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ModularBlues — Number Game by-nc-nd
Published: 2006-07-30 23:48:59 +0000 UTC; Views: 4933; Favourites: 41; Downloads: 65
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Description 2 + 2 = 5? ~~~

so you ask me to play
  the number game with
                            you.
                            it'll
                           be
    reciprocal, you say,
   with an
  irrational
  glint in
   your eyes. should i let  
     myself become numb,

           

             and
           number,
             and
             slide
along the asymptote of
ignorant bliss? you don't
            need
             the
           answer
             right



   away. after all, the
half-life is long and we'll
                            have
                           plenty
                         of bases
                      to cover.
          from binary to
        hexadecimal.
     we've
  beaten
   the odds, but even that,
    nothing comes out even.
     nothing seems to add up.





you have the freedom to say
that two plus two makes four,


but do you have the freedom
to say two plus two makes five?






   uncertainty comes full circle. how
  fast does the area of doubt
increase
with
respect
  to time?
  haha, you laugh, can't know
  the momentum and the position
                         simultaneously.
                          at least there's
                       enough resistance
                  for us to approach a
     terminal velocity. so we don't
   hurtle through space forever.
although that does have an





                  eerie appeal to it.
            so i try to           reduce the
         two-body                 problem down
       to a one-                      body problem
     in order to                      solve it exactly.
                                        but as i work on
                                      it, more variables
                                     keep surfacing.
                                 then i can't solve
                             it exactly anymore.
                           it becomes an
                       N-body problem
                        where N is  
                     greater than 2.
                     all semblance
                     of symmetry
                     breaks down.
                     but who cares
                        about

  
                    symmetry, you
                  say. Asymmetry is
                  so much more fun.
                   especially out of
                    context. hmm.





                 what
             an out-
         of-phase    
       concept.
         needs  
           some
             filtering.       
               turn up the                 
                      frequency
                               while      
                             you're          
                           at it.      
                   let them
            all oscillate
               in sync.
                  time to
                    get numb
                 and number
              and slide
           along the
               asymptote
                  of ignorant bliss.
Related content
Comments: 72

Mordial33 [2012-11-21 00:42:13 +0000 UTC]

I don't like most concrete poetry but this piece is amazing! (Not meaning to impose or anything, but feel free to check out my poetry. Particularly the one I featured on my profile page, "To Be, To Be Carefree".)

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LiliWrites [2012-02-03 15:31:42 +0000 UTC]

Someone believed you deserve a DD! Your work has been featured here as a result!

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ModularBlues In reply to LiliWrites [2012-02-10 10:13:17 +0000 UTC]

Thankies to my suggester!

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ModularBlues In reply to LiliWrites [2012-02-10 10:12:12 +0000 UTC]

Thankies for the feature Re-reading this reminded me of a tumultuous period in my timeline haha...

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katarthis [2011-06-13 22:59:06 +0000 UTC]

Good Lord!

Excellently pulled off! I had to look twice before I got the first number, then I just read through in total amazement. Not only did you paint a form with words, you had something very relevant to say while doing it! ... That takes real talent!

k

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BatmanWithBunnyEars [2011-06-05 18:09:44 +0000 UTC]

I like how you've found whimsy and child-like joy in the most unlikely of places. The probability of my faving this asymptotically approached one as I read it!

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archelyxs [2010-12-11 01:42:22 +0000 UTC]

This is so amazing.

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K47454k1 [2010-12-08 18:46:51 +0000 UTC]

hmm, wouldn't this be concrete?

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ModularBlues In reply to K47454k1 [2010-12-08 19:18:36 +0000 UTC]

Hmm perahps...

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Gemdrop [2010-12-05 20:51:11 +0000 UTC]

very intresting

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tetrarchangel [2010-12-04 12:55:15 +0000 UTC]

Love this sort of typography, especially when it doesn't cost the words, which here it certainly doesn't.

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Fluxicity [2010-12-01 21:14:16 +0000 UTC]

A very commical and refreshing approach to stylised poetry, but at the same time pounding into our literary persons a sense of self and how to realise it through a simple question: Does 2 + 2 = 5? My answer to that would be, only if you wanted a little bit extra out of life. Wonderful poem, thoroughly enjoyed reading it from the Number two all the way down to the tildes at the end

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ModularBlues In reply to Fluxicity [2010-12-02 09:34:03 +0000 UTC]

That's a nice way to put it Glad you enjoyed & thanks for fav!

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starlightspoint7 [2010-11-26 23:14:00 +0000 UTC]

This is epic! Wow! Fantastic job!!

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Lychalis [2010-11-26 18:25:45 +0000 UTC]

somebody's been reading nineteen eighty four :3

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ModularBlues In reply to Lychalis [2010-11-26 19:34:50 +0000 UTC]

Reference catch! That quote had been fermenting in my head for a long time... at my first summer camp, someone cited it numerous times, and my second camp during which I actually read the book.

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Lychalis In reply to ModularBlues [2010-11-26 22:23:41 +0000 UTC]

and I totally just quoted the 'do you have the freedom to say 2+2 =5? on facebook I do that a lot.

1984 is an awesome book, if bleak and seriously depressing. but if you think about it, it's very moving and thought provoking - and if you think about the time when it was written, it wasn't just a dystopian novel, it was a warning... ^^

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ModularBlues In reply to Lychalis [2010-11-26 22:50:40 +0000 UTC]

That's what makes a classic

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Lychalis In reply to ModularBlues [2010-11-26 23:13:02 +0000 UTC]

indeed!

