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KNOTS

Another piece of jargon I                                       
picked up from my brother:       (You know, Ed Brenner,      
"Knots" as a term for a          aka the Toad Keeper.)
self-reinforcing pattern.                                  PROVIDENCE 
                                                                                                     
                                                    

       There's a book by R.D. Laing
       called KNOTS.  Here's one of them:


   Jack is afraid of Jill               Jill is afraid of Jack

   Jack is more afraid of Jill          Jill is more afraid of Jack
        if Jack thinks                       if Jill thinks
        that Jill thinks                     that Jack thinks
   that Jack is afraid of Jill          that Jill is afraid of Jack

   Since Jack is afraid
       that Jill will think that
            Jack is afraid
       Jack pretends that
            Jack is not afraid of Jill
   so that Jill will be more afraid of Jack
   
   and since Jill is afraid
       that Jack will think that
            Jill is afraid
       Jill pretends that
            Jill is not afraid of Jack

   Thus
       Jack tries to make Jill afraid
            by not being afraid of Jill
       and Jill tries to make Jack afraid
            by not being afraid of Jack


   The more Jack is afraid of Jill
       the more frightened is Jack that
             Jill will think
                  that Jack is afraid

   the more Jill is afraid of Jack
        the more frightened is Jill that
             Jack will think
                  that Jill is afraid

   the more afraid Jack is of Jill
        the more frightened Jack is
   _not_ to be frightened of Jill
   because it is very dangerous not to be afraid when
   faced with one so dangerous

   Jack is frightened because Jill is dangerous
   Jill appears dangerous because Jack is frightened
   
   the more afraid Jill is of Jack
       the more frightened Jill is
   _not_ to be frightened of Jack



This is a knot I like better, though:


   It is boring that you are frightened                
   you are boring me by being interested in me.        
                                                       
   In trying to be interesting,                        
   you are _very_ boring.                              
                                                       
   You are frightened of being boring, you             
   try to be interesting by not being interested,      
   but are interested only in not being boring.        
                                                       
   You are not interested in me.                       
   You are only interested that I be interested in you.
                                                       
   You pretend to be bored                             
   because I am not interested                         
        that you are frightened                        
             that I am not frightened                  
   that you are not interested in me.                  
                                                       
                            
                                                    
                                            I should write a few       
                                            knots of my own....        
                                                                       
                                               Though, it could be that
                                               that's what this whole  
                                               thing is...             
                             
                                                 
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