analyses
of Publius' postings
the first posting
Contents
1. General remarks
The discussion was started with a few important remarks. I'll quote two of them:
And the second thing, we all must open our minds, and communicate to solve it. I think that we are doing good there. He doesn't want us to try to solve it on or own, he wants us to get together. I think the tangable prize is something that will be shared by more then one person.
Third, he helps us when obstacles arise. Lately he hasn't been saying much, so what does that mean?
Those remarks could be important for our analyses of the next postings. Publius said that he would help us when obstacles arise. This question has kept me busy for months. Were we at a dead end when Publius interfered, or was he just supporting our direction? Independent of the answer, reviewing the postings is very important. But while doing this, it might be important to keep those words in your mind.
Sandy came up with another general remark
Publius' posts have been loaded with clever phrases and such. At this point, no stone left unturned, as they say!
From here I'll try to work out the message line by line. The initials refer to the person who came up with it. A full list is present on the end of this review. I won't try to maintain the original layout, which can be seen in the posting itself. For future postings, take in mind Mark Brown's words:
If there is some meaning to derive from the first letters of each line he wrote. I see that there's also a hyphen in his signature that's not in the original first letter, and you know that I think hyphens might mean something sometimes. It might not in that case, since his July repost ended with the advice to "START FROM HERE" -- possibly meaning to start with the new message he posted that day. But, little details might be crucial.[MB]
2. You have heard the message Pink Floyd has delivered, but have you listened?
Pink Floyd has delivered the message, a message we have not clearly seen yet even to this day. So without approaching this in a manor in which we are completely starting over lets try to attach what we know now to the clues. It is well known that communication or broken communication is a concept or theme within TDB. We know that. Merely the fact that Publius has told us to "communicate" leads us to connect the idea of "communicating" to the communication theme. So getting ourselves into a mind set that has this communication theme in the back of our minds is a must. After much research it has become clear to me the answer lies within this theme. As we were given this first message from Publius it became clear to me to relate the communication breakdown theme in TDB as a integral part of approaching a way of thinking about the Enigma [SH].
3. Perhaps I can be your guide, but I will not solve the enigma for you.
Publius says that there is an Enigma, and he won't solve it. So does that mean that he did not make it up? [SR] Publius seems to be acting as a messenger and we are to solve the Enigma. [SH] He said "perhaps I can be your guide", but that we are responsible for finding the defined solution. It could mean: "the correct solution is the one defined by those who seek it." It would be true to call that a defined solution even though it's not defined in advance. A solution defined by us would fulfill the meaning of his statement in the next line. It would also fit more or less with the stated sentiments of the band members who have said things like, "the true meaning of the album is the meaning it has for you." All within reason, of course. My idea is that Publius' idea was for us to fulfill the idea that "an album means what you think it means" by communicating until we conceive of an interpretation that fits well enough to be "obviously right" to many people.[MB]
4. All of you must open your minds and communicate with each other, as this is the only way the answers can be revealed.
We all must open our minds, and communicate to solve it. I think that we are doing good there. He doesn't want us to try to solve it on or own, he wants us to get together. [SR]
5. I may help you, but only if obstacles arise.
This means that, as long as we are on the road towards the solution, Publius won't help us. My main question still is this: When Publius posted a new message, were we to far away from that road? Or so to say, should change our approaches dramatically after his postings? [ES] He helps us when obstacles arise . Lately he hasn't been saying much... so what does that mean? [SR]
6. Listen.
I think the order of his instructions is very important. First we have to listen. In my opinion this still refers to the music. We have to listen to the album. [ES]
7. Read.
Then Publius asks us to read, referring to the lyrics. [ES]
8. Think.
Then he says we have to think. This means we all have to find out ourselves what impressions, feelings and interpretations the music and the lyrics give us.[ES] Listening and reading are forms of communication. But thought? [TY] Thought is communication. Communication with yourself. [TH]
9. Communicate.
Finally, Publius told us to communicate. saying that we have to share our ideas. That we have to discuss our interpretations. In my opinion, this is the most important part of our quest. With only listening, reading and thinking, we are not going to solve the Enigma. It's like Publius told us in a later message (and which I quoted more than once), organized communications is the key. [ES]
