According to Vulcan philosophy spoken by Mr. Spock, “is in its Infinite Diversity – and the ways that our differences combine to create meaning and beauty.” I thought of this line last night as I listened to this piece of music which combines the Western orchestra with the haunting sounds of the Aboriginal Australian Digeridoo.
There are other examples including the performances of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble. I particularly like this one titled Ascending Bird. Come to think of it, music is probably the quintessential example of differences combining to create meaning and beauty – harmony, counterpoint, rhythms, and the voicing of different parts. Together, they offer us something greater than the sum of the parts.
I read last night that this idea of infinite diversity in infinite combinations (IDIC) was first offered by the Sephardic Jewish polymath Maimonides (Moses ben Maimon) – 12th Century Rabbi, Philosopher, Torah Scholar, Astronomer (my kind of guy) and Physician (again, my kind of guy). I don’t know that his works mentioned music, but they might well have for the reasons I offer above.
I invite you to listen to the two pieces of music above for no reason other than to enjoy the ways in which instrumental and compositional differences can combine to create meaning and beauty – fleeting though they may be.