Re: Euclidean construction of Tombstone Blues?

On Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:30:35 UTC, treadle99@xxxxxxx wrote:

On Feb 26, 4:35 am, Jumbo <ch...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Feb 26, 1:34 am, treadl...@xxxxxxx wrote:



On Feb 25, 5:45 pm, Jumbo <ch...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Feb 25, 7:21 pm, "Dan Drake" <d...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On Tue, 24 Feb 2009 19:43:21 UTC, Jumbo <ch...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Feb 24, 7:34ÿpm, "Dan Drake" <d...@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Fri, 20 Feb 2009 10:18:20 UTC, Jumbo <ch...@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
On Feb 20, 2:39?am, Dylanetics <dylanet...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
?The "innocent flesh" is

not just a beautiful female but the universe as a whole. Galileo, in
trying to measure it, seems to imply that its "meaning" is purely
physical, which is "useless and pointless knowledge".

I don't see Delilah as representing any kind of "innocent flesh"!

No, nor do I. And nor does the lyric. The "innocent flesh" belongs to
Christ on the cross. The attempt to "understand" the universe by
reason and maths leads ultimately to frustration, because ultimate
(spiritual) truth can't be "solved" that way. Galileo is too committed
to reason to see things that way.

This is the man who described wine as "light held together by moisture".
Which doesn't sound like good physics, or astronomy, or an attempt at
either, but a recognition of other stuff in life.

"Good physics" is relative. Galileo's theories about the earth
revolving around the sun had the edge, astronomically speaking, on the
views upheld by his opponents on the issue.

Oh, absolutely. In fact, his disrespect for Tycho's model (shared by
Kepler), was pretty clearly inspired by the physical weirdness of what in
more recent times we might call "that kludge". But I meant to refer to his
poetic description of wine, as an illustration that he was not always
involved with doing physics, being after all a human being.

OK, and I take your point. But I think that my limited "rational"
Galileo is the one being soundbite-referenced by the lyric. He's
characterized solely as possessing a "math book" which he throws in
obvious bad temper at a Biblical character.

I thought his math book got thrown at him by the Cardinals as he was
heading out the door after recanting.

I didn't know that. But the lyric says the book was thrown at Delilah.
Which name... actually... I now see is oddly related soundwise to
Galileo... So this could be one of Dylanetics's switcheroo lyrics...

The geometry of innocent flesh on the cross
Causes for a math book to get thrown
At Galileo who's sitting worthlessly and lost
But the tears on his cheeks are from laughter.

Which would accommodate Dan's more generous take on the "human"
Galileo (he's laughing to himself because he's as religious as the
next guy, but he knows they take their Bible too literally...)

This kind of verse is obviously too obvious and first drafty, so you
move Galileo up a line and stick in the soundalike Delilah to confuse
interpreters.

Or not, but if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

I guess your 2.0 version of this song is historically more correct if
you believe the story that after recanting, Galileo walked out the
door and as a parting shot said, "But the earth still revolves around
the sun," thus (sort of) getting the last laugh. But the whole Church/
Galileo story is very controversial, so who really knows. And as you
know from Bob Dylan songs, it's impossible to get a straight answer,
as he himself concedes at the end of the song...it's very difficult to
write a plain song.

As to the "But it does move" story: The best bet is that it cannot have
happened that way, though it makes a nice story; but it is based on
something that really happened. At least, such a story definitely was in
circulation within 10 years after the trial, which makes it a lot more
credible than if it first popped up 100 years later (as is still said in
some places, though the older source has been known for 100 years now).
The version I like is that he said it as he parted from the extremely
sympathetic archbishop with whom he had stayed until given permission to
go home.

Sorry about the OT.


--
Dan Drake
dd@xxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.dandrake.com/
porlockjr.blogspot.com
.

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