10. If I don't promise you the answers would you go.
From What Do You Want From Me .... he promised he wouldn't give us the answers, would we go search. Does anyone have a good concept of the song, and its meaning? [SR] I have some interpretations derived from my questionaire project. Maybe it's time to summarize it. My personal interpretation of it is: Publius told us not to solve the Enigma for us. He is wondering what our reactions are. Do we leave the Enigma or do we trust him? I think he just said that it is up to us what we do with his messages. [ES]
Suppose WDYWFM poses the key questions, and proceed from there. After all, lines from that song were the first ones Publius used. Maybe we have to give a reasonable answer to them. [MB]
What have we came up with about this in the past? Is Publius merely pointing us to WDYWFM? Is the song a starting point? In analyzing the song it seems to be directed toward the fans, or it has been much speculated. What is Gilmour saying here? Promises to what answers? It seems like the lyrics suggested they are coming from Gilmour or maybe Pink Floyd in addressing the fans. As if he or they are asking what we want from them. Should we keep going, should we keep playing til "my fingers our raw". "Turn and face the light", this line has always bothered me. What could this reference? Here is a usage of the word "light", something we have all found to be commonly used in TDB. The artwork suggests "light" the mirror ball and the lyrics in the fashion they are organized suggest light. Turn and face the light? Maybe turn and "face" the light? If you look at the mirror ball it has the faces on it, similar to the heads on the cover. And who is that woman on the mirror ball? One thing is clear to me is that the lyrics suggest "communication" with the fans. [SH]
Perhaps there is a question here for us, but this question could also be directed towrds someone else. Someone who can understand it. If communication is the theme, then who (besides ourselves) would PF want to communicate with? [GM]
Publius said he was sent to us. He didn't promise that he was sent by the band. He didn't claim to be in the band. He didn't promise us the answers, or even that he'd be able to lead us to the correct answers. The lyrics from WDYWFM that he used could even be interpreted to mean that Publius doesn't have all the answers himself. [MB]
11.Capitals and Punctuation
Even if we discuss these letters one at a time, it's useful to keep them all in mind. In this instance, notice that in following letters the line above was joined to more of the lyric and written with different punctuation. [MB]
June 11:
> If I don't promise you the answers would you go.June 23:
> If I don't promise you the answers would you go?
> Do you think that I know something you don't know.June 24:
> If I don't promise you the answers would you go.
> Do you think that I know something you don't know?
June 29:
> If I don't promise you the answers would you go.
>
> Do you think that I know something you don't know?It's possible that capitalized letters at the left margin of the first Publius message make a significant anagram:
My/Many
You
Perhaps...
All...
I...
Listen...
Read...
Think...
Communicate...
If...It yields an anagram for "I crypt mail", that is, "I code mail". The way he posted one-word lines at the end is suggestive of an anagram based on first letters. So is the way he used one-sentence paragraphs, making it easier to begin lines with a chosen capital letter at the left margin. So is the replacement of the initial M-word with another M-word when he reposted this message later.
An obvious anagram for "Marooned" was in one section of a letter sent about five weeks later, as if it was meant to cause us to look in his letters for other coded messages. We did some looking, but in my case I drifted away from that effort because anagrams produce so many ambiguous possibilities. The frustration of uncertainty was too much for me. It's time to look some more, but it may not be just anagrams we need to find.
I'm encouraged to think about Dennis Howie's idea of orienting ourselves using capital cities, because Publius's string of leading capitals in his first letter might also have been meant to plant the thought of looking for capital cities. See Dennis's ideas in tonight's article "Publius: Map Theory".[MB]
We see capitalisation in an 'inconsequent' way in the album. I've been wondering about that. What struck me this time, in this message, again a 'mail-related' anagram can be made. My question for myself is this: Are those capitalized/non-capitalized words in the album and the songbook there with a purpose or not. Do we have to pay more attention to those changes? Do the capitalized letters from a word? Does the message from Publius with the capitals point us to these words? By capitalising letters in the middle of words, Publius might have tried to point us towards those seemingly logical capitals. We all have to think about that. [ES]
12. The Origin of the Enigma
One further double meaning occurs to me now. I just replied to someone yesterday who said the enigma is a marketing stunt. As you know, since summer I've tried to keep in mind that if Gilmour told the truth when he denied knowing about the enigma, then I should proceed as if no clues were planted in the songs. It seems to follow logically that the titles of songs and their sequences were beyond the manipulation of whoever conceived of the enigma. The Chiasmus theory isn't dead in that case, but it then needs "life support" -- a theory that a complex set of challenging clues and an intricate solution were somehow "found" in the finished album.
