Poem: "Accidents of Art and Science"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the August 2, 2016 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from wyld_dandelyon and Shirley Barrette. It also fills the "accident" square in my 8-1-16 card for the Survival Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Shirley Barrette.


"Accidents of Art and Science"


Technology advances less by
cries of "Eureka!" than it does by
mutters of "Huh? That's odd!"

There are accidents of art --
spilled paint and unpredictable blends --
which give rise to techniques like
salt splash and batik.

There are accidents of science --
forgotten, moldy dishes and
unexpected reactions -- that
lead to silly putty, liquid paper,
and post-it notes.

To be an artist or a scientist
is much the same -- a life built with
situational awareness that revolves
around a sense of wonder instead of fear --
differing only in the mode of expression.

It is not what we intend which expands
our horizons, but our accidents, and that

depends on knowing which mistakes to keep.

* * *
Notes:

Accidental art can be very beautiful, and has inspired a variety of painting techniques.

Accidental science is an important part of history, which has led to numerous inventions.

Comments

Re: dealing with enhanced senses

[ysabetwordsmith]

If you look at information on PTSD and hypervigilance, a lot of it is very judgmental on the topic of turning off the alertness. Obviously people who have come out of hellish experiences are rarely pleased by that. They know for a fact that if you let your guard down too far, then the world is quite likely to injure or kill you. However, if you're wired all the time, it not only wrecks your health but undermines your ability to identify and handle real emergencies.

Hypervigilance is simply a problem of your alert system getting stuck on 11. You need the ability to modulate it, turn it up and down in response to accurate observations about the environment. That means keeping a "relaxed alert" awareness most of the time, being able to relax completely in a secure environment with trusted persons, and not doing stupid shit like losing yourself in your damn smartphone while walking down a sidewalk and possibly into traffic.