It's a transparent finger, primarily used for pointing at the moon.-- zen_tom, May 24 2006 Adam Smith's Invisible Hand http://plus.maths.o...e14/features/smith/- society's best interests are served by the sum of individuals' selfish acts. [DrCurry, May 24 2006] Bruce Lee http://www.ocf.berk...celee/brucelee.htmlFamously uttered the words"It's like a finger pointing away to the moon. Don't concentrate on the finger, or you will miss all the heavenly glory." in his masterpiece epic "Enter the Dragon" [zen_tom, May 24 2006] "Fingerism" http://www.geocitie...kyo/6774/finger.htmWhen the finger stops pointing, the moon remains. [zen_tom, May 24 2006] Biu Yuet Ji http://home.vtmuseu.../peterson/buiji.phpMore fingers... [zen_tom, May 24 2006] Ineffability http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ineffability... [zen_tom, May 24 2006] Could you use one of these? Transparent_20Nosepicker [Dub, Apr 19 2007] Knots http://www.amazon.c...Laing/dp/0394717767Beautifuly stark, almost koan-like psycho-poetry. Not for the faint-hearted. [zen_tom, Apr 19 2007] Or Galileo’s Middle Finger http://daviddobbs.n...er-by-alice-dreger/ [Dub, Apr 19 2015] You may have to explain the reference, for those of us who don't get it.
Would it be part of Adam Smith's invisible hand?-- DrCurry, May 24 2006 (pointing skyward with shaky inviso finger) See that moon right there? I built that moon.-- sleeka, May 24 2006 Or Adam Smith's other great creation...the see-through fist?-- sleeka, May 24 2006 "That's not an 11 story high blank billboard, son. That's a portrait of an invisible finger that, no matter where you stand and look at it, always points at the moon."
"Cool"-- reensure, May 24 2006 "All instruction is but a finger pointing to the moon; and those whose gaze is fixed upon the pointer will never see beyond. Even let him catch sight of the moon, and still he cannot see its beauty." - Eastern proverb.
A transparent finger would allow all manner of moon pointing, without people getting all confused and accidentally looking at the finger.-- zen_tom, May 24 2006 You have to explain how you'd make it invisible, and how you'd get it to know where the moon is and then turn to point at it, such as when the moon dips below the horizon.
But then, how would we know whether it was actually pointing at the moon -- whether, being invisible, the finger actually existed at all, for that matter. Or is it the emperor's new invisible moon-pointing finger?-- nihilo, May 24 2006 [nihilo], you're concentrating on the finger, which is what this idea is trying to help you avoid doing.-- zen_tom, May 24 2006 There was nothing but moon, and now there's this giant invisible finger obstructing my previously uninterrupted view.-- nihilo, May 24 2006 oh quick, look over there! <points>
<runs>-- zen_tom, May 24 2006 look there, a bun.-- methinksnot, May 24 2006 The finger is but a boat by which to cross the river. Once crossed, the boat becomes superfluous. Learn to swim, and never need fixate on the boat.-- Shz, May 24 2006 Well put [Shz].-- methinksnot, May 24 2006 I'm clapping, but with one hand.-- Rm Brz, May 24 2006 That's funny; I'm snapping, but with one invisible finger.-- nihilo, May 24 2006 It could be used for surreptitiously stroking one's chin. No one need ever know.-- Texticle, May 25 2006 And picking your nose. Not that I ever do that, of course.-- DrCurry, May 25 2006 Did I mention that it's digital?-- zen_tom, May 25 2006 I'd like transparent toes.-- skinflaps, May 25 2006 why for god's sake?-- po, May 25 2006 It goes without saying.-- Texticle, May 25 2006 -- DesertFox, May 25 2006 Transparent texticle.-- nihilo, May 25 2006 But, there's no Moon visible tonight? (perhaps there, are, but I don't have a telescope to see any of Jupiter's)-- Dub, May 25 2006 Is it transparent, or is it invisible? Is it fickle? Can you give it to someone? Is it moving? Does it write? Is it OSHA standard?-- baconbrain, May 27 2006 Is it Osho standard?-- imaginality, May 28 2006 To be fair, when Bruce is using the "finger pointing t'ward the moon" proverb to abuse his child pugilistic trainees, it is (a) the middle of a bright sunny day and (b) he is underneath a dense forest's canopy. What exactly does he think the child will look at? Surely the child is fully aware that there is no heavenwy gworwy upon which to gaze and instead has understandably turned his attention to the finger itself.
Indeed, if this invention can go some way to reducing the number of children's slapped heads in the martial art star's dojo I am thoroughly for it.
A Brucey-bonus bun for you sir!-- theleopard, Oct 20 2006 The moon can be an allegory for knowledge. The finger can be an allegory for instruction. Often the pupil will concentrate so hard on the instruction, that they will fail to grasp the true nature of the knowledge, mistaking the instruction for the knowledge itself.
They will have been following the finger, and missing all the good stuff that the finger is pointing to.
We all do this when we follow rules too closely without knowing what those rules mean, or why they are there in the first place.
//Why not simply look at the moon?// That would be the sensible thing to do wouldn't it? But what if you'd never seen the moon, didn't know what a moon was, and, for that matter, were a bit shaky on fingers as well? Like the Spanish who asked "¿Cómo se llama?" (roughly "What's that called?") And heard the echoed reply, "Llama, llama?"; If we don't already know the thing we're trying to find out about, we're liable to getting a bit confused when we try to ask someone else.
Similarly, on the question of deity or not - the deity doesn't particularly want you to follow them, nor do they particularly want you to follow their instructions, what they want is for you to be *aware* of the truth.
The deity is just another finger, and so are their instructions, pointing at the moon. The deity wants you to look beyond these things, and see the moon itself - but as long as people focus on the deity, seeing only the deity, or focus on the instruction, seeing only the instruction, they are just looking at the finger. And that really pisses the deity off.
My invisible finger will solve all that, by allowing people (and deities) to point at the moon, invisibly.
(Bearing in mind that this explanation is just another allegorical finger, pointing at an invisible finger, pointing at the moon.)-- zen_tom, Oct 20 2006 //Eastern proverb// east of where?-- pertinax, Oct 21 2006 I've got a finger for you.-- Cuit_au_Four, Oct 21 2006 //I've got a finger for you.//
I doubt it's invisible...-- theleopard, Oct 23 2006 I don't know, does my moon look fat to you?-- NotTheSharpestSpoon, Oct 23 2006 "The statement is pointless
The finger is speechless"
- RD Laing
[+]-- imaginality, Nov 07 2006 //KD Laing// Is she related to k.d lang ?-- AbsintheWithoutLeave, Apr 19 2007 No, k.d. lang-- Dub, Apr 19 2007 Why are my balls when they slap?-- monk, Apr 20 2007 random, halfbakery