I got my first two tattoos within two weeks of each other in San Jose, April 2008, and it was meant to be a two part set from the beginning. Ever since, I have been forming new ideas, designing, and redesigning constantly.
This post explains my first arm tattoos.
This was my first tattoo, on my left arm. Second, I got the right arm done in the same fashion, but they are meant to be read from left to right from the observers' perspective, or in other words, my right arm then left.
The easiest way to start to explain the meaning behind this, is to define each word, but it needs to be noted, that the first conceptual theme is, that each word can be synonymous, per arm.
This means, respective to the top lines, the corresponding bottom lines debase the deeper meanings of each concept, making ironic, repetitive phrases, with no apparent meaning to a passive observer. This represents how personal the philosophy behind the tattoos is.
So I'll start with the right arm, which reads:
Experience Concept
perception perception
I describe this concept as a whole, as representing Human Reason, or learning from the past.
Experience
–noun
1. a particular instance of personally encountering or undergoing something:
My encounter with the bear in the woods was a frightening experience.
2. the process or fact of personally observing, encountering, or undergoing something:
business experience.
3. the observing, encountering, or undergoing of things generally as they occur in the course of time:
to learn from experience; the range of human experience.
4. knowledge or practical wisdom gained from what one has observed, encountered, or undergone:
a man of experience.
5. Philosophy. the totality of the cognitions given by perception; all that is perceived, understood, and remembered.
–verb (used with object)
6. to have experience of; meet with; undergo; feel:
to experience nausea.
7. to learn by experience.
—Idiom
8. experience religion, to undergo a spiritual conversion by which one gains or regains faith in God.
Concept
–noun
1. a general notion or idea; conception.
2. an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct.
3. a directly conceived or intuited object of thought.
Perception
–noun
1. the act or faculty of apprehending by means of the senses or of the mind; cognition; understanding.
2. immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities; insight; intuition; discernment:
an artist of rare perception.
3. the result or product of perceiving, as distinguished from the act of perceiving; precept.
4. Psychology. a single unified awareness derived from sensory processes while a stimulus is present.
Next, the left arm, which reads:
Evolution Impetus
progression progression
I describe this concept as a whole, as representing Human Responsibility, or growing into the future. I had previously thought of it more as Human Motivation, but lo and behold, it grew into a deeper meaning for me.
–noun
1. any process of formation or growth; development: the evolution of a language; the evolution of the airplane.
2. a product of such development; something evolved:
The exploration of space is the evolution of decades of research.
3. Biology. change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift.
4. a process of gradual, peaceful, progressive change or development, as in social or economic structure or institutions.
5. a motion incomplete in itself, but combining with coordinated motions to produce a single action, as in a machine.
6.a pattern formed by or as if by a series of movements:
the evolutions of a figure skater.
7. a movement or one of a series of movements of troops, ships, etc, as for disposition in order of battle or in line on parade.
8. any similar movement, esp. in close order drill.
–noun
1. a moving force; impulse; stimulus:
The grant for building the opera house gave impetus to the city's cultural life.
2.(broadly) the momentum of a moving body, esp. with reference to the cause of motion.
Progression
–noun
1. the act of progressing; forward or onward movement.
2. a passing successively from one member of a series to the next; succession; sequence.
3. Music. the manner in which chords or melodic tones follow one another; a succession of chords or tones.
4. Pertaining to, or according to the rules or principles of, geometry; determined by geometry; as, a geometrical solution of a problem.
And so, when anyone asks, all I usually say is that it's a personal philosophy, meaning to learn from the past, and grow into the future.
However, Human Reason, Human Motivation, and Human Responsibility, being some of the core images of each print, are thoughts that I build upon every day. Human Responsibility has become a very troubling concept for me, in that it is always evolving on itself. To paraphrase a favorite quote, I am a friend by first impression, a cult by definition, and a scientist by default; and it has me running circles.
Notably, I get a lot of people who ask what impetus means, and/or assume that it's in Latin. I get even more people who ask why I'd get this tattooed (to which I only respond, "why wouldn't I?"), and more yet checking to make sure they're just stamps, and not permanent tattoos. Some will even scoff to my face at what-the-fuck-ever they assume the tattoos mean, without asking. Their oblivion is only an impetus to my cause. Eat a bag of dicks, you ignorant sheep, and revel in pretending that it's bliss, while I design some more ink.
As far as I can see, there are two available worlds existing inside an ultimate reality. The first, closest to us, is our perception. Our perception is a skewed, ever changing model of what we think is reality, defined by our experience. This model becomes a concept of our Universe. This is Human Reason.
The second world is our physical Universe, from which we construct this perceived model. Reality is all there is to know, yet, in its entirety, it is so far unknowable. In wanting to be moral, that is to prosper within this reality; and to make our perceptions as true to reality as possible; we must progress in our exploration of the Universe. Our curiosity for power, pleasure, and understanding, remains our impetus, which evolves our perception of the beauty of reality. This is Human Motivation.
A philosophy is but a perception.
perception is defined by morality
morality is defined by beauty
beauty is defined by reality
reality is defined by nature
nature is defined by physicality
and physicality is defined by physics
Physics is the fundamental philosophy.
I tend to give a short meaning to inquiring minds. Nobody has time to hear all this, and I don't care to let random people in on it. Most people would get lost in it anyway, not to sound pretentious... However, here it all is now, for those interested enough to find out. Hopefully, if you're still with me, you can now understand it enough to appreciate the personal suggestion in them for me.
I have, and will update and tweak the meaning here, and am always willing to discuss with those genuine few.
But my tattoos will only get weirder and deeper.
I have, and will update and tweak the meaning here, and am always willing to discuss with those genuine few.
But my tattoos will only get weirder and deeper.
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