The true meaning of the Ockham Logo
Let's discuss an item so intrinsic to Ockham, a time without it is unimaginable: our lovely Ockham Logo. I personally do not know when the logo got introduced and what the original symbolism of the logo was; The logo got introduced way before my time as an active member in H.V. Ockham. However, I have three candidate explanations:
The first interpretation of the Ockham Logo is one that I am fairly sure is not the original. Rather, all letters of the word “Ockham” coexist in the logo shape. This is akin to the modern logo of Toyota®. While this logic definitely works, some letters have a slightly strange shape. You have to really puzzle to extract the H and A. I also do not know if the letters predate the logo or vice versa. It is possible the font of the letters was decided retroactively to fit the logo but where the logo was not specifically designed for it.
A better explanation, in my opinion, is that the outer circular contour of the Ockham Logo represents a sphere and the red slice (in Dutch called an “inham”) represents a spherical slice of this sphere. By this, the different layers (in red, black and white) including the core of the sphere become visible. This could also explain why the slice is slightly off-centered as the perspective is not perfectly aligned to help better sell the illusion. In conclusion, the Ockham Logo shows that Ockham goes to the core. This is a nice way to represent our association.
The last explanation is something of my own. It is not the most convincing argument but might have some merit eventually. See, a circle represents unity, the oneness is represented by the big O as it has no beginning or end and everything is cyclical interconnected. Oneness is, surprisingly, the quality of being one and is therefore an integration tool. Ockham is a place where lots of people from lots of different backgrounds doing lots of different studies come together and integrate into a collective whole. This unity is captured by the Ockham Logo.
Are these the actual meaning of the logo? Probably not but still possible. Whatever the original meaning of the logo is, the logo is not going anywhere. New members will find new visions and new interpretations within the logo to let it represent the association. What do you personally see in the Ockham Logo?
I encourage old members who know the actual story to tell us as it would be fascinating to know and useful to preserve!
Written by Steyn Fokkema