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RunningBear5858 [2010-11-26 16:23:49 +0000 UTC]

So very clever.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ModularBlues In reply to RunningBear5858 [2010-11-26 19:31:30 +0000 UTC]

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Xerolien [2010-11-26 16:06:47 +0000 UTC]

Congratulations with the DD!

I must say that the small wordplays and the overall idea of forming the numbers really amused me and that what's written amazed me.
I love how you could form the composition of the poem like that without seeming to comprise to make it fit

And I do not know if you actually know why you say 2+2=5?
It's a simple term called Positive Synergy:
It is mostly referred to in team/group activities.
As it is scientifically proven that when you have more people together, like a rowing team, together they individually produce more power than they are able to do on their own.
Hereby we can conclude that the result of positive synergy is that 2+2=5

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ModularBlues In reply to Xerolien [2010-11-26 19:31:03 +0000 UTC]

Yes! Definitely positive synergy - sum is greater than its parts... Although we have to be careful not to violate the conservation of energy mmm?

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Xerolien In reply to ModularBlues [2010-11-27 19:50:39 +0000 UTC]

Of course, we cannot mess with the laws of nature just because we think we can

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doorfromheaven [2010-11-26 14:58:17 +0000 UTC]

That is soooo amazing. At first I was like... wow the spacing is a little hard for me to read. I am a little slow. It took me to the next 2 to actually get it. Ooopsies. Wonderfully done!

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ModularBlues In reply to doorfromheaven [2010-11-26 19:29:17 +0000 UTC]

Thanks Haha, raster-scanning style spacing Easier to reformat.

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KneelingGlory [2010-11-26 10:09:52 +0000 UTC]

This was perfectly delightful! I enjoyed everything, from the subject to the format to the incredible amount of effort that must have gone into it. Well done!

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ModularBlues In reply to KneelingGlory [2010-11-26 19:27:33 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

I have to admit that somehow the words came to me without much head-banging at all... the rest was rearrangement

So I was a science camp counselor that summer, and it was so much fun that after the kids left, my fellow counselors and I were overcome with sudden loneliness... which was the main impetus for this poem. As cerebral as I am, I still find my best poems motivated by strong emotions -

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DailyLitDeviations [2010-11-26 10:01:53 +0000 UTC]

Your wonderful literary work has been chosen to be featured by DLD (Daily Literature Deviations) and has been selected as our Pick of the Day. It is featured in a news article here: [link] and on our main page.

Keep writing and keep creating.

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Flesh-unfolding [2010-11-21 08:59:08 +0000 UTC]

I haven't had math in ages so I'm not sure if I understand everything. But I think this poem is very creative and is a fun read. Love the concept,

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ModularBlues In reply to Flesh-unfolding [2010-11-21 09:01:01 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! I try to use words with non-technical meanings as well

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angelStained [2010-11-06 16:43:22 +0000 UTC]

i almost have no words for this but i have to try.

the combination of numbers and words is not forced but slides smoothly together... this is one of the few pieces that's popular and actually deserves it

also, adore your lit tag x)

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ModularBlues In reply to angelStained [2010-11-06 18:59:10 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for the lovely comments!! Your lit tag reminds me of ferric oxide on steel... matches your dA name

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angelStained In reply to ModularBlues [2010-11-09 00:09:32 +0000 UTC]

True, true. I used to have no idea what it looked like XD

and no problem!

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DaughterSky [2010-11-05 13:04:43 +0000 UTC]

This is an utter delight! Enjoying your work

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ModularBlues In reply to DaughterSky [2010-11-05 17:54:53 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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cwedmart [2010-11-04 20:16:44 +0000 UTC]

wonderfully audatious - a great write.

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pretty-yin [2010-11-04 19:50:19 +0000 UTC]

...love and adoration.

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jamester11 [2010-11-03 19:42:24 +0000 UTC]

that is amazing art there aaaaammmaaaaazzzzzziiiiiinnnnnnggggg

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ModularBlues In reply to jamester11 [2010-11-03 20:33:13 +0000 UTC]

Thanks

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chipmunku [2010-11-03 14:00:34 +0000 UTC]

This really struck me. I like that you use many references to science and mathematics, but it doesn't become tired. Everything connects in a very unique yet simple way. I had to read this twice, one looking at the poetry and the words without mathematical meaning, and then again to better understand how the terms fit together. Lovely work, brava!

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ModularBlues In reply to chipmunku [2010-11-03 19:04:02 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for the thoughtful comments!!

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keeptrying [2010-10-18 01:17:42 +0000 UTC]

!!! mathematics-related concrete poetry? I thought I'd seen it all! how refreshing :'D
I'm not sure if "numb and number" was an intentional play on words or not, but I adore it nonetheless.
Not a single line was dull.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ModularBlues In reply to keeptrying [2010-10-18 01:19:36 +0000 UTC]

Yup, it was intentional Glad you enjoyed!

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LazyLinePainterJohn [2006-10-16 16:56:57 +0000 UTC]

This is brilliant, brilliant indeed. Congratulations on the feature.

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ModularBlues In reply to LazyLinePainterJohn [2006-10-22 01:33:08 +0000 UTC]

Thanks! 'Twas honored.

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smr2cry [2006-09-18 04:57:34 +0000 UTC]

this is just... amazing!

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ModularBlues In reply to smr2cry [2006-09-18 06:19:34 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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SchrodingersFox [2006-09-16 06:15:22 +0000 UTC]

Wow; that is awesome.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

ModularBlues In reply to SchrodingersFox [2006-09-16 16:19:53 +0000 UTC]

Thanks!

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