If Gilmour isn't behind this, it seems wise to consider what it would mean to us if none of the band or even Storm Thorgerson is behind it. Can there still be a genuine enigma and a tangible prize in that case? I feel that there can be. [MB]
It is highly possible that Gilmour or PF did not devise the Enigma. If they did not participate in the devise, then how "tight" is the Enigma? Assuming Gilmour was sincere in saying that there really are no hidden clues in TDB, then can there really be a "designed solution?" Yes there still can. [SH]
Suppose some skeptics have been just as correct as we've been so far? I don't like it when they tell me there can be no other possibility, but I'm quite willing to concede that one possibility is that the band didn't invent this enigma. It could in fact be that a key idea behind the enigma is for all of us monkeys to keep chattering until we find meaning in TDB that didn't exist beforehand. I differ with the cynical skeptics in that I don't think that would reflect badly on us or on TDB. [MB]
Did the enigma exist before? Maybe not a planned thought out concept but rather a message that is coming out of TDB that is being communicated via the writing- that paints a larger picture. Maybe the meaning behind the enigma is for us to see this other picture. Is it possible that someone has seen a concept in TDB that is "there" but was not planned? Are we to find this "message"? In essence creating a concept, that is already there. An unconcious effort? [SH]
It would be a less fantastic enigma for us if it isn't directly from the band, but it wouldn't necessarily be a waste of our time. I'm going beyond the idea that the effort is its own reward. It's been entertaining and educational, but even without that it would not necessarily be wasted effort. Many skeptics have scorned the enigma as a "mere" marketing scheme. Suppose they're right to some degree? Does it really make sense to scorn it in that case? I don't think so. I haven't heard skeptics say they wouldn't want to win the radio station contest offering a Mediterranean cruise on Wright's yacht for the winners and their friends, plus cash.
Furthermore, I'm trying to say that the enigma can't possibly fulfill all the fantasies of each and every one of us. It may be something very unexpected but still wonderful. It would be a real shame not to enjoy it in the end because of clinging to the notion that only a prize of "our wildest dreams come true" would make the enigma a worthwhile endeavor.
So what about a prize if the band didn't conceive of the enigma? I don't think Publius uses words loosely. If we assume he tells the truth as he knows it -- which I do assume so far -- then there is a real prize. The real prize is unique and singular (but these adjectives don't necessarily mean that the prize can't be shared). The prize is hidden, "it lies waiting to be unearthed", and some "information points to it". It seems clear to me that he meant for us to find some information in his letters. For some reason, he recently reminded us that:
> there is another physical location that must
> be visited before final progress can be made.To sum up, I guess I've been exploring the idea that the concept of the enigma is simple. That doesn't seem consonant with his various cautions that it would only be solved with a lot of effort and persistence, but maybe there's a way to resolve the paradox. After all, we've been bumbling about in all directions and he still told us we're all closer than we think, didn't he? [MB]
Does this mean that TDB may not have a defined solution devised by the band, but rather we will in effect define TDB? It makes sense, but that would mean that there is going to be some sort of consensus. [SH]I don't insist on this as a theory, I am claiming it as a possibility. As for reaching a consensus in this forum about TDB, that would certainly require persistence and high hopes. [MB]
13. Epilogue [ES]
I think this approach works. Via the line from WDYWFM Mark Brown and Sean Heisler made clear that the designed solution might be present within ourselves. This fits nicely with the Omo Dei and Mandala concept. 'See inside, there is nothing to hide, the solution is inside ourselves. we only have to look for it there. Seems like we are reaching some consensus with this method. I believe our ideas and feelings of the Enigma have come together, more than ever before. Maybe we can even get closer.
