An Interview with Graham Powell on the Asia Pacific, Mathematical Objects, “Dasein,” Atheism-Theism, and Freud and Einstein (Part Seven)
Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Publication (Outlet/Website): In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal
Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2019/12/22
Abstract
His Lordship of Roscelines, Graham Powell, earned the “best mark ever given for acting during his” B.A. (Hons.) degree in “Drama and Theatre Studies at Middlesex University in 1990” and the “Best Dissertation Prize” for an M.A. in Human Resource Management from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England in 1994. Powell is an Honorary Member of STHIQ Society, Former President of sPIqr Society, Vice President of Atlantiq Society, and a member of British Mensa, IHIQS, Ingenium, Mysterium, High Potentials Society, Elateneos, Milenija, Logiq, and Epida. He is the Full-Time Co-Editor of WIN ONE (WIN-ON-line Edition) since 2010 or nearly a decade. He represents World Intelligence Network Italia. He is the Public Relations Co-Supervisor, Fellow of the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, and a Member of the European Council for High Ability. He discusses: Issue VIII; 12th Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness; Gwyneth Wesley Rolph, electrical stimulation, and charlatans; a book review on Signs of Life: The Five Universal Shapes and How to Use Them; “Hyper-operating Life Forms”; “Being” by Eric Anthony Trowbridge; “‘Atheism’ as a Logical Negation of ‘Theism’” by Phil Elauria; “Leopards in the Sky: Foreword” by Dr. G.A. Grove; Alan W. Ho or Alan Wing-lun who wrote “The Angel and the Cherry Tree”; and some concluding materials of WIN-ONE Issue VIII.
Keywords: Alan W. Ho, AtlantIQ Society, British Mensa, editor, Eric Anthony Trowbridge, G.A. Grove, Graham Powell, Gwyneth Wesley Rolph, Phil Elauria, WIN ONE, World Intelligence Network.
An Interview with Graham Powell on the Asia Pacific, Mathematical Objects, “Dasein,” Atheism-Theism, and Freud and Einstein: Editor, WIN ONE & Vice President, AtlantIQ Society (Part Seven)[1],[2]
*Please see the footnotes, bibliography, and citation style listing after the interview.*
*A small mix-up, thus, Part Seven published after Part Eight.*
1. Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Issue VIII continued with the growth trajectory of the membership to 33 high IQ societies. The intriguing addition was IQID for the young. How important was the inclusion of younger members of the community for the member societies? One devoted to them alone.
Graham Powell: This was set up by Evangelos Katsioulis, his first talk at the 12th Asia-Pacific Conference on Giftedness explaining about it, especially as many parents attended that conference with their gifted children. I think it was a good idea, though restrictions on access to websites which (rightly) protect children, means that the group has not been as active as I would wish in an ideal world.
2. Jacobsen: Dr. Evangelos Katsioulis, Dr. Manahel Thabet, Marco Ripà, and others took part in the 12th Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness. What were the main attractions of the conference? How did the book, by you, complement the in-person event? What have been the reactions from the community over the book and the event?
Powell: The workshops and presentations were varied and always of interest. On the opening day, Professor Howard Gardner gave an inspiring talk, one which was beamed in from his office in Harvard. The facilities were superb and I was proud to have contributed to it, the certificate now sitting proudly on the wall where I am living, which happens to be Dubai once more. I have also worked recently in Abu Dhabi, so it was doubly pleasing to visit some of the places I had researched all those years ago. The e-book was about the events at the conference, plus the scientific program of events organised to accompany the conference and which inspired youngsters to explore their great interest in various scientific exploits. I also advised on the program followed at that event, so was also doubly pleased about the success of it. I am still in contact with parents who sat with me during presentations and who attended my presentations too. I looked somewhat like Steve Jobs at the time, which they still joke about. The friendMathematially, inclusive atmosphere at the conference was a life-changer for many of the people who attended. I am immensely proud of all the people I managed to get to attend and participate during what was just four days in July 2012. The e-book also gave information about the places of interest to visit, like the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi, Ferrari World on Yas Island and, of course, the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa, Dubai. The book helped make for a rounded experience for the attendees and the timetable of events at the conference was a very useful guide to help people focus on what was most meaningful for them.
