"Man Made environments are allways unpercieved by men during the period of their innovation. When they are supperceeded by other environments they tend to become visible"
This next bit relates back to my thoughts that our culture may be conciderd robotic If we dont force it to advance or allow change. Looking at what McLuhan has to say I might hav been a little off mark (acording to his oppinion) but those thoughts seem to be in the right direction.
"the computer which we have a habbit of calling a machine" page 18
We are wrong to do this, this seems to reflect our missunderstanding of ourselves.
"coordination of limb movement and body posture - the information issuing from them hardley ever reaches the higher centers of the brain, but gives rise to what the biologist calls reflex actions" page 19
This refers to our libs "reflex" being a mechanical action.
"Man is not only a robot in his private reflexes but in his civilized behavior and in all his responses to the extensions of his body, which we call technollogy" page 19
This fits my idears about our reactions within our culture being robotic.
McLuhan goes on to suggest that these things are a "manifestation of the evolutionary process"
Well hope that makes sense to ya.
Monday, 31 March 2008
Different ways of thinking.
In both of the McLuhan boos that I have started reading, they have both coverd Idears that different people have different ways of thinking, reading and understanding the world, these readings and understandings are governed by the technologies that they were addapted from/to and as a ressult have an affect on other developing technologies?
AN example is a literrary, print based western culture in coparison with far eastern culture which is hiligh visualy driven, Iconographic, pictorial and sculptural. (so Mcluhan says anyways, however he calls current chinese Toeism a "disgustin appology of its former self" or something like that. What is important is that I understand the destinction that he made.
A point that he mad of this, as people who think in a less litterate way and more of a sensory level of thought were those like Chaplin, who performed his scenes in revers down to his speach. Also I bellieve Thomas Eddison, who prefferd to read in brail, found it more tactile than reading fonts.
"Sensory Life"
This was hilighted in Understanding the media, he described people who are highly literate as often having slow controled patterns of speach, he contrasted this with sprch of people who biepassed this, In the case of a radio DJ who talked in a fast poaced. ungramaticall way.
AN example is a literrary, print based western culture in coparison with far eastern culture which is hiligh visualy driven, Iconographic, pictorial and sculptural. (so Mcluhan says anyways, however he calls current chinese Toeism a "disgustin appology of its former self" or something like that. What is important is that I understand the destinction that he made.
A point that he mad of this, as people who think in a less litterate way and more of a sensory level of thought were those like Chaplin, who performed his scenes in revers down to his speach. Also I bellieve Thomas Eddison, who prefferd to read in brail, found it more tactile than reading fonts.
"Sensory Life"
This was hilighted in Understanding the media, he described people who are highly literate as often having slow controled patterns of speach, he contrasted this with sprch of people who biepassed this, In the case of a radio DJ who talked in a fast poaced. ungramaticall way.
Back to Bussiness
Sorry about that little sidetrack their, anyways I think this will help make sense of some crap I put upp earlier, "Murphy insists that all pshychological propperties serve a function."
"Perception is guided by need" page 12
"Perception is guided by need" page 12
Funny Quote
"There aught to be a law so a man knows wether he is doing the right or wrong"
Senator Thomas Dodd page 13
not quite sure why it is relevent to mcluhans book, jus thought it was funny.
Senator Thomas Dodd page 13
not quite sure why it is relevent to mcluhans book, jus thought it was funny.
We are all......
We are all robots, when uncritically involved with our technologies.
Still havent quite gotten to the point that I understand what he is saying, allmost their tho I think.
Still havent quite gotten to the point that I understand what he is saying, allmost their tho I think.
Sunday, 30 March 2008
Ramblings and Oxidentalisum, a prolog
Different ways we develope thought and different forms of logic. Left minded and right minded to some extent, need to think about this more? allmost on to something. Thinking of bath houses and placess of baptysem, if they removed then people would just use waterfalls and rivers, we are still human without the technologies? maybee this means my theories are obb, maybe McLuhan is just very western thinking. I think our way of moving away from nature, but now basing our designs and technologies on what we find in nature might be relevant to this? Sorry, this is a very rembelling and chaotic parragraph, hopefully I will make sense of it at a later date.
