In Praise of Horizontality and the Scientific Method

There are so many things about being horizontal that are worthy of praise. Look at what great things can happen in the supine position: Sex. Sleep. Meditation. And inspiration, something I came to understand from a novelist friend. While writing a complex trilogy, she would lie down whenever the direction wasn’t clear. In that position, images would come to her and the plot development would reveal itself.

So I tried that in the painting studio. Instead of arduously trying to paint through the inevitable blockages, I started experimenting with stepping away and just lying down for 10 minutes. Stopping the motion of habitual rhythms—of quieting my hands, arms and body for a brief period—had a palate-cleansing effect. I have been using this technique for years now.

The horizontal has usefulness in other domains as well. I have found a lot of marital mileage by discussing difficult topics with my partner when we are in bed rather than upright. I used to think it was the sheer power of our physical touching that kept discomforting content from creating a rift. I’m sure that’s part of it, but a new study reported in New Scientist suggests that being horizontal has its own meliorative influence. A new study found that emotional reactions to provocation vary depending on whether a subject is lying down or sitting up. This has led researchers to question the impact of horizontality on a number of medical procedures like MRIs. But the bottom line of the study is simple: Insults are better taken lying down.

Which makes me think of a great t-shirt slogan I saw while enjoying Shakespeare on the Common last night:

science_square_0

This t-shirt is purchasable from xkcd.

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