golden-rule.jpg

The Golden Rule

Prepare a total vacuum, maintain absolute zero. Various particles emerge spontaneously and we observe entropy. Particles collide and cascade, each reverts back to its ground state, and each background state defines a local minimum.

We call it the law of entropy. The law of entropy is expressed as an equation, solving the equation returns a result, and not solving the equation is asking for trouble.

Solving the equation for democracy, democracy's ground state is equality, equality's is authority, authority's is legitimacy, legitimacy's is continuity, continuity's is stability, and the result is community, not tyranny.

Notes

The poem describes as a meditational process to achieve insight () into human affairs () and to avoid unintended consequences ().

is a puzzle. In Kroll, it's countenance. As a noun, it's appearance or features, and as a verb, it's accept. In this context, I wonder if it could mean something like phenomenon, an observable fact or event.

Given , I think the pairs are meant to be read as something like, "X emerges from and returns to a background state of Y," and when investigating a particular /, you're meant to recurse through ground states of a series of polar complements until you reach the base case of absolute stillness ().

My guess is that the hierarchy of states given here is what the poem refers to as , and , , , , and presumably , are a meditational focus to achieve insight into the situational meaning of .

I'm not quite sure what to make of except that it's the ultimate into . is unscathed in Kroll, and appears pretty often in ctext and could mean something like self-abnegation. In any case, I think it sums up the poem as an argument from first principles that you're always better off not making it about you.

Vocabulary

zhì zhuì
至 133 + 3
send, deliver, present; cause
虍 141 + 6
false, worthless; empty, hollow; 11th lunar mansion, determinative star β Aquarii (Sadalsuud)
jí jǐ
木 75 + 9
extreme, utmost, furthest, final
shǒu shòu
宀 40 + 3
defend, protect, guard, conserve
jìng
靑 174 + 8
quiet, still, motionless; gentle
竹 118 + 10
deep, true, sincere, genuine
wàn
禸 114 + 8
ten thousand; innumerable
牛 93 + 4
thing, substance, creature
bìng bàn
一 1 + 7
equal to; side by side; also, what is more; both
zuò zuō
人 9 + 5
make; work; compose, write; act, perform
wú yú
口 30 + 4
i, my, our; resist, impede
yǐ sì
人 9 + 3
by means of; thereby, therefore; consider as; in order to
guān guàn
見 147 + 18
see, observe, view; appearance; hexagram ䷓
彳 60 + 9
return; repeat; repeatedly; hexagram ䷗
fū fú
大 37 + 1
man, male adult, husband; those
yún yùn
艸 140 + 4
rue, herb used to keep insects away; to cut grass or weeds; art, talent, ability, craft, technique, performance, acting, trick, stunt
gè gě
口 30 + 3
each, individually, every, all
guī kuì
止 77 + 14
return; return to, revert to
qí jī
八 12 + 6
his, her, its, their; that
gēn
木 75 + 6
root, base(d on); foundation
yuē
曰 73 + 0
say; Kangxi radical 73
shì tí
日 72 + 5
indeed, yes, right; to be; demonstrative pronoun, this, that
wèi
言 149 + 9
say, tell; call, name; be called
mìng
口 30 + 5
life; destiny, fate, luck; an order, instruction
cháng
巾 50 + 8
common, normal, frequent, regular
zhī zhì
矢 111 + 3
know, perceive, comprehend
míng mèng
日 72 + 4
bright, light, brilliant; clear
bù fǒu
一 1 + 3
no, not; un-; negative prefix
wàng wáng
女 38 + 3
absurd, foolish, reckless; false
xiōng
凵 17 + 2
culprit; murder; bad, sad
róng yǒng
宀 40 + 7
looks, appearance; figure, form
nǎi ǎi
丿 4 + 1
then; really, indeed; as it turned out, after all; namely
gōng
八 12 + 2
fair, equitable; public; duke
wáng wàng
玉 96 + -1
king, ruler; royal; surname
tiān
大 37 + 1
sky, heaven; god, celestial
dào dǎo
辵 162 + 9
path, road, street; method, way
jiǔ
丿 4 + 2
long time (ago); time passage, grow late
méi
水 85 + 4
not, have not, none; to drown, sink
shēn juān
身 158 + 0
body; trunk, hull; Kangxi radical 158
dài
歹 78 + 5
dangerous, perilous; endanger