Monday, July 23, 2012

The Limitations of Theory

I enjoy theorizing--especially when it comes to things like D/s or the meaning of life. I think that it's a great way to explore ideas and concepts, as well as to expand the way we think and perceive things.
Theories can give us something to build on and bring a deeper insight to what we are discovering.

But theory has its limitations.

When I was a kid I remember this biologist coming to see my dad's gardens. The man could tell you the molecular composition of spinach, the technicalities of the growth process, and exactly what nutrients the plant provided.
He could not however, identify spinach growing and was completely in awe of the gardens because he had never seen anything growing in the dirt.
He knew it all in theory. But he knew nothing about the reality of food. He was probably a rather brilliant person, but I recall thinking he wasn't too bright because he couldn't identify food before it was on his plate.

While it is a bit of a stretch, I think that it is much the same with D/s--theory is awesome. It helps us expand our understanding and come at it from a deeper level because it encourages us to dig deeper.

But theory doesn't always translate into real life. What grows in our minds cannot always survive in the fields.

So it's important to realize that there's no substitute for living and being.

We take our theories, discard some, and try to cultivate others. Sometimes they survive and are proven correct. Other times we find that they lack a realism that can be applied on a day-to-day basis.

Because sometimes, when we are too overloaded with theories, they interfere with our reality.

11 comments:

  1. Agreed! What grows in our minds cannot always survive in the fields. Maybe some theories shouldn't? Which then can make way for fantasy!

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    1. Minelle,
      What an awesome concept! I hadn't thought about it quite like that before. But I think that perhaps that is where we sometimes get into trouble--when we don't realize that theories that won't work in life can be fantasy and should stay that way.

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    2. That is how I reconcile some of my issues!!

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  2. You are absolutely right. I was (and still am) a victim of to much DD-theory. I know how that feels when real life just does not fit the theory.
    I think its a great new subject for filosofy-classes: "D/s or the meaning of life".

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    Replies
    1. Bas,
      I think we have all been victims of too much theory at one time or another.

      Start signing people up! It could be interesting.

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  3. Much too philosophy for me this early in the am. LOL. It sounds about right though.

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    Replies
    1. sunnygirl,
      Lol. Well, it was written in the PM several days ago...

      Delete
  4. Great post and how true! I think theorizing on how you want, see or think something should work is a useful exercise. But it can be prickly when you try to squash all of that into your everyday life :o)

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    Replies
    1. BleuAme,
      Thank you.
      It is hard to squash into real life. And sometimes the reason is because it simply won't work. Though realizing that at the time can be tricky...

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  5. Goodness knows i love a good long think about the abstract and theoretical. I'm slowly learning how to go from, "isn't this how it's supposed to work?" to "this seems to be how it works in our case"... maybe some day i'll let go all together and just live it - or maybe not. Great reminder though!

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    Replies
    1. gg,
      oh yes--a good long think about the abstract and theoretical without pause for punctuation. I love it too.
      But it's easy to get stuck there isn't it?

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Play nice.