The Aesthetics of Imperfection Reconceived: Improvisations,Compositions, and Mistakes

Ted Gioia associated the “aesthetics of imperfection” with improvised music. In an earlier article, I extended it to all musical performance. This article reconceives my discussion, offering more precise analyses: (1) The aesthetics of imperfection is now argued to involve open, spontaneous response to contingencies of performance or production, reacting positively to idiosyncratic instruments; apparent failings in performance, and so on. Perfectionists, in contrast, prefer a planning model, not readily modified in face of contingencies. (2) Imperfection is not toleration of errors and imperfections, as Gioia assumes, but a positive aesthetic, as in Japanese wabi-sabi. Imperfections can become new styles or kinds of perfection—and so true imperfectionism is a constant striving for new contingencies to respond to. (3) A subtler, more complex relation between composition and improvisation is proposed, in which both have broad and narrow senses. Composition involves (a) works, usually desk produced and notated; or more generally, (b) putting things together in an aesthetically rewarding form. Thus, improvisation is a (broad sense) compositional method. (4) Improvisation and composition are interdependent; both involve structure and spontaneity. (5) Imperfectionism is an aesthetics of performance—of compositions as well as improvisations. Improvisation is no risker, or prone to mistakes, than performance of compositions.     

SOME ISSUES IN CONVERSATION COHERENCE

This study examined respondent proficiency at reconstructing a sequence of utterances (discourse). Theories of text hold that participants in a discourse must construct and arrange the sense of the text; that is, they must make decisions about discourse coherence. We had respondents reconstruct a conversation and we made predictions about discourse coherence, the nature of various two-turn constructional units, unit differences, and individual differences. We found that the entire discourse as a processing unit affects the likelihood of certain two-turn pairs being resequenced correctly. Except for the fact that complex subjects were better able to resequence the initial interaction, there were no other individual differences. The research has implications for principles of coherence, text comprehension, and interpersonal behavior.     

小学儿童形象与語詞記忆特点的初步实驗研究

目的根据馬克思列宁主义反映论的观点,記忆过程和其他心理过程一样,是客观現实在人脑中的反映。客观現实的对象和現象对人的作用,不外是形象的与語詞的两种主要形式,因此,形象的东西利語詞的材料,就构成了記忆过程和其他心理过程反映的主要內容。形象的、語詞的材料,不仅是人的記忆的主要內容,而且从个体記忆的发展来看,形象     

COMMENTS

The Irish are not in a conspiracy to cheat the world by the false representations of the merits of their countrymen.

No, sir; the Irish are a fair people — they never speak well of one another

Samuel Johnson (1709–1784)
Boswell's Life Johnson