I'm reposting this one from, of all things, a Facebook note. It relates to my personal beliefs, and I'll get into that as it relates to the kink and the poly and the multi later.
Several people have asked me about that funny circle-and-triangle picture that I use so frequently online. That is the IDIC. It symbolizes a philosophy that means a lot to me, one that I try to keep in mind. So I share it with you here.
First, the geeky part. This is a Vulcan philosophy - yeah, from Star Trek. The symbol is the Kol-Ut-Shan, and has been shown or referred to in The Original Series, the movies, Enterprise, Voyager, and Deep Space Nine. It's Gene Roddenberry's invention, but his lengthy explanation of it was cut from the script of the episode "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" Fan theory is that the IDIC represents the sun rising over Mount Seleya.
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But what does it mean? The IDIC concept stresses appreciation and utilization of the differences between people. Rather than distrust or even hate someone who is different, we should look for what makes each of us special and use that to the advantage of all. Treating everyone the same casts aside the very things that make them worthwhile. On one site, I found the following explanation: IDIC "represents a Vulcan belief that beauty, growth, and progress all result from the union of the unlike. Because concord, as much as discord, requires the presence of at least two different notes, diversity is good. The brotherhood of man is an ideal based on learning to delight in our essential differences, as well as learning to recognize our similarities."
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What's the politically correct term for someone who is handicapped? Differently abled? Maybe we should look at that as applying to each of us. Because if you have three people in a room with the same abilities and qualifications, two of them are redundant and thus unnecessary. We are each differently abled. And we are stronger in our differences. There is too much in the world to learn - no one person can learn to do it all. But as we each specialize, the group is much more able to achieve a goal than several individuals will be. When we put together a set for a play, as an example, we split up the jobs. People who are detail-oriented should measure and cut the wood. Someone strong should carry the furniture in. Screws all over the floor? Great job for some little kid with a bucket. And the job gets done.
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In C.S. Firedman's book THIS ALIEN SHORE (the underlining is malfunctioning), I found this quote that spoke to me: "God save us from an Earth in which all men are the same. God save us from a colony where that is the goal, or a culture which assumes that for its norm. Give me a thousand people speaking different tongues, worshiping different gods, and dreaming different dreams, and I will make of them a greater nation than you can make with ten thousand of your gengineered duplicates. For mine will have the spark of greatness in them, while yours will live for conformity, worship mediocrity, and take their carefully modulated delight in predigisted dreams."
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Here's a link that discusses IDIC further; I found it very good. http://www.bookmice.net/darkchilde/spirit/idic.html
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Incidentally, a variant of the IDIC is used by the polyamorous community. The ILIC is Inifinite Love in Infinite Combinations. "It is a variation on Pi-and-the-three-colors from the Polyamory Pride Flag. Like the flag, the colors are: blue, representing the openness and honesty among all partners with which people who are polyamorous conduct their multiple relationships; red, representing love and passion; and black, representing solidarity with those who, though they are open and honest with all participants of their relationships, must hide those relationships from the outside world due to societal pressures."
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