Another Quote....
I liked this quote and felt that it had some distant rellevance: They were all in a book promoting criticall thinking when drawing, reading it made me think of this assignment. They may be way off but they may come in handy to illustrate some point. I think that the main quote or sentence that allowed me to make this connection may still be in the beggining of that book. Ill read it again and see if i find annything.
"Were the diver to think on the jaws of the shark he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."
Sa'di Gulistan
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it."
Henry Ford
"I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward"
Thomas Edisson
"Draw the verbs of the figure, Draw what the body is doing not just the body"
Michael D. Mattesie "Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators"
"Were the diver to think on the jaws of the shark he would never lay hands on the precious pearl."
Sa'di Gulistan
"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it."
Henry Ford
"I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward"
Thomas Edisson
"Draw the verbs of the figure, Draw what the body is doing not just the body"
Michael D. Mattesie "Force: Dynamic Life Drawing for Animators"
Criticisms
I guess a bland racist Ammerican criticissm of the middle east is that they are stuck in the past like cave men, not conforming by addopting technology. I just thought that if they reject the development of technology and decide that on a grand social level that things will stay exactly the same from now untill the oppocalypse, on some small level would that be, being Robotic. If nothing were to change people would simple be living out their daily lives in a relatively robotic/ monotonus haze. Surely then change as a ressult in changing technologies (depending on how broad the reading of the term technology is taken) is a major factor in us not being robotic, in beeing critically able to allter our day to day lives. Or something like that?.......
Just a quick brain spassem anyways.... thoughts?
Just a quick brain spassem anyways.... thoughts?
Revelation? Are we beasts.
Is Mcluhan saying that our technologies, how they affect us/how we react to them is what makes us human? That if you stripped them awway that we would be nothing more than annimals? That is the reading that I am getting at the moment, when you combine the quote about "We are al robots whan uncritically involved with our technologies" with his paragraphs about how we struggle to cope with new technologies. It is our critique of them that gives us an understanding and allows us to develope with them (the technology) without that we would simply struggle with them forever, abbandon them and remain unchanged (beasts). That is the reading that I am getting from it at the moment. What do you think, yes you mr crazy pants.
By beast I mean the same as with robot, that we simply follow our impulse to eat sleep and fuck.
Is that all we are with out Technology/Culture?
By beast I mean the same as with robot, that we simply follow our impulse to eat sleep and fuck.
Is that all we are with out Technology/Culture?
Quote
‘We are all robots when uncritically involved with our technologies.’
McLuhan quotes from "Understanding the Media"
Yo these are quotes that I used in my previous essay, I figgured that they may be rellevant or usseable at a later point as they are used as appart of the same theory that our quote comes from. I thought that It might be nice to have them all here in the same space. Sorry if thet dont make much sense out of context.
”For the “message” of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs” Marshall McLuhan, Understanding the Media, page 8 Line 19 – 20"
”For any medium has the power to impose its assumptions on the unwary” Marshall McLuhan, Understanding the Media page 16 line 12” I think this one is probarbly realy important?
”the never explained numbness that each extension brings about in each individual and society” Marshall McLuhan, Understanding the Media, page 6 lines 19 – 21”
”this is the age of anxiety for the reason of the electric implosion that compels commitment and participation, quite regardless of any “viewpoint” line 18 page 5
“today the action and the reaction occur almost at the same time.” Marshall McLuhan, Understanding the Media, Page 4 line 22”
”For the “message” of any medium or technology is the change of scale or pace or pattern that it introduces into human affairs” Marshall McLuhan, Understanding the Media, page 8 Line 19 – 20"
”For any medium has the power to impose its assumptions on the unwary” Marshall McLuhan, Understanding the Media page 16 line 12” I think this one is probarbly realy important?
”the never explained numbness that each extension brings about in each individual and society” Marshall McLuhan, Understanding the Media, page 6 lines 19 – 21”
”this is the age of anxiety for the reason of the electric implosion that compels commitment and participation, quite regardless of any “viewpoint” line 18 page 5
“today the action and the reaction occur almost at the same time.” Marshall McLuhan, Understanding the Media, Page 4 line 22”
My Idears so far.
