Looking at the Finger – Huin102
Welcome, all of you, HUIN102 students and visitors! And welcome to me as well. I hope we can be all part of this starting process.
The topic of this first entry coincides with one of my perspectives throughout my studies. I am referring by “Looking at the finger” to this famous proverb that says:
“If a man points at the moon, an idiot will look at the finger”
Then I must be a fool, because the finger is what I look at first. Then, I might look at what it is pointing to.
- Who’s finger is it?
- Is it really pointing at the moon?
- Why is it pointing at the moon?
- Do I really see the moon at all when relying on that pointing finger?
- Do I see more or less of the moon, or anything else for that matter?
- Does the finger force my opinion and thinking?
- Does this finger leave me room for creativity?
- …
This semester, I propose to have a look at this technological finger and appreciate how interesting it actually is, along with its instructional power. Let us be curious about it: how it is used, its form, its purpose, its target, its objectives, our development.
Let’s challenge ourselves and be the idiots!
Does the moon really care whether I give it the finger or not?
Well, she does hide once a month, and no one really knows what she is doing then…
They say “new moon”, I’d say “passive/aggressive moon”, ranting all she can on her other side…
And the rest of us might just as well care… :p
The finger gives the direction. Looking first at the finger dosen’t make one a fool. I think stopping at the finger and not following its direction is what makes one a fool. Its like the river in the saying that, if you follow the river, you will get to the sea. The finger is a lead to the moon that has to be followed.
And I insist that looking at the finger does not make us fools and is, indeed, an activity whorth practicing. Why a finger, why not a telescope? What are the differences between the tools we use to meet our goals? Are there consequences to whether or not we see the moon, how we see it, how we comprehend it, how the tool may change us, etc… ?