DISTORTION PRESENTATION

"Between what I'm thinking, what I want to say, what I think I'm
saying, what I'm saying, what you want to hear, what you think
you're hearing, what you are hearing, what you want to understand,
what you think you understand and what you understand, there are
ten ossi!i"ities #or us to ha$e di##i%u"ties in %ommuni%ating&
But "et's try it anyway&&&"
These words were trans"ated #rom 'ren%h into Russian and then into
Eng"ish, !y di##erent eo"e& Bernard (er!er is the author and I
guess that the sentiment is aarent in any "anguage, whether or
not the trans"ation is er#e%t"y a%%urate&
(e don't understand ea%h other& But we %an't he" !ut try&
Desite attemts to nai" the art o# %ommuni%ation, we a"" ha$e the
same "imited and underde$e"oed sensory er%etion, and a"" the
in#ormation that we re%ei$e is immediate"y, and a"so gradua""y,
#i"tered through our imagination unti" it !e%omes in#ormation
whi%h suits us rather than in#ormation whi%h is #aith#u" to its
origins& A"dous )u*"ey %a""ed the !rain a +redu%ing $a"$e,&
The Anstendig Institute, who study T)E -IBRATIONA. /0A.IT1 O' O0R
S0RRO0NDIN2S say that3 +(e hear the $i!rating o# our own !ody 4
not the $i!rating o# the sound sour%e and the !ody must !e a!"e to
$i!rate #ree"y enough to rerodu%e a"" the 5ua"ities o# the
$i!rations #rom the sound sour%e i# we are to hear those
5ua"ities&,
This goes #or a"" sensory inut, using the who"e !ody and it means
that, #or e*am"e, i# we are tense 6 we hear, or #ee" di##erent"y
to when we are re"a*ed& Our mood a##e%ts our inut and our outut&
But we kind o# knew that&
It a"so means that we do not e*erien%e the wor"d as the wor"d is
!ut, instead, we e*erien%e the wor"d how (E ARE& Not 7ust in the
sense o# #ormu"ating oinion !ut in the sense that what we
PER8EI-E is not REA.IT1& Rea"ity is !eyond anima"s&
I am making a series o# ie%es on the su!7e%t o# distortion&
They say Seeing is Be"ie$ing& And seeing is a!out as good as it
gets #or human !eings to %onne%t with one another& It's not
er#e%t, !ut, what we see, whi"e we are seeing it, is a%%eted as
an a%tua" e$ent&
But )earing is Am!iguous& The sound o# a !ird may seem "ike a
s5ueaky whee"& A %at how"ing may !e mistaken #or a !a!y %rying&
Seeing is !e"ie$ing& (hat we see, ese%ia""y in the natura" wor"d,
is clear signal&
)earing, on the other hand, is retty mu%h a"" distortion& )earing
is an i""usion&
(ou"d sound e$en e*ist i# no %reature had the me%hanism #or
hearing9 Sound is a $ery su!t"e $i!ration in the air&
The natura" wor"d, we know, %ontains sounds we"" !eyond our
hearing range& :a%hines a"so make noises that do not a##e%t our
hearing !ut may a##e%t us in other, hysi%a" ways& )earing, a#ter
a"" is a hysi%a" e*erien%e, the e##e%t on our ear4drum o#
ressure wa$es #rom the uni$erse&&&it is #ee"ing something #rom a
distan%e&
So there is one wor"d, o# sound, and then there is the wor"d that
we er%ei$e with our ears& Two di##erent en$ironments& (e work
with the one that we er%ei$e !e%ause e$o"ution has made it
%om#orta!"e #or us&
(hat a!out ha$ing two ears9 (hy is that9 There is not a sing"e
stereo signa" anywhere in the natura" wor"d& A"" sound sour%es, i#
anything, are mono, i# you %an e$en des%ri!e what is essentia""y a
#ee"ing, in this way& As soon as a sour%e $i!rates and makes
wa$es, the sound, or $i!ration is e$erywhere in the en$ironment,
a$ai"a!"e to any sensiti$e %reature to interret with their
$arious senses& (e er%ei$e the $i!rating en$ironment in stereo
!e%ause we ha$e two ears&
But it is a distortion&
This !rings me to Ruert :urdo%h&
:y #irst Distortion ie%e is !ased uon :urdo%h's inter$iew !y the
.e$eson In5uiry into the working methods o# the Press in the 0;&
I'm not so mu%h interested in the o"iti%a" and so%ia" ase%ts o#
this in5uiry& (hat interested me most was the aroa%h taken !y
the In5uiry to get in#ormation #rom :r& :urdo%h&
The 5uestions re"ated to a eriod %o$ering the "ast <= years&
Ruert :urdo%h is >? years o"d& The /8 used a method #or the most
art, where!y he wou"d make a suggestion regarding some
se%u"ation, rumour, im"i%ation 6 and ask #or :urdo%h's oinion
on whether or not it was a@ true !@ #a"se %@ ossi!"y true, might
ha$e haened et%&
Now, it is my oinion that e$ery word o# s%ien%e, re"igion,
o"iti%s and hi"osohy 6 e$ery IDEA 6 is a distortion& E$ery !it
o# in#ormation that I ha$e read or heard soken, is the rodu%t o#
a human mind, it has !een #i"tered through a human imagination
e$en !e#ore it rea%hes mine& As NietAs%he said, +There are no
#a%ts, on"y interretations&, Nothing is true un"ess you ha$e seen
it with your own eyes&
Ruert :urdo%h was essentia""y !eing asked to gi$e an oinion on
other eo"es oinions o# him.
)e was !eing asked to #urther distort a distortion&
(hat the In5uiry wanted to get at was whether :urdo%h, through his
many newsaer and T- interests, was ha$ing a "arger than
democratically-appropriate in#"uen%e on !oth the eo"e and the
go$ernment in this %ountry, #or his own %ommer%ia" !ene#it& And
the susi%ion was that he em"oyed a +you s%rat%h my !a%k I'""
s%rat%h your !a%k, aroa%h to se$era" go$ernments !y wining and
dining Prime :inisters, #"attering and %ourting them to get what
he wanted whi"st oen"y suorting their go$ernments in 'The Sun',
whose distortions are aarent"y read Band !e"ie$ed@ !y a"most
ha"# the ou"ation o# the %ountry& :utua""y !ene#i%ia"&
Now, the way that it was suggested that this o%%urred, has !een
"ikened to a dan%e& A irouette& That there were no negotiations,
!ut rather an understanding was rea%hed that :urdo%h and ea%h
su%%essi$e Prime :inister wou"d "ook a#ter ea%h other& They "ooked
a#ter his !usiness interests whi"e he made their o"i%ies
a"ata!"e #or the u!"i%&
:urdo%h o# %ourse answered a"" the se%u"ation, rumour, oinion
and im"i%ation !y saying a@ he had no memory o# it !@ it was
%om"ete nonsense or, i# it #"attered him to say so, %@ yes that
is 5uite ro!a!"e&
The distortions i"ed u&
I re%orded a"" ?= hours or so o# this inter$iew& I then si#ted
through it, made ?>= di##erent sam"es 6 threw in a #ew e*tra to
make the oint, and made a song to a%%omany the a""eged
irouette&
This is Distortion Num!er ?& It's a work in rogress&