Thinking outside the box

Great thread, Tai...!

I've never felt the box thing. I just do what I want to do and have fun doin it :D
 
One of the cornerstones of my new paradign is to make polarizing blades... either you love it or hate it but you'll have some sort of reaction. I dunno I guess I want to make people say "what the heck where you thinking?" :eek: I don't want people to say "oh, that's nice, just not my style" I want them to absolutely hate it :barf: if they don't like it..... kinda like going back to my punk days.... I guess a cutlery Johnny Rotten? That'd look great on a t-shirt :p "The Johnny Rotten of cutlery"
 
Good Thoughts Tai:
There are many sources of inspiration that are all around us, all we have to do is learn to see. Just finished a book "Dear Theo", letters from Vincent Van Gogh. Many good thoughts shared by one who many will never understand, but by reading his written word, then looking at many of his portraits, the concept of the impressionists stuck with me.
Went to an art show last weekend, asked one lady what she was trying to say through her her best painting. She could not provide an answer beyond discussing technique.

The more we read, the more we see the greater our perception and there are no limits.
To take it one step further I ran out of books to read, found an old paperback I have owned for years and had not read, all about the Nobel Prize and the people who judge and those who win, (no thoughts about individual Prizes intended), but the dynamics, of some, their personalities, life styles and integrity to their cause and what brought them there. I took no notes, but some thoughts remain.

Emotion seemed to be the key to art, unbounded emotion that can not be dictated by organizations, judges or critics, but from the heart and the box disappears - or becomes without limit.
 
Perhaps what one must do is not so much "think" outside the box, but rather just be outside the box. For it is the flawed perceptions of the human mind that "thinks" too much that instills in us these notions of limitation, disappointment, and negativity. When one stills that mind, pure energy and harmony resonates through and it is that that shows through as true creative genius. When an artist is at work creating, he does not "think", he merely creates, for in that moment he is at one with creation and not in his mind.

Thanks for the interesting thread Tai!
 
Emotion seemed to be the key to art, unbounded emotion that can not be dictated by organizations, judges or critics, but from the heart and the box disappears - or becomes without limit.
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This really rings true with me, Ed and goes along with Will's last post. Good stuff!

R.C. I also have a problem with the word "thinking". I tell guys that I'm helping;"man, you are thinking too much!":D

I was raised with a bit of Zen influence...
 
I'm one of those guys that never stops thinking,… even when I'm asleep. :)
I suppose it could be looked at as sort of a curse, but,... every now and then I have one of those "special thoughts" or personal revelations, that makes it all worth while. I was watching a special on PBS T.V., a while back on the origins of the human race and it said that humans are unique because they spend an average of 25 percent of their overall energy with their brains!... for all other creatures it's much less. So,... we need our brains to feed our brains.

I’ve been in and out of several “boxes” during my career and never usually realize I’m in a box until I want out. We all seem to want success and recognition for what we do, but as soon as that happens society slaps a “label” on us and puts us in a box that makes us easier for them to understand and file away in the filing cabinets of their minds. I’d say that at least 99.9 percent of the time, the “label” or box doesn’t fit who we really are or who we want to be. It's a convenient over simplification. We are all complex unique individuals, with special talents and gifts. I believe we all have our own "genius" potential!

Most of us want to reach our full potential as human beings before we die.
 
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Tai, wait a minute man, I need to think about that :D

Nothing wrong with thinking, as long as we're doing. I've known guys who
spend an awful lot of time thinking about making knives but end up making
very few. Actually there's nothing wrong with that either :cool:
 
Don Hanson III said:
I was raised with a bit of Zen influence...
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I hear you Don. I’m a little Zen too…
I seem to do my best thinking when I’m asleep,… (and/or hungry). :) That’s when it really kicks in! It’s a different type of thinking though, which seems to come more from the “heart”, and belly. At that point I think the brain just sits back and observes, not thinking. The hard part is remembering what I was thinking and what it was supposed to mean, when I wake up.

Also, sometimes when I’m playing music or working out in the shop, in the "flow",... one part of my brain seems to shut down and another part kicks in.

