365 degrees, not 100

The temperature range from water's freezing point to
its boiling point should be sectioned into some
number of degrees other than 100.  I say this because
the Celcius equivalent of 0 degrees Kelvin is -273.15,
which seems like a meaningless number, lacking beauty
and symmetry, like maybe there's a smoother fit to be
found - some number that reflects the underlying
numerical perfection of the universe. I thought the
number of days in a year might be a good place to
start. So, 365.256363004 (the number of days in Earth's
year), multiplied by 2.7315 (absolute zero's
proportionate temperature below freezing compared
to boiling), results in a new value of -997.6977555454
degrees for absolute zero. This may not look any more
elegant or symmetrical than 273.15, until you notice
that it's quite close to 999.999, or 1000.

Why bring a time-related number into a question of
temperature, you ask? Okay, I admit - proclaim, even -
lateral thinking may have snuck into my idea here, as
it often does.

Well, there it is, my latest product of so-called
insomnia.

(for entertainment purposes only?)

SydLeicx?

Am I dyslexic? I recently took a survey which said so, and it's been suggested that I am. Not like it really matters much. Anyway, there was a comment form at the end of the survey and this is what I wrote:

"I was always talented at math; usually top-of-the-class. However, the mistakes that I did make were usually adding errors, getting adding mixed up with multiplication, or getting my fractions upside-down. This last example is oddly relevant considering that, in music theory, a musical interval is determined by the ratio of two frequencies and that a chord is considered to retain its integrity when inverted (ie. when the fraction is turned upside-down). I'm a musician.

Also: when given driving instructions, I've found difficulty (slowness) in visualizing a response to "turn left" or "turn right", or any description involving left and right. However, this problem diminished with care and attention. I've put some effort into trying to become ambidextrous but with not much success. I'm a very good speller but most of my typing errors involve pressing keys in the wrong order. When handwriting, I often leave off the last letter of a word (unintentionally of course). Also, my middle name is Alexander and I've use that as a source for one of my musical pseudonyms, Lex Plexus. Am I dyslexic? I don't know. I usually avoid labels as they can become limiting."

Root 2 connections

The brainfart on page 47 of my book "Chaos In Boxes" describes a hairy scenario involving the Square Root of 2; it was the first irrational number to be discovered by Hippasus* and resulted in his assassination by his fellow Pythagoreans, who believed all numbers to be expressible as the ratio of two integers!

(This came about during the Chapter "Quincunx And The Legend Of The Chromatic Transformation Matrix Starflower", wherein I was inspired to compare a semitone to a fifth.)

Since then, I've noticed a few connections concerning Root 2.

A musical interval between two notes can be described by dividing their frequencies; it so happens that Root 2 (which equals 1.414213...) is exactly the ratio for the infamous Tritone in Equal Temperament. This seems somehow suitable or ironic, considering that:

a) the Tritone was once condemned as "evil" by some religions - echoing in my mind the Pythagorean's rejection of Hippasus

b) the Tritone ultimately holds the key to undeniably powerful harmony through the resolution of a dominant chord towards its parent tonic chord - echoing in my mind the importance of Hippasus' discovery of irrational numbers

I was quite thrilled to notice this.

But wait, there's more...

As I was sitting at a friend's living room jamming along with cable radio, I switched to the jazz station. It was channel 414. I had to wonder if someone at the radio station chose channel 414 as their station number because of the significance of the number 1.414. After all, a very common technique in jazz is Tritone substitution, a.k.a. the "Sub V". This is based on the fact that a dominant 7th chord is extremely similar to the same type of chord a Tritone away, sharing most of the same tones.

Just today I learned that ISO paper sizes (A0, A1, A2, A3, A4, etc.) all have an aspect of Root 2! (The big advantage of this proportion is that you can cut or fold such a rectangle in half and it will still have the same aspect ratio, enabling scaling without cutoffs or margins.)

I feel inspired to find more Root 2 connections; I thought I would find something in astronomy but haven't found anything yet. I guess I'll just have to wait for the next brainfart to dawn on me; that's just the way it goes sometimes.

* note: The Hippasus scenario happened in the 5th century B.C., but there exists a Babylonian clay tablet depicting Root 2 which is 1100 years older. Others may have probably discovered irrational numbers at various points in history.

Moon Modes

I've devised a sensible correlation between the 7 modes of the Major Scale and the phases of the moon. The brightest mode (Lydian, mode IV, with the most sharps) corresponds to the Full Moon (the brightest phase). Observe the complete system below:

Chaos In Boxes: twisted adventures in music theory

Sean Luciw: guitarist, producer, recording artist, multi-instrumentalist, artist, record company owner, authour.

"Chaos In Boxes: twisted adventures in music theory" is a 190-page, handmade limited edition book documenting some of my travels thru the universe of music and numbers, written in a quirky, down-to-earth style.

go here to purchase either a handmade limited edition or a print-on-demand edition: http://seanluciw.com/Writing.php


Music is the context for most of my life's passions. I like knowing how things work, so I ponder music theory quite a bit. (I've been playing guitar and producing music for over 20 years, as well as any other various artistic creativities to satisfy my short attention span). It's amazing how so many things in the universe can be explained by, or likened to, musical concepts. I wrote the book "Chaos In Boxes" as a method for making abstract ponderings real. The book spans the gamut from philosophical head-scratchers to absolute silliness, but my favourite parts - the real juicy bits - are my new contributions to music theory. There's stuff in here for musicians and non-musicians alike, but if you're familiar with the 7 modes and the chromatic scale and whatnot, there's definitely some stuff in "Chaos In Boxes" for you to sink your teeth into.