Sensitive Chaos

by Theodor Schwenk, W. Roffenkamp (Illustrator), Walter Roggenkamp (Illustrator)

The Creation of Flowing Forms in Water and Air Theodor Schwenk Translated by Olive Whicher & Johanna Weigley More than ever before, today we need "water consciousness" and we can begin with this essential and classic book on water as the universal bearer of living, formative processes. Beginning with simple flowing phenomena of water and air, Schwenk gradually builds up, with the help of marvelous photographs and drawings, the "letters" of an alphabet that will allow us to "read" the living meaning of water. The spiritual, formative processes are gradually brought to light, and we come to recognize the Creative Word in the universe. Fully illustrated.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Science, Design, Art, Physics, Nature

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1962

Reviews

[Julene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful book with pictures of water dynamics. It is a recommended book on continuum movement's list and it shows what and how our bodies can move since we are comprised of water. We and water have lots in common and we forget the many naural movements, this book is a reminder and a lovely lesson.

[Levon · Rating 3 out of 5]

took me 2 years to actually get through this book lmao you really have to be in the right head space to read it but once you do you’ll be impressed by all the discoveries throughout this book

[Victoria Haf · Rating 5 out of 5]

No sé que decir de este libro además de que es el que estaba esperando que existiera sin saberlo, es corto, sencillo y con muchas ilustraciones, el prólogo de Jacques Cousteau es un preámbulo perfecto.
"El agua es vida” es una frase que no tiene todo el sentido que debería, el agua está predispuesta a fluir y vivir, es un “órgano sensible” porque todo genera un eco en el agua, hay muchas cosas de este libro que me sorprendieron y muchas respuestas que me resolvió, siento que este es de los libros que tendré que leer varias veces para entenderlo bien, un buen complemento es “Origins of the form” de Christopher Williams.

Como dice Tesla "La ciencia no es sino una perversión de sí misma a menos que tenga como objetivo final el mejoramiento de la humanidad”. La ciencia no es ajena, no es objetiva, y en este caso Schwenk nos presenta (o nos regresa) a una ciencia que no pierde su parte espiritual por querer ser exacta.

[kyle]

My favorite part of this book is extensive pictures. The text was more challenging than I anticipated, but I found if I just focused on a few pages at a time I got a lot out of it. The book is an odd mixture of science and metaphor, often vacillating between the two without warning. All in all, another text I'm sure I will periodically return to.

[Forrest · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very provocative book -- about how water (and air) moves when flowing. And then showing how this is related all sorts of other things that we usually assume are not moving, like human bones. Have you ever wondered why water makes that braid as it pours, or why so many cultures revere the spiral?

[Gregory Witt · Rating 1 out of 5]

the pictures are ok, i guess, but the overall effect makes me embarrased for the author. i was hoping for some sort of lucid philosophical writing, instead i found a pile of the most repulsive new-agey, hippie-dippey crap. absolutely no rigor whatsoever.

[Nobody · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a cool book but I’m too much of an academic to get on board with the anthroposophy parts. Felt like it undercut the rest of the book to the degree where I questioned the veracity of the fluid dynamics expositions

[Grace]

I love the pictures! Someday I will sit and read about WHY water and smoke make the most beautiful spiral patterns...

[Curtis Anthony Bozif · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very odd book about factual patterns in nature.

[Jasmine Lau · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a bit hard for me to read, not really good with physics and stuff, but there are take-aways for me from this book.

[George · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and beautifully written.