It’s “effortless thinking”...

My wife says sleeping/dreaming is my true hobby... LOL :)

… There’s different ways of thinking...

... ... ...
 
"Emotion seemed to be the key to art, unbounded emotion that can not be dictated by organizations, judges or critics, but from the heart and the box disappears - or becomes without limit." Ed Fowler

I think tapping into our subconscious, other areas of our brains and total being,… is a good way to get outside the box. Try to get away from the logical, analytical reasoning part a little… Listen more to our inner voice, “heart” or... “higher self“. :)
 
Tai Goo said:
Also, sometimes when I’m playing music or working out in the shop, in the "flow",... one part of my brain seems to shut down and another part kicks in.

It’s “effortless thinking”...

My wife says sleeping/dreaming is my true hobby... LOL :)

… There’s different ways of thinking...

... ... ...
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I do that a lot too.:p That is true, it is a different type of thinking. It is like thinking with a different part of the mind. I actually had a lucid dreaming experience the other day. I was sitting up in a chair, but I was so tired my mind just clicked out. I could still hear and see everything around me, but was unable to move. Was extremely vivid like a dream, but I was not completely asleep. Interesting experience. :D Perhaps when one "stills" one part of the mind, another part of it "awakens".
 
Ed Fowler said:
.......Went to an art show last weekend, asked one lady what she was trying to say through her her best painting. She could not provide an answer beyond discussing technique. ........
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Tai Goo said:
.....Also, sometimes when I’m playing music or working out in the shop, in the "flow",... one part of my brain seems to shut down and another part kicks in.

It’s “effortless thinking”...

......

… There’s different ways of thinking...

... ... ...
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I think Ed's observation is actually a good example of what Don and Tai have described. Not every action is filtered through our "verbal processing center" in the brain.
The lady painted without processing her actions through that verbal analysis. When it came time to try and put her painting into words, she found herself at a loss because the creative process occured outside the verbal.
It's very gratifying when one can look back after doing something and realize you were truly "in the moment" and managed to bypass that verbal/analytical filter that the ego uses to dominate our every action.
That is when we get a good glimpse of our real potential.
 
The only way out the box is in,… and the only way in the box is out... :)
 
I've misplaced my box. Has anyone seen my box? I've been looking for it...
 
I dont know about in the box or out of the box.:rolleyes: What I do know is that you guys are full of sh#t!!!:D And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

Greg
 
The box is culture and it's biology. Outside the box is you... an individual. Biology comes with the job. Fear the boogey man or become one with him... dinner. Culture is how humans are... a cross referencing system... check, check, double check.

Outside the box is a point of reference and a balance.

How many angels can dance on the head of a pin? From this point of reference, as many as choose to... =]

Mike
 
Nathan the Machinist said:
I've misplaced my box. Has anyone seen my box? I've been looking for it...
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You cut that last cardboard box up testing the edge on a knife. You'll most likely get a good scolding from your wife, since she had to pick up all the pieces for you.

That’s one way to get rid of the box. :)
 
Can You delete the pic please . This section of BF is public.
 

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I wouldnt say its a 'fear of the unknown' that keeps us from thinking outside the box as such. The fear of the unknown is an evolved instinct thats stopped us 'looking into the big dark cave' or 'seeing whats over the mountain'. Its was what kept us alive for millions of years, if not we'd all have died doing stupid things as cave men. The reason we dont 'think outside the box' is becuase we are taught not to. As kids we are told one way of doing things, we are taught like sheep all doing the same thing. Like im sure most of you built a box or something equally mundane in 'shop' when you were kids. If you tried to build say a triangle box you would be told to follow the rest and build a normal box because thinking outside this 'box' is not normal and should be discouraged.

If kids act different to the rest they are called 'freaks' and taken to see $1000 an hour therapists. Its something that you need to learn this 'thinking outside the box', you need to 'un-brainwash' yourself.

So think outside the box, then take a sharp knife to it a cut out some knife templates.

Jamie
 
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