Ok, the Somni reading our presentation for uss.
For this our pressentation could actualy be a piece of fiction (maybee we could annimate it).
Ok, a sermon or confession boothe, maybee one of us could give a conffession to the other.
For some strange reason I liked the idear of an opperating table something where we could be pulling out representations of our idears from a body on a table? This would be a way of getting annika and spece involved, I think some kind of interaction might be interesting and more engaging (doing this digitaly would be fun but with our limited time remaning may now be impossible).
Finaly some literal representation of the orisons, wether in 3D building a warehouse of orrisons and impossing peoples faces over them in after fx or something or ac tualy building a real life fisical representation of them.
Anyways theirs some quick bullshit as a reecap.
For this our pressentation could actualy be a piece of fiction (maybee we could annimate it).
Ok, a sermon or confession boothe, maybee one of us could give a conffession to the other.
For some strange reason I liked the idear of an opperating table something where we could be pulling out representations of our idears from a body on a table? This would be a way of getting annika and spece involved, I think some kind of interaction might be interesting and more engaging (doing this digitaly would be fun but with our limited time remaning may now be impossible).
Finaly some literal representation of the orisons, wether in 3D building a warehouse of orrisons and impossing peoples faces over them in after fx or something or ac tualy building a real life fisical representation of them.
Anyways theirs some quick bullshit as a reecap.
Saturday, 29 March 2008
More McLuhan Bolox
Theories Of Personality "Calvin S.Hall and Gardner Lindzey.
Acording to these guys their are 3 Stages of perceptual development. The way that people adjust to the preciding environment. I think thats what they say anyways, do they mean that we are allways one step behind?
Anyways the steps are:
#1 Globality, where the world is more or less a blur to the individual.
#2 Differentation When figures emerge from the background.
#3 Integration when perceptual(need to check that this is right) patterns are formed.
Motivation ocours first this affects our perception. Perception is guided by need.
Acording to these guys their are 3 Stages of perceptual development. The way that people adjust to the preciding environment. I think thats what they say anyways, do they mean that we are allways one step behind?
Anyways the steps are:
#1 Globality, where the world is more or less a blur to the individual.
#2 Differentation When figures emerge from the background.
#3 Integration when perceptual(need to check that this is right) patterns are formed.
Motivation ocours first this affects our perception. Perception is guided by need.
Presentation
Ok, here be a quick idear I had while reading, If we wanted the talk to represent the Idear that it is a new feauturistic technology, and possibly the Idear that such things are confussing and freaky, so, we could create a dissplay tghat features sepperate commentries running on sepperate orrisons. This could be our interpritation of how the orison archive might be used, where all comentries on a cimillar topic are playyed at the same time. Our presentation could be the recordings of different peoples orrisons. We ask a question and they tell us the answer collectively. Irrelevent parts of their recordings would be played quiately in the background in a murmer, any relevent parts would be played at a higher volume, possibly overlapping to create a sense of confussion and harshness(couldnt think of a better word, I am a complete spastic).
War and Peace in the Global Village
Hi, just started on McLuhans book, took me like 20 minutes to get through 4 pages, but I got into it and the pace pickd up a little. Anyways, here are some interesting points that I came across. In addition quotes that i think might be usefull at some point.
He describes New Technologies as "Self amputations of our own being" he used this point in his book "understanding the Media" to, it illustrated the same point that
"all social changes are the effect of new tecnologies" thes were found on page 4 lines 13-15.
In addition I found this interesting;
"The West shall shake the East awake....
while ye have the night for morn...." (I still dont realy understand WTF this is on about)
James Joyce (finnigans Wake) page 4 line 5-6 in war and peace.....
The quote describes a inevitable meeting of east and west, to my understanding the "Awake" seems to mean that for example by looking back at our past we persistently meet them with increased "wakefullness" or understanding/critique. I thini that is one possibnle reading that McLuhan tried to describe.
