Are things being rewritten as in Orwell's "1984" or books being burned as in "Fahrenheit 451" by Ray Bradbury?

Question

A simple thing as "The whole is equal to the sum of all its parts," which I learned in the '60s, is no longer an axiom? a theorem? a law? I can't find it on line as to who, when or where this was postulated. Boy, am I confused! Too much living the '60s? LOL Any help from the "old timers" on here?

Namaste

Peace and Love

Answer 1

Yes Its happening. I was appalled by my childrens text books and I'm afraid to even look at my grandchildrens text books.

On the math question. I aced algebra. My son needed help on his algebra homework because he couldn't get it. I looked at the book saw what they were driving at showed him how to arrive at the answer and made him show his work. He had every answer right. The teacher marked them all wrong for showing his work. That teacher learned a lesson the next day when her boss told her that applied math theory is never wrong and never do that to a students paper again.

But I fear that not enough parents are monitoring the nonsense thats going on in the schools. Wake up America. The government doesn't want your children smart enough to think for themselves and thus ensure that they vote for them. It's your responsibility to monitor the people you've put in charge of teaching your children.

Answer 2

Hmm.. sounds Euclidean but not a postulate, more as an extension of his 'common notions'.

I too remember the (I think) more common postulate that 'the sum is greater than the whole' which derives I believe from Aristotle. Or maybe I'm letting the computer think for me here.

Less a case of the rewriting of 'knowledge', more a flaw in search engine technology I think!

As for Huxley, I take a more literal view of the quote myself:

"O wonder!
How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beautious mankind is!
O brave new world
That has such people in't!"

Or maybe I've overdone the soma!
.

Answer 3

Not sure but I think that the "axiom" that was floated in the 60's was; "The Whole Is Greater than the Sum of Its Parts" that fits much better with socialist ideology of the times. Sorta like the Hildebeest's book, "It Takes a Village"

Answer 4

"The Whole is Equal to the Sum of Its Parts" is a song title by Ruby. The expression I learned back then was, "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts," and this was often used when discussing the concept of a Gestalt.

Not sure what you mean by "rewritten." I don't believe those classic novels are being re-edited. (An outrage, if they are.) If you mean that we're seeing our own civilization becoming more and more like those in those novels, I couldn't agree more.

I wonder, do you think this forum is one of our best ways of resisting the "thought police?" I sure do !!!

Peace and Love

Answer 5

I don't know but I do get the impression history is being re-written every day. Why not everything else? We, the old ones, have become a unit of information like the people at the end of Fahrenheit 451, an encyclopedia of knowledge that is actually threatening to many. You and I share the memory of the quote in your earlier question.

How do you like my idea?

Answer 6

It takes alot of free association to search for something on the web sometimes, trying to get a line on what a computer thinks is the right word(s) to search for vs. what a human mind thinks is the right word(s) to search for. The search engines are only as good as the people that program them, it might be computerized, but there is still a human mind behind it.... Sometimes I can spend hours searching for something I am looking for, it's hard to find what your looking for when it is categorized by someone else who might not think along the same lines you do....I left an answer on your other question about it, attributed to Aristotle...

Answer 7

Caturday, I am adamantly against burning any one's book, even the vilest. For instance, as much as I hate the errors found in many newer translations or revisions of the Holy Bible, I would protest their burning. I personally find favor with the King James Version for it is most likely the superior translation from original or faithfully copied versions of the original. I also acknowledge that millions of other people do not find the Holy Bible as a good book to read nor live by. Now to the main issue I have with your question--or the statement embedded in your statement. You say, historically Christians have been worse than Islam. First you must realize the falseness of that statement for history tells us that Judaism and the Pagans were the persecutors of Christians up until about 300 AD. Then Constantine established the Roman Universal Catholic Church from the pagan groups of Rome and few of the scattered Christian groups. Less than one third of those attending this council forming the RUCH were Christians. They feared revealing their location in fear they would be put to death as had so many. So the RUCH organizational structure greatly resemble that of the Mithra Pagan Religion of Babylon 600 BC. Even the ritualistic orientation of its services are stolen from the Mithra. As they eases into being a state Church, the Catholics joined Judaism and the Pagan in persecuting Christians. These persecuted Christians were never subordinate to the Catholics but trace their beginnings all the way to Jesus the Christ. Up to the early Reformation period of the 1500's, the Roman Universal Catholic Church, and their off spring the Greek Orthodox Church with a continuance of persecution from Judaism and Paganism, 50 million Christians lost their life. Then in the Reformation years of the 1500rds, the Lutheran, Presbyterian, the Church of England joined the move the Greek Orthodox Church had begun 1200 years prior. They protested parts of the Roman Catholic doctrine and withdrew any relationship or subordination of the Catholic. This is the Protestant movement and possibly should include the Methodist who split during this time from the Church of England. Persecution continued by the Catholic Church and joined by the five protestant churches. Those of the Christian faith outside of the Catholic or Protestants are peaceful, non-combative--at least until they got to America. Their creed and doctrine is one of peace even if at times their practice was combative. Those this group killed from the beginning until say 1700 were mostly in defense of themselves, in some cases those who were so intolerably different from themselves were very few, really few when compared to the over 80 million believed to be from the edicts of the Catholic church. So now you have part of the record of our Christian path. The evangelical and fundamentalist Christians have never committed murder as on the scale of the Catholic Church. To most of the Christian world, then, the Catholics are not a Christian Church except in their own eyes.

Answer 8

I believe It was one of Euclid's proofs from his work, The Elements.

Added: It is more likely just a little trouble with you web search techniques, than the dark hand of a ruling cabal.

Answer 9

No, we're not seeing that sort of dystopia just yet. Our emerging dystopia is more like Alduous Huxley's "Brave New World." Perhaps it will evolve into a more Orwellian state, and I wouldn't doubt that could happen, but right now, we're in Huxley's dystopia.