PLAUSIBILITY, COMPREHENSIVENESS AND REPEATABILITY
I think some, therefore I must be, well, something. Okay. Yet I can’t help but wonder how much I’m thinking verses wanting, hoping and desiring. Or dreaming for that matter. Is life a long series of unconscious déjà vues, one long jamais vu, or one long hopeless presque vu? In fact, if everything that’s “real” to our senses is, as we’re told by physicists and cosmologists, merely tight packets of vibrating energy, what can we know and trust outside of simple belief?
Actually, in my years of academia, I’ve come to realize there are three possible ways, outside of the ancient Greek appeals, that many people use in decide in what to invest their faith: plausibility, comprehensiveness and repeatability.
Plausibility involves reasonableness, a common degradation of the ancient Greek appeal, logos (logic + reason). “It makes sense” or is “common sense.” Plausibility has strong contemporary appeal in that it is deployed so widely in social media including “explaining” the news. Plausibility is the key to the success of my Amazon-genre bestseller THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor. Plausibility lends the necessary veneer of truthfulness and reality, often making even outrageous things seem more authentic than appropriate.
Comprehensiveness speaks to everything fitting together and thereby “the pieces as a whole making sense.” It’s not “common sense,” but a rah-rah type of synesthesia of three of the ancient Greek appeals, pathos (feelings), ethos (morality) and keiros (popularity) with a dose of Occam’s Razor (that which is connected the most parsimonious way should be favored – my paraphrase).
And then there’s repeatability, in short, “science.” Science is, in it’s simplest form, about things that are repeatable. Conversely, things that are not absolutely repeatable are not “scientific” (most probably being instead humanistic, and at the whim of the complex human brain).
But which is “best?” Must all three be present to indicate truth? I would rather say that when either plausibility or comprehensiveness accompanies repeatability, it is likely the conclusion will not only be repeatable, but also quite robust. I like to play with robustness my novels, giving them plausibility and comprehensiveness, but not necessarily repeatability beyond serendipity or coincidence, imparting a that sense of robustness aside incredulity, that makes for good “Science-based Futuring” or SciFu over SciFi (Science Fiction) or SciFan (Science Fantasy).
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, digital and audiobook formats, and has been purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
#RaymondGaynor #DanielSJanik #TheEdgeOfMadness #plausible #comprehensive #science #repeatable #DejuVu #JamaisVu #PresqueVu #reality #truth #logos #pathos #ethos #keiros #numos #appeal #Greek #book #ebook #audiobook #manga #animation #film #movie
Actually, in my years of academia, I’ve come to realize there are three possible ways, outside of the ancient Greek appeals, that many people use in decide in what to invest their faith: plausibility, comprehensiveness and repeatability.
Plausibility involves reasonableness, a common degradation of the ancient Greek appeal, logos (logic + reason). “It makes sense” or is “common sense.” Plausibility has strong contemporary appeal in that it is deployed so widely in social media including “explaining” the news. Plausibility is the key to the success of my Amazon-genre bestseller THE EDGE OF MADNESS (Aignos 2020) by Raymond Gaynor. Plausibility lends the necessary veneer of truthfulness and reality, often making even outrageous things seem more authentic than appropriate.
Comprehensiveness speaks to everything fitting together and thereby “the pieces as a whole making sense.” It’s not “common sense,” but a rah-rah type of synesthesia of three of the ancient Greek appeals, pathos (feelings), ethos (morality) and keiros (popularity) with a dose of Occam’s Razor (that which is connected the most parsimonious way should be favored – my paraphrase).
And then there’s repeatability, in short, “science.” Science is, in it’s simplest form, about things that are repeatable. Conversely, things that are not absolutely repeatable are not “scientific” (most probably being instead humanistic, and at the whim of the complex human brain).
But which is “best?” Must all three be present to indicate truth? I would rather say that when either plausibility or comprehensiveness accompanies repeatability, it is likely the conclusion will not only be repeatable, but also quite robust. I like to play with robustness my novels, giving them plausibility and comprehensiveness, but not necessarily repeatability beyond serendipity or coincidence, imparting a that sense of robustness aside incredulity, that makes for good “Science-based Futuring” or SciFu over SciFi (Science Fiction) or SciFan (Science Fantasy).
The Edge of Madness
THE EDGE OF MADNESS is available in printed, digital and audiobook formats, and has been purchased by K. Simmons Productions for manga, animation and cinematic treatment.
#RaymondGaynor #DanielSJanik #TheEdgeOfMadness #plausible #comprehensive #science #repeatable #DejuVu #JamaisVu #PresqueVu #reality #truth #logos #pathos #ethos #keiros #numos #appeal #Greek #book #ebook #audiobook #manga #animation #film #movie
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