Po is a way of thinking.
In The New Inquisition, Robert Anton Wilson tells us that “Po has some of the functions of [Quantum Logic’s] ‘maybe’ in taking us beyond Aristotelian true/false or either/or games” (123).* Unlike some of his other “abominable bits of jargon,” RAW confesses that this one is not his own; instead, it is unleashed upon us by the psychologist Edward de Bono (ibid.). The idea is: “Po thinking moves laterally with unfamiliar associations” (124). RAW presents and supports de Bono’s arguments that it is Po thinking that leads to revolutions in science & art, and underlies creative breakthroughs (ibid.).
Hell, even if it doesn’t do all that, it can be really entertaining and it can at least improve our ability to solve unfamiliar problems. Maybe it’s only me, but there seems to be more and more unfamiliar problems cropping up in life all the time.
So let’s play Po.
The rules are simple. By any method of choice you desire, take any two concepts and place the word Po between them. Please note that Po will work best when the two concepts currently have little to no association for you. The idea is that we use Po to build a bridge between the two notions that are presently held as separate—perhaps in mutual exclusion—in our minds.
RAW suggests these ten: UFOs Po National Debt, Mother Po History, Death Po Ecology, Houses Po Relativity, Astrology Po Genetics, Photons Po Post Offices, Pornography Po Bell’s Theorem, Evolution Po Werewolves, UFOs Po Rabbits—all of which were, he claims, “…assembled at random, from covers of magazines around [his] house” (125). Like him, I present these to you as an example of a method for acquiring some pieces to play, and as something to get you started if your unsure of how Po is supposed to work. Again, as this is a process “…which proceeds…into the unfamiliar and the deliberately bizarre”(124), the more disjoint the two concepts that we begin with is the more fun and profit that we have playing Po!
Ask yourself, “how does this on the left relate to that on the right?” And don’t take “it doesn’t” for an answer! Make up a story that brings the two together. The best part is, it doesn’t matter if the tale you tell is completely strange and off the wall, the only goal is to bring the two together by whatever means you choose.
Moon Po Sub-machine Guns,
(126 / 3) – (2^3) = 4 (mod 5)
[I thought I might do Amphibians Po Wearable Computers, but upon reflection I realized that would be David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ! I’ll do something later, ya?]
* All citation from the New Falcon Publications, USA, 1995 edition. |