He eventualy goes on to talk about the work of Bosh and his reaction to the introduction of Print in the C16th. The focus being on changes in the sensory mode, Heironymus Bosh produced paintings that expressed pain and confusion, this was his reaction to the feeling at the time as people struggled to cope and addapt to the introduction of print and the confusion it caused.
I like the description of how jarring we can sometimes find new technologies, as confusing/painfull/shocking or disturbing. Maybee we could force all of these ellements into our presentation? Just a thought.
Next point: "Today with Tellevision as a much more powerfull medium, pain has created musicall genres from Rock to Beatle that are exceedingly unpleasent to sensibillities earlier orientes to less demmanding technological environments."
"Hieronumus Bosh painted the new confusion of spaces"-"His Horror pictures are a faithfull artisitc recreation of the pain and missery that resulted from the new tecnology"
note: if it is printed then surely it must be true?
"Today the blues sound like carressing nursary lullabies" I just liked this quote as a point of contrast thats all.
Otto Lowenstein (bioligist) "The Senses" "penguin Books"
"wonder wether one can ever see something which one has had no previous knowledge"
I liked this quote to and feel it is probarbly a lot more relevent.
Example: Blinde people and a Biologist. "believing is seeing" as I will now explain.
*Blinde people having sight restored to them "Shrink at first from the wealth of aditional stimulation, longing at times for he relative seclusion of their former worlds." page 10
I wonder, does this bare any comparison to Somni? does she react in this way, i think it might be the opposite, she revvels in it, but what was her initial reaction? she was fearfull and resserved I think with her awakening, altho it never specifies exactly when that was? The experiment that awoke her, is that her technology?
"one of the most striking facts is that it takes a lot of time and effort before they recognise the objects around them as sepperate items-"at first sight" the world looks like a flat extension of meaningless patches of light. page 10
however
"one by one objects grow out of this chaotic world, and remain unmistakibly seperate once they have been Identified"
Biology, when looking through a microscope "the shapes defie description, untill the demonstrator has drawn on paper one or the other specific objects to be searched for" when looking in a microscope"
This is how we feel when deeling with adjusting to the unique sensory environment of new technology"
He describes New Technologies as "Self amputations of our own being" he used this point in his book "understanding the Media" to, it illustrated the same point that
"all social changes are the effect of new tecnologies" thes were found on page 4 lines 13-15.
In addition I found this interesting;
"The West shall shake the East awake....
while ye have the night for morn...." (I still dont realy understand WTF this is on about)
James Joyce (finnigans Wake) page 4 line 5-6 in war and peace.....
The quote describes a inevitable meeting of east and west, to my understanding the "Awake" seems to mean that for example by looking back at our past we persistently meet them with increased "wakefullness" or understanding/critique. I thini that is one possibnle reading that McLuhan tried to describe.
He eventualy goes on to talk about the work of Bosh and his reaction to the introduction of Print in the C16th. The focus being on changes in the sensory mode, Heironymus Bosh produced paintings that expressed pain and confusion, this was his reaction to the feeling at the time as people struggled to cope and addapt to the introduction of print and the confusion it caused.
I like the description of how jarring we can sometimes find new technologies, as confusing/painfull/shocking or disturbing. Maybee we could force all of these ellements into our presentation? Just a thought.
Next point: "Today with Tellevision as a much more powerfull medium, pain has created musicall genres from Rock to Beatle that are exceedingly unpleasent to sensibillities earlier orientes to less demmanding technological environments."
"Hieronumus Bosh painted the new confusion of spaces"-"His Horror pictures are a faithfull artisitc recreation of the pain and missery that resulted from the new tecnology"
note: if it is printed then surely it must be true?
"Today the blues sound like carressing nursary lullabies" I just liked this quote as a point of contrast thats all.
Otto Lowenstein (bioligist) "The Senses" "penguin Books"
"wonder wether one can ever see something which one has had no previous knowledge"
I liked this quote to and feel it is probarbly a lot more relevent.
Example: Blinde people and a Biologist. "believing is seeing" as I will now explain.
