Literary notes about Static (AI summary)
The term "static" assumes a wide range of meanings in literature, functioning as a descriptor for both physical and metaphorical states of inertia or unchangeability. In some contexts, it conveys a sense of fixed balance or repose—as when a society is depicted as harmoniously unvarying in its nature [1] or when visual compositions are celebrated for their static unity [2, 3]. Conversely, it can highlight the absence of growth or transformation, suggesting that character, emotion, or societal ideals may be too rigid or unprogressive [4, 5, 6]. At times, the word crosses into technical territory with its association with electrical phenomena—where static interference disrupts communication and signal clarity [7, 8]—thereby bridging the gap between the aesthetic and the scientific. Even in philosophical musings, “static” appears to criticize an inert assumption of truth or fixed ideas [9, 10], underscoring literature’s intricate play with the interplay of stability and dynamism.
- They were an inbred group, a static, balanced society in harmony with their environment.
— from The Lani People by Jesse F. Bone - In architecture equality of proportion is more often met with, as the static qualities of repose are of more importance here than in painting.
— from The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed - It is of all curves the most perfect example of static unity.
— from The Practice and Science of Drawing by Harold Speed - Whatever she might become she would never be static.
— from Main Street by Sinclair Lewis - I felt no condemnation; yet the memory, static, unprogressive, haunted me.
— from The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells - Although his educational philosophy was revolutionary, it was none the less in bondage to static ideals.
— from Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Education by John Dewey - Abruptly the voice message broke off and co-ordinates began coming through between bursts of static.
— from Star Surgeon by Alan Edward Nourse - By means of apparatus called condensers , a terrific charge of static electricity may be stored.
— from Things a Boy Should Know About ElectricitySecond Edition by Thomas M. (Thomas Matthew) St. John - It makes no difference to reality itself; it is supervenient, inert, static, a reflexion merely.
— from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James - But the great assumption of the intellectualists is that truth means essentially an inert static relation.
— from Pragmatism: A New Name for Some Old Ways of Thinking by William James
