I think we're doing it now! Marcy expressed it best, though. Open up the
baggage of language. We're like airport security going through our own
suitcases of vocabulary.
"What do you have in that Obfuscate, sir? OK, empty your pockets. Let's
see, a Problematize, some Complexity, and two pair a dimes. The dimes are
fine but I'm going to have to confiscate the Obfuscate and charge duty on
the Complexity."
The process reminds me of today's visit to the park with the girls. Took
our kites, which were promptly entangled (Quincy hasn't quite figured out
that her string and Flannery's string ought not to cross; she just runs
where she wants, doing circles around her sister, creating a dandy
tangle!).
So there I am. Beautiful day. Nice breeze. Two kites. Two whimpering kids.
A wad of string. Looks hopeless, but I give it a go, trying to trace the
free end of the line, trying to pull it and push it through tiny openings
and tight loops. It's a mess. Futile.
I give up trying to analyze the problem and start pulling at the string
sort of randomly, teasing it apart, twisting it around, teasing it more.
Turns out that works just fine. As the tangle gets looser, loops open,
and twists release more and more of the free end. It's less difficult and
gets better results.
I didn't actually get the knots remomved entirely, but I got the two
strings separated and freed enough line to fly the kites (until Flannery
ran her's into a prickly Juniper-type thing and created a
sticker-reinforced knot of impressive proportions. Then i really gave
up!).
I reckon that's sort of what we're up to here, too. This is not a problem
that can be analyzed and solved. It's a process that can be pulled,
teased, twisted, looped. We'll give ourselves enough rope to have a
productive time. The knots won't ever come out completely, but that won't
stop us from flying ...
:)
--Eric Crump