{ Wednesday, August 13, 2003 }
I've been trying to find out at what rate Canadian Customs begins charging GST for shipments from other countries (as far as I can tell, they start at $20). I came across this curious statement in a U Vic. Information sheet:
This seemed to me an absurdity. Nothing is worth nothing? This can only be true to a customs agency. It seems obvious that something can be worth less than nothing, in that it might cost more to process a package than is made up by the G.S.T. tax and collection fee that is imposed. I was always interested in the claim made by dieters that some foods such as celery had "negative calories" in that they provided fewer calories than the body expended in their digestion. I've heard Capitalism described as "that which inexplicably causes value to be created as if out of nothing." But once something has been substitued for nothing, it assigns a value to it and absolutely everything else, except those things excluded from such profanity, such as parenting, birth, art, God... Google "nothing" and the first result returned is Adbusters Buy Nothing Day. Significant?
In King Lear there is much ado about the word "nothing". When pressed to flatter her father in order to receive her inheritance, third daughter Cordelia has nothing to say. Nothing will come of nothing! Lear proclaims, and disinherits her, discovering later, while losing his one and only mind, that often what seems nothing is not nothing after all. It's been a long time since I last read Lear. Wonder if I kept the paper I wrote about this.
God too is sensitive to worth of his minions' devotions, entering them into his great tallybook like a medieval pope, causing Samuel to claim. "Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing." (II Sam. 24:24) ... and Marty Luther says, "A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing." From the few quotes of Mister Luther that I've read, it seems as if his project -- beyond depoping Christianity, and inciting the Protestant Revolution -- was about selling the grim allure of sacrifice and suffering to the people.
I'm completely unsure where any of this is going and have no idea what any of this means, and yet all this dithering around in defense of nothing is very pleasing to me. Like Seinfeld, which as many people contended, was about nothing.
Back to where we started. The idea that "nothing is worth nothing" is repugnant to me. Canadian Customs, as described, and commerce in general, certain fictional kings, the Big G, and Mr. Luther have all kinds of problems with nothing. God and Mammon seem equally concerned with, and apprehensive of, nothing. Let's not even get into anxieties of mathematics. Such are my conclusions. If anything can be concluded from this exercise at all. Which it can't. I'm happy to let it be so.
LINK | 2:54 AM | TB
Perhaps capitalism, and by extension its customs agents, abhor what is 'worthless' in the same way that nature abhors a vacuum.
Provided one looks at 'worth' as not strictly synonymous with monetary value, then the statement that 'nothing is worth nothing' doesn't seem bad at all: everything must then be worth something; must be of some value... it's almost like they're making an affirmative generalisation.
misteraitch | August 13, 2003 4:05 AMthere's a link on kottke's sidebar that seems applicable on two levels:
this man sells "nothing" for a living.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3135247.stm
"Mr Dibbell greatest fear is that he falls prey to real cyber criminals who pillage his Ultima items or steals the cash from his PayPal account.
With his livelihood gone, Mr Dibbell would have no doubt that a crime had been committed but he realises that he might have a hard time convincing the police to investigate the theft of goods that have a tangible value but negligible reality."
do you suppose that someday people will be selling their virtual gne property for real life cash?
he has a website where he is documenting his efforts:
http://www.juliandibbell.com/playmoney/index.html
denise | August 13, 2003 11:10 AM
Nothing pleases me, and yet I fear nothing. Nothing is left, nothing matters, nothing is real. Nothing is important now, nothing will save us. There is nothing between us. Nothing you said made sense to me. Nothing can bring back how it felt. I have nothing for you.
Try Brian Rotman's The Semiotics of Zero, or Rosalie Cole's Paradoxia Epidemica for more on nothing and its history. Fascinating stuff.
aa | August 13, 2003 11:35 PMI know no Fear. I know no Danger. I know Nothing.
Johnny English | August 14, 2003 10:11 AM"For the listener, who listens in the snow,/ And, nothing himself, beholds/ Nothing that is not there and the nothing that is." (Wallace Stevens, "The Snow Man")
Also, ex nihilo nihil fit -- out of nothing nothing comes.
Steven | August 18, 2003 10:17 AMSomething and nothing are merely different forms of the same thing.
Jack | August 22, 2003 7:45 PMActually, it is more a trilogue between Cordelia, the Fool and King Lear when it comes to nothing.
Cordelia states at the beginning that she wants nothing, it is Lear who says 'nothing will come of nothing', but then the same speech is repeated by the Fool to Lear -- and throughout the play -- as Lear progresses into madness.
Fool: Then t'is like the breath of an unfee'd lawyer; you gave me nothing for it. Can you make no use of nothing, nuncle?
Lear: Why, no boy: nothing can be made out of nothing.
etc etc.
Scholars essentially link Cordelia and the Fool as one and the same person by the Nothing speeches. In some productions, the actress plays both Cordelia and the Fool.
Canada Customs and border crossings (at least in my seasoned opinion) are Shakespearean tragedies anyway, so no wonder the 'nothing comes from nothing' speech.
Show me someone who does not believe that "nothing is worth nothing," and I will show you someone who has never tried to sell a ticket to an NFL preseason game.
King Kaufman | August 25, 2003 7:13 AM{ Post a comment }
Sorry for the long comment, but I just love Nothing. The world needs more Nothing. I'm kind of an advocate of Nothing.
Nothing refreshes and rejuvenates your spirit. It improves your attitude and sharpens your vision. Four out of five doctors recommend a daily dose of Nothing to relieve stress.
Nothing is all natural, with no additives or preservatives. It is not irradiated and has no GM ingredients. It has no cholesterol, it's low in carbohydrates, and does not promote tooth decay.
Nothing is legal in all fifty states.
It is fair trade, organic, and eco-friendly. No animals were harmed in the making of Nothing.
Best of all, Nothing is completely free.
For a limited time, Nothing can be sent to you free of sales taxes and shipping costs.
So, ask your doctor if Nothing is right for you. Side effects can include sleepiness, guilt, and nagging impatience, but these effects lessen with practice.
In extremely rare cases, overuse of Nothing can lead to unemployment, voluntary simplicity, accumulation of hemp products, ashram residency, and complete ego sublimation.
Cody | August 13, 2003 3:53 AM