#TSFC (The Strategies For Comparison) --- SynTalk

Published: Jan. 29, 2017, 8:58 a.m.

Is anything isolated? Is comparison essential? Does the entire cosmos consist of a structure of relationships? When comparing, must we think in terms of similarity rather than difference? Is comparison a fundamental way of dealing with complexity in the world? Do you write in a third language? Why is Persian metaphorical (& more so for the non-native speaker?)? Does one have to negotiate the terms of comparison before comparing? Does this depend on the \u2018operation\u2019 one is looking to carry out? Is a plane (say) an analytic as well as an algebraic as well as a geometric object, among others; How? Can everything be translated? What, then, is distinct? Do homogenized monadic structures interact in just two ways (war or dialogue)? What happens in the liminal spaces? How does one get to b\u0101rahm\u0101sa in Persian poetry? Can one get from anywhere to anywhere using \u2018atlas of charts\u2019? Is it possible that objects in the same family do not share any property (but may share a context)? Is the emphasis on similarity likely to have a homogenizing tendency? Is the future in the past? SynTalk thinks about these & more questions using concepts from topology/mathematics (Dr. Jayadev S. Athreya, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington), culture theory & philosophy (Prof. Anil Bhatti, JNU, New Delhi), & Persian/Indian literatures (Prof. Sunil Sharma, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts). Listen in....