Parables for the Virtual

Parables for the Virtual

Brian Massumi's introductory chapter for Parables for the Virtual is a text most certainly to be found in Borge's Library of Babel.  Massumi's work can be found embedded deep in one of the central hexagons, wedged between a book with endless repetitions of “MCV” and another that reads as the insane babble of a madman.  The discovery of this work by the librarians is likely to set off a war between the Inquisitors and the Purifiers, as the former will see references to the Vindications, and the latter will see it as yet another repetition of nonsense.  On the one hand there appears to be a light of truth to what Massumi discusses, evidence points to human movement/sensation as existing on a continuum, an analog signal flowing fluidly between points of definition rather than the dichotomy of binary poles of magnetic attraction.  As a work of philosophic searching and word play, this piece is extraordinarily effective.  As a piece of fiction, it is fascinating.  As a truth, it is lacking, but may hint at the profound.  Massumi pulls in various scientific principles to act as metaphor's for his exploration.  These principles are often well defined in science, but frequently only have real application when applied to certain specific realms.  In other words, the principles break down when applied to human behaviour.  Take the notion of the Uncertainty Principle.  In simple terms, the Uncertainty Principle is about the position and momentum of a subatomic particle.  The more precisely one knows the position of an element, the less precisely one can know the momentum of the same element, and vice versa.  This is very similar to the notion of the movement/sensation continuum that Massumi provides.  While the idea works great as a metaphor, it breaks down when one attempts to “fix” this as an essential element of human behaviour.  There is essentially no easy way of proving Massumi's suppositions.  Nonetheless, his observations are cogent and fascinating to think about.  

This is a piece written by Descartes Demon.  The piece throws an illusory veil over what is real, but perhaps in the process shows what is possible.  Interestingly, the word Demon has it's origins in Ancient Greek, and can be roughly translated from the original as “the light of knowledge”.  It is an interesting twist to think of this work in both of the above definitions, it may not be the truth, but it appears to point to it.  Massumi's introduction is either the work of a genius, or the work of a madman.  Or perhaps the work of a mad genius?