3. Jacobsen: As described in the article by Gwyneth Wesley Rolph, electrical stimulation remained important as an area of research and practice, and pseudo-practice through charlatans and snake oil salesman. How did Rolph pitch this article to you? Any idea as to the state of the research now?
Powell: I knew Gwyneth was interested in this field of work, her life about to change as she applied to go to university and followed a course in neuroscience. I have met Gwyneth several times and the first occasion was around 20 months after the conference in Dubai. I hope to see her again as she pursues a PhD in a field related to intelligence and neurophysiology. It was really as a dilettante that Gwyneth ‘pitched it to me’, as you express it, which is not to underestimate Gwyneth’s serious intentions and reading upon the subject. I am currently involved in neuro-feedback, which has a solid base of research and development behind it, with continuous technological advances taking place. That area of biological feedback is proving useful in addressing ADHD and on improving more serious conditions, such as post-stroke recovery and stress management.
4. Jacobsen: Dr. Greg A. Grove wrote a book review on Signs of Life: The Five Universal Shapes and How to Use Them by Angeles Arrien and Jeremy P. Tarcher from 1992. Do these five shapes – the circle, the cross, the spiral, the square, and the triangle – represent truly universal human shapes, i.e., those mathematical objects reflected in visual patterns recognized as basic shapes with applicability, as a set, throughout all human “art,” “culture,” “intrapersonal perceptions,” “thinking,” and “time”? It seems bold as a claim, but it may, in fact, be true.
Powell: I know Greg believes these forms are significant, the analysis of colour also interesting him. I have participated in several of Dr Grove’s own tests based on this kind of analysis and to a certain extent the results have been indicative of my own feelings and approaches to aesthetics. The Lüscher Colour Test I enjoyed doing in the eighties and it was fascinating because the results varied according to my mood at various points in time. Images in literature also follow this idea, the circle, for example, being an image in Dante Alighieri’s great poem Inferno, his nine circles of Hell. I read that the Pyramids are meant to concentrate energy, gemstones too, which have a consistent molecular structure. Perhaps the most interesting research I have read about is the Japanese scientist who analyses the effect of emotion on snowflake formation. The effects on structure are wondrous to behold!
5. Jacobsen: “Hyper-operating Life Forms,” for those unfamiliar with the references, can seem mystifying. However, in essence, it can seem rather dark in the end. What was the inspiration for the poem?
Powell: I read about “Quants” and the big initial investment in a programme to create a research centre in America akin to CERN in Switzerland. That funding, however, was later withdrawn and the surplus of doctorate holders who emerged from university expecting a job at the research centre got sidelined into doing work towards stock exchange prediction and the creation of algorithms and formulae to facilitate that. The most famous was the work by Black and Scholes, the unfortunate outcome of the confidence in prediction and the transferring of debt across the globe being the financial meltdown which we are only just emerging from, though for many, it’s a continuous struggle, which the poem touches on.
6. Jacobsen: In “Being,” by Eric Anthony Trowbridge, it opens, rather humorously, with the famous definition of “is” or the query about its meaning by former president Bill Clinton. Making the distinction between myself as embedded in the universe and individuated, and dasein as factual and actual/ontic and ontological/being there and being itself, through the clear example in the hammer, the nail, and the hammerer, I enjoyed this piece, where being simply isn’t existence but more than it: “…it is, well, being..” What was the response to this particular piece from others or yourself?
Powell: I had no hesitation in putting this piece in the WIN book “The Ingenious Time Machine”. It has a timeless quality and Eric is, indeed, an amusing guy. It was a very useful introduction to the work of Heidegger, something taken even further later on by Paul Edgeworth. “Being and Time” is a difficult opus to read. I think people appreciated the assistance and enthusiastic appraisal of some of the considerations in it.
7. Jacobsen: “‘Atheism’ as a Logical Negation of ‘Theism’” by Phil Elauria provided an interesting depiction of the nature of the fundamental content of and logical relation between theism – “‘God (or Gods) exist’ or the even weaker claim, ‘I believe that God (or Gods) exist.’” – and atheism. In short, if p equals “God (or Gods) exist” or “I believe that God (or Gods) exist,” then ~p (not p) equals “God does not (or Gods do not) exist” or “I believe that God does not (or Gods do not) exist,” where ~p remains the born state/natural state and P becomes the acquired state/unnatural state of a human being as a propositional belief, in accordance with “classical logic,” with an ontological statement about the world. Does this argument convince you? Or does the argument miss elements of the perennial, longstanding topic of no gods, gods, or God?
