''Same in one respect, different in others'' ThinkingOutLoud -- DonaldNoyes

''"Often ideas exist in my mind which are very much like clouds. When viewed from the ground the shape appears to be fairly definite, however when in the place the cloud is, the shapes and forms are less precisely defined and some of the otherwise appearing continuous form has holes in it."''

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'''Repetition and Recurrence - Natural Cycles'''

Left out in the title were C''''''rystalsSnowIceGlaciersOceans, which have a sameness and a differentness.

I would propose that thought, particularly that which I call OriginalThought has similar dimensions. Also, one might make comparisons of S''''''tillnessBreezesGustsWindsHurricanesWhirlwindsUpdraftsDowndraftsJetStreams etc.

Thinking, and particularly ThinkingOutLoud can contain many and varied methods and expressions of a similar nature. While some would like to confine, contain and make consensus, others are not to be content with restrictions, constrictions, rules and priorities which would derail "originality" and "individuality". At the same time, expressions which tend to be scholarly, peer-reviewed, and contained within communities of thought, are found to be composing, decomposing, quoting, citing and repeating the thoughts of others who have similar or compatible viewpoints, and who are thinking in the same "box". It is not by accident that some refer to this as "ivory towers" of thought.

As weather, clouds, rivers and oceans are always on the move, often in ways we do not understand, we would simplify such movements to that of terms and/or phrases which only describe a manifestation of that movement and change.

The reality of it all is that in such a great expanse which we can see and call the universe, such movements, which we make significant and great, constitute very little in changing vertical space and relatively fixed horizontal space.

The same comparison might be made with regard to thought as more than simply sensation of of the what, where, why, when and how of our existence in a limited atmosphere. Thinking can soar above that. Thinking can discover things we can not see and journey where we cannot go. We have the faculty of imagination, which can cause us to propose, scheme, design, and produce things that never were and would have never been otherwise. This is a faculty which should not be wasted or squandered, and misspent in destructive ways, but rather should be used to construct useful, usable and used artifacts which are productive and preservative. Thought should never come to the point where we say "It is done", "That's it", "We are finished". It should be continually on the move and changing in its form and in its manifestations.
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'''Repetition and Recurrence - Historical Cycles'''
* ''historian, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. writes: “Wise men have remarked on patterns of alternation, of ebb and of flow, in human history. “The two parties which divide the state, the party of Conservatism and that of Innovation,” wrote [Ralph Waldo] Emerson in 1841, “are very old, and have disputed the possession of the world ever since it was made… Now one, now the other gets the day, and still the fight renews itself as if for the first time, under new names and hot personalities.” Innovation presses ever forward; Conservativism holds ever back. We are reformers spring and summer, in autumn and winter we stand by the old; reformers in the morning, conservers at night.''
*''Despite competing metaphors and differences in time and scope, the central shared idea is that—beyond sheer facts and figures—the study of history reveals important, repeating patterns. And constituting a significant dimension to the study of history is the investigation of these cycles, these vast back-and-forth sweeps of the grand pendulum of old Father Time.'' 
* ''Understanding these cycles can prove an invaluable resource ...'' 
** http://www.leadershipbythepeople.org/learning-leadership-lessons-from-history-recognizing-repeating-patterns-and-recurring-themes/

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Related:
* OrganizedChaosWikisHeart