The author of the Theory of Eightank is the pen name of Andrew Kennedy. He was born and educated in Britain. He graduated from Edinburgh University in 1975 with a B.Sc. and has spent his unorthodox life looking for ways to reconcile a scientific background with a spiritual outlook. While working successively in computers, construction, theatre and farming, he also travelled widely, wrote and invented. He is a modern poet educated in science and with a special interest in Human evolution. His observations of human nature and the formation of human society have formed the basis of his original view of human personality and its relation to the seasons which he calls the TO8. He lives with his family on a hill farm in the Pyrenees in a small isolated community. 'Funnily enough,' he says. 'It was coming to this isolated spot that gave me the switch to formalise the TO8.'He was one of the 6 authors of the famous quiz book, the Ultimate Triva Quiz Book (Penguin, 1986) and was a contributor to further Trivia quiz books. He conceived Faxotel, one of the first fax/voice switching devices, devised unusual games, one of which is the 3-dimensional wooden puzzle based on Taoist principles called the game of Rat and Dragon, and patented a switching device. He says, 'I did many jobs. I was even, briefly, road manager for Darth Vader. Just about every job I did gave me key insights into the purpose of personality. The TO8 has grown far beyond its origins, and it has come to illuminate my writings and poetry.' He's a fan of Lao Tzu and has analysed and translated the Tao Te Ching. He thinks that his philosophy has been 'distorted and made nonsensical over the years.' He says, 'Lao Tzu's words had a political dimension ignored today. He was exiled - in legend - because his ideas ran counter to the authoritarian orthodoxy of the day.' ' He has built buildings, devised his own tools and kept what machines he has going. He says, 'Among many prescriptions for living happily two stand out: live modestly, and learn to fix your stuff.' He says of his valley, 'The old ways have all but vanished in the last two decades.' He laughs. 'I'm probably the last person in the Western World to even consider cutting a field of hay on my own without modern equipment.' Recent published work apart from the Theory of Eight:
The Jade Suit |  ank, the creator of the Theory of Eight for a recent interview with the creator of the Theory of Eight click here |
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