Like The Benefaktor, I have come to the work of The KLF late. Unlike The Benefaktor, however, I am at the start of my career. And, unlike The KLF, the Foundation part of my work comes first. You might know other terms better – house officer, or resident perhaps.
I will not get embroiled in the rights or wrongs of The K Foundation. I am going to start at the beginning. Before The KLF there was The JAMs. GANTOB and The Benefaktor have already discussed 1987 and related releases. Skipping over their glitterati doctor we then land on The Manual (How to have a number one the easy way), from 1988.
I am writing this back in Edinburgh, sitting on a bench in The Physic Garden, near Holyrood Palace. It’s a physical place, not one of the many lost physick gardens of Edinburgh. It’s a quiet spot, that connects you back to the origins of medicine. I take my headphones off, listen, and write.
At medical school I was taught to put things in context, to give definitions.
Metaphysical: an idea, doctrine, or posited reality outside of human sense perception.
Meta: (of a creative work) referring to itself or to the conventions of its genre; self-referential
Physick: An archaic term for a laxative, or for the practice of medicine generally, in pre-modern medicine.
The intersection of these terms seems a good place to be. Perhaps The KLF have some advice. I search The Manual. They seemed to like the term “metaphysical” thirty-five years ago. Here are the three instances that I spotted when I read it:
‘On a far less metaphysical level, groove has to be understood in the practical terms of beats, bars and BPM’s.’
‘We just tried to keep up with it, hoping people would notice our crazy asides and metaphysical jibes as the whole thing fire-balled itself to The Top.’
‘Maybe an attempt at metaphysical wit. “Expect nothing, accept everything”, something like that.’
A colloquial application of the term then, but telling nonetheless. I suspect they still enjoy and use the word.
It’s getting a bit chilly. I need to return to my room soon anyway, to prepare for another run of nightshifts. I’ve barely recovered from the last. I pick up a readymeal from a tiny convenience store and then head back, wondering what to say to The Benefaktor about my trips, discoveries, and recent personal delivery.
FOUNDATION DOKTOR
30 October 2023
GANTOB blog 