to be a possible
occupational hazard in the quest for genius and brilliance, the fine line
between madness and genius getting finer and finer for the pianist, Oscar
Levant:
“There's a
fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.”
What becomes
of the line between genius and insanity can be discovered by ourselves, if need
be. But one most certainly cannot wait for serendipity or luck to achieve
something out of the ordinary; one must create circumstance, take the plunge,
apart from putting in one’s best effort. The Creative Dissonance theory
offers a possible solution to break free from a rut, a baby step towards
possible brilliance. Thus, the theory cannot be looked at as a direct
manifestation of Festiger’s, it must be suitably modified for the goal of stupendous
creation.
“The world
is but a puzzle to be solved,
The answers to which lie in the intricacies
and the nuances lived,
The greatness which has been seen and heard
by the herd,
Through a maze treaded and created by the
mad, genius and absurd.”
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