Powell: Phil is rather good at precise, logical arguments. I don’t think he concerns himself too much about the perennial, longstanding topics of gods, no gods, or of God, and in that, looking back, Phil and I were rather similar at that point in time. I still do not wish to deny anyone the right to believe in a higher power, which many call God. It has, however, taken on a rather beautiful aspect in my life recently because the woman I love very deeply believes that our meeting was condoned by God – by ‘higher powers’, as she expresses it. If this is so, that a higher power is something akin to what Lena and I are experiencing each day, and did from the moment we met, well, so be it. It is something “supra-logical”. How we all manage that supra-logical, loving existence is, to me now, a large part of the philosophy of our finite existence.
8. Jacobsen: “Leopards in the Sky: Foreword” represents another piece by Dr. G.A. Grove to both provide some content and to plug a collection of 22 stories in one book by Dr. Grove. He states Freud, in statement of the conscious and the unconscious, hinted at the preconscious while Einstein provided due acknowledgement to the preconscious, not necessarily in a Freudian or psychoanalytic sense. Dr. Grove continues in “The Used Bookstore” and “Café a la verse.” The first with an interesting note about mysticism and intrigue, and following the preconscious indicators. The second a sweet note with a similar frame of intrigue behind it, but from a different angle. Dr. Grove is a good writer. What comes to mind on the reflection of the preconscious from Freud and Einstein?
Powell: Greg sent me the whole book, which was kind of him, and we have talked at some length over the years about the preconscious self, especially regarding creativity and the resolution of deeply-held problems and anxieties. I write most of my poetry in a preconscious state, one which often comes after writing numerous notes, almost as a brainstorming session; either that, or I just let the emotions stir and simmer for a period of time, the poem eventually emerging as a necessary measure to keep restore calm. I consider the best ideas come, as Einstein notes, in this state of mind.
9. Jacobsen: Alan W. Ho or Alan Wing-lun wrote “The Angel and the Cherry Tree.” A cute and enjoyable, almost, child’s story or a tale of finding the inner strength to change, to grow. What were some original thoughts upon receiving this?
Powell: Alan is, in the best sense, kind of childish in his ways, retaining a quite original view of the world, or at least a deeply questioning one. I met him in London shortly after he submitted this story. It reminded me of Oscar Wilde’s short stories. I think it would make an excellent tale to be told orally, much in the Irish tradition of ‘The Craic’.
10. Jacobsen: Dr. Grove wrote the “4HT Inventory” to tap into interests and preferences. There is the “G.P.R.Powell Sudoku” as well. Ho wrote “Codin’ Code Al Coda,” too, or more properly composed. Elisabetta di Cagno wrote “1996” with an editorial note about the “very strong language.” Intriguing, as of late, I note previous notions with modern linguistic preferences happening in some texts. For example, a previous cautionary note in some of the contents of books contained a “Disclaimer” while newer versions aim at a similar, though different and academic-bureaucratic-administrative culture influenced, idea with “Trigger Warning.” When do editorial notes seem appropriate for particular submissions? No doubt, the content remains sharp, stark, and saturated with “very strong language.” I agree. It makes the narrative powerful and appropriate to the content about drugs, the army, hallucinations, and the like. The article is really a… trip. When you first received this piece, “1966,” what was the reaction to it? Any responses from the public readership?
Powell: Elisabetta is a good friend and she is guarded about her work, so stipulated that it should have the ‘warning’. I felt rather honoured to have her story given for publication and duly obliged in every way to accommodate her opus. It also arrived at the last moment before publication, so was placed rapidly, yet precisely, near the end. She wished to have her autobiographical note included too, so that is a coda to the piece, a coda to the magazine. All that remained to position after her contributions were the pages with the answers to the puzzles. Nobody complained about the language. All in all, I thought the VIII edition a fascinating addition to the WIN ONE series of magazines.
11. Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Graham.
[1] Editor, WIN ONE; Text Editor, Leonardo (AtlantIQ Society); Joint Public Relations Officer, World Intelligence Network; Vice President, AtlantIQ Society.
[2] Individual Publication Date: December 22, 2019: http://www.in-sightjournal.com/powell-seven; Full Issue Publication Date: January 1, 2020: https://in-sightjournal.com/insight-issues/.
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