Chapter 2

Fig. 30 Dead shepherd, now I find thy saw of might: “Who ever danced that danced not at first listening?” Revolutionary in virtually every aspect. Orchestration of this heroic magnitude. A syncopated groove. Post-primary dominants worthy of R&B. Move over, Mozart—we’re coming all the way from the depths of Inferno to the horizon where we glimpse some light in Limbo. But we aspire to Paradiso. Yes, yes, Napoleon disappointed. But what of that? We are romantics through and through! Now, to my favorite part… There has never been anything like 7:34 - 9:09 in the history of symphonic music! What a way to build tension and then release it! Toppling the Ancien Régime (i.e., Baroque and Classical titans) and paving the way for the unruly, riotous Romantics calls for such a show of strength. Bravo!

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import networkx as nx
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt

# Create a directed graph (DAG)
G = nx.DiGraph()

# Add nodes and edges based on the neuron structure
G.add_edges_from([(1, 4), (2, 4), (3, 4), (4, 5), (5, 6)])

# Define positions for each node
pos = {1: (0, 2), 2: (1, 2), 3: (2, 2), 4: (1, 1), 5: (1, 0), 6: (1, -1)}

# Labels to reflect parts of a neuron
labels = {
    1: 'Directed', 
    2: 'Games', 
    3: 'Allegory', 
    4: 'Tradition', 
    5: 'Innovation', 
    6: 'Revolution'
}

# Draw the graph with neuron-like labels
nx.draw(G, pos, with_labels=True, labels=labels, node_size=4000, node_color='lightblue', arrows=True)
plt.title("Tension in Bow (Inherited & Added Constraints) +\n Release of Arrow (For Loftiest Goals)")
plt.show()

Fig. 31 NWA: Nine Worthy Artists. Traditional or Antiquarian: Da Vinci, Bach, Fyodor. Innovative or Monumental: Raphael, Amadeus, Nietzsche. Revolutionary or Critical: Michelangelo, Ludwig, Karl. They represent the visual, auditory, and literary mediums of expression. At the heart of the traditional artists lies a fractal and cosmic geometry. Few would need convincing of this claim regarding Da Vinci and Bach, but Fyodor Dostoevsky? The clue is in his autobiographical work, The Gambler: “For why is gambling any worse than other methods of acquiring money? How, for instance, is it worse than trade? True, out of a hundred persons, only one can win; yet what business is that of yours or mine?” Or, “I think roulette was devised specially for Russians.” What is common among the innovators is their prankishness. It’s their way of expressing freedom in fetters or dancing in chains. They do not mock their traditions with any moral gravity; instead, they absorb them like sponges, only to prank them with the subtlest & lightest of touches. Now, to the revolutionaries: Look no further than David, Eroica, and the Manifesto.