This is a SHORT, LIGHT and SIMPLE newsletter. Its purpose is to rekindle in the initiated terminology they have once learned, and enlighten the uninitiated on terms they may have heard but never known the meaning of.

On the Communication of Concepts

Communication of concepts is a most bizarre affair — wonder that it even occurs. One takes a nothingness (thought), transfers it via somethingness (sound waves or the printed word), to create another nothingness (understanding) with the objective of bringing into being a somethingness in the real world.

We make a point of using pictures and diagrams in our newsletters to assist in this process. We find that clear pictures with ample space promote understanding. Pictures are only analogy. Pictures are not the thing. In depicting God, Michelangelo chose a representation of a bearded male with hair flying in the wind. We do, however, assume that the artist was aware of the characteristics of the Eternal: no mass, no gender, no form, and no location in time or space.

Similarly, one is reminded that pictures of atoms and molecules are not atoms or molecules, and diagrams showing how they connect are not the connection. These are renditions in the attempt to achieve a workable truth that enables us, for example, build car engines. It may so happen one day, when we attempt to reach the stars, that our current understanding will prove lacking. It was good enough to build cars, but not to break through the speed of light.

A thing becomes real to the degree that it can be observed, sensed or touched directly. Corollary: A thing can only become real to the degree that one is willing to observe and possesses the power of observation. You’ll never be able to prove the daylight to those who refuse to look through the window.

We learn best by observation of the real and transformation of same to mental concepts. To get a concept of dining tables, one would need to see, touch, smell, measure and weigh a variety of tables until a matter-less concept is formed in the mind. One would then be able to recognize dining tables of any history, shape or material. Even rocks will serve. When the concept is reached, the thinking process requires mental images no more.

The purpose of our newsletters is to provide that level of understanding that would enable readers to gain a working knowledge enabling transactions with contaminated properties. We find that aesthetic pictures, plain diagrams and simple language promote this purpose.

You can find past issues of our  "Environmental Enlightenment" at amiadini.com Wealth of information about environmental site assessments in the real estate transactions and issues concerning assessment and cleanup of contamination in the subsurface soil and groundwater.

Call me if you have any questions. There are no obligations.

Ami Adini
Ami Adini & Associates, Inc.
Environmental Consultants
Underground Storage Tank Experts
323-913-4073; 323-667-2336 fax
mail@amiadini.com
www.amiadini.com

Ami Adini is a mechanical engineer, California Registered Environmental Assessor, Level II, and president of AMI ADINI & ASSOCIATES, INC. (AA&A), an environmental consulting firm specializing in all phases of environmental site assessments, rehabilitation of contaminated sites and upgrading of underground storage tank facilities. AA&A supplies practical solutions to environmental concerns using the highest standards of ethics and integrity while providing its clients with maximum return on their investments.