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Nature of the ball -- in multivocal poetic improvisation


Improvisation in Multivocal Poetic Discourse (Part #7)


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The ball is clearly, and naturally, a primary focus of attention in ball games. Given the implication for intercourse of various kinds, there is obviously a need to identify some of the associations of "ball", as it may be understood metaphorically in common usage, especially as a symbol.

If the ball is understood as corresponding to the focal significance of discourse -- the point in play -- its potentially complex nature merits the most careful attention with respect to its relevance to communication,. Of greater complexity is the situation when there are several points in play -- perhaps many. The ball as a whole, as with the point of a discourse, may then call for recognition as a potentially elusive configuration or nexus of points. The points identified on an agenda may then imply a larger point -- with the ball then to be understood as a kind of "meta-point". European discussion of the Brexit option has been framed as "existential", for example.

Metaphor: Well-known examples are of relevance to discourse. However in discourse, considerable focus is placed on the "point" being made, whether singly or understood as "bullet points" in Powerpoint-style presentations. As metaphors, the two may be juxtaposed.

"Ball" "Point"
  • the "ball in the court" of the other
  • "catching the ball"
  • "running with the ball"
  • "dropping the ball"
  • "controlling the ball"
  • "ball in play" and "ball out of play"
  • getting the ball "into the goal"
  • "making a point"
  • "clarifying a point"
  • "sticking to the point"
  • "missing the point"
  • "understanding the point"
  • "scoring a point"
  • "taking my point"

Symbolism: Recognized as a sphere, the ball offers further associations of significance to:

Mathematics: In mathematics, especially geometry and topology, the sphere is a focus of considerable study in relation to other forms into which it may be variously transformed.

Animation of "degeneration" of a torus into a sphere
(Reproduced from Wikipedia)
Animation of "degeneration" of a torus into a sphere
As the distance to the axis of revolution decreases, the ring torus becomes a horn torus, then a spindle torus, and finally degenerates into a sphere

Notably in the light of metaphorical use of "point" and "line" in dialogue, other implications are explored separately (Metaphorical Geometry in Quest of Globality -- in response to global governance challenges, 2009).

Biological reproduction: In biology, and the reproductive symbolism explored by psychoanalysis, the ball is ambiguously associated with both:

  • the semen disseminated by the male from the testicles -- with their connotations of strength (cojones)
  • the ovum born by the female, namely the target for delivery of the semen

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