Creative Writing: The Map of Interpretation and Perfection

Ron Samul, MFA
4 min readApr 24, 2020
Photo by Lena Bell on Unsplash

In the Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra, there is an interesting notion about the abstraction of physics (specifically in the formulation) and what is really happening in sub-atomic space. Capra’s insight brought about a problem that I have been thinking about for years. It is based on my fiction writing and my relationship with the reader.

The Tao of Physics is a creative correlation between eastern philosophy and subatomic physics published in 1975 and reissued in the 1980’s. He has some fascinating insight into the connections and the problems that philosophy and physics share. He went on to write a book called The Web of Life based on system thinking of environments, species, and humans. Most of the Tao of Physics is based on the ambiguity of language and symbols in writing and math. He defines the world of symbols and expression as an approximate map or reality.

“Since words are always an abstraction, approximate maps of reality, the verbal interpretations of a scientific experiment or of a mystical insight are necessarily inaccurate and incomplete.” Tao of Physics — Capra p.41

What does that mean in Physics? Well “we know a square has four side with each corner turned at a 90 degree angle from another. Simple geometry can help us draw a simple picture. Now “go to a globe and draw a square…

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Ron Samul, MFA

Writer and educator based in New England. MFA in creative and professional writing. His novel The Staff is available through Amazon. / www.RonSamul.org