*Blinde people having sight restored to them "Shrink at first from the wealth of aditional stimulation, longing at times for he relative seclusion of their former worlds." page 10
I wonder, does this bare any comparison to Somni? does she react in this way, i think it might be the opposite, she revvels in it, but what was her initial reaction? she was fearfull and resserved I think with her awakening, altho it never specifies exactly when that was? The experiment that awoke her, is that her technology?
"one of the most striking facts is that it takes a lot of time and effort before they recognise the objects around them as sepperate items-"at first sight" the world looks like a flat extension of meaningless patches of light. page 10
however
"one by one objects grow out of this chaotic world, and remain unmistakibly seperate once they have been Identified"
Biology, when looking through a microscope "the shapes defie description, untill the demonstrator has drawn on paper one or the other specific objects to be searched for" when looking in a microscope"
This is how we feel when deeling with adjusting to the unique sensory environment of new technology"
Monday, 3 March 2008
Soap
Part of our quote talks about being "Uncritical" as a way of us being like robots.
This may be reflected in cloud atlas. I like this quote from cloud atlass.
"Soap deadens curiosity; we prefer not to wonder."
and her itteration, "When you were three or four "Archivist, your father vanishd daily to a realm called 'work', did he not? He stayed at work untill curfew, but you didnt worry yourself over the dimensions, location or nature of that realm because your concerns lay exclusively in the foreground."
I think it is interesting, I wonder if their is any creative way for uss to demonstrate this view?
Hopefully one that is fun.
This may be reflected in cloud atlas. I like this quote from cloud atlass.
"Soap deadens curiosity; we prefer not to wonder."
and her itteration, "When you were three or four "Archivist, your father vanishd daily to a realm called 'work', did he not? He stayed at work untill curfew, but you didnt worry yourself over the dimensions, location or nature of that realm because your concerns lay exclusively in the foreground."
I think it is interesting, I wonder if their is any creative way for uss to demonstrate this view?
Hopefully one that is fun.
Prayer is the act of attempting to communicate, commonly with a sequence of words, with a deity or spirit for the purpose of worshipping, requesting guidance, requesting assistance, confessing sins or to express one's thoughts and emotions. The words of the prayer may take the form of intercession, a hymn, incantation or a spontaneous utterance in the person's praying words. Secularly, the term can also be used as an alternative to "hope".
Hey this is wikipedias interpretation of the word Orison. I find that its description of it being a way to comunicate with a spirit most interesting, as it is a recording of the dead. Is it simply a recording or dose it record their attitudes personalities?
Anyhow, I also find the description of it as "Hope" quite interesting.
Hey this is wikipedias interpretation of the word Orison. I find that its description of it being a way to comunicate with a spirit most interesting, as it is a recording of the dead. Is it simply a recording or dose it record their attitudes personalities?
Anyhow, I also find the description of it as "Hope" quite interesting.
Marshall McLuhan
Ok, well I should probarbly get a coppy of "War and Peace in the global village", so that I can get some quotes, I think I may also read from "understanding the media" and re-use any relevant quotes that I found In that, might be a good short cut for reinforcing any idears, but I guess that they both come from the same writter so I might need to broaden my reeding.
Well I dont know if you have read any of his stuff but heres a quick synopsis of what I think "Understanding the Media" is about.
McLuhan wrote about how any given Media or technologys affect uppon our habbits and our lifestyles, is theat medium/ technologies message to uss.
This fits into the category of the electric light changing our living habbits by providing perpetual day. Or the way mobile phones or the internett changed our communications abbilities, and how that has sped upp bussiness etc.
Well I dont know if you have read any of his stuff but heres a quick synopsis of what I think "Understanding the Media" is about.
McLuhan wrote about how any given Media or technologys affect uppon our habbits and our lifestyles, is theat medium/ technologies message to uss.
This fits into the category of the electric light changing our living habbits by providing perpetual day. Or the way mobile phones or the internett changed our communications abbilities, and how that has sped upp bussiness etc.
Some random Idears.
Hey I just want to post a few questions and suggestions before they slip my minde. For one I cant remember what Spence told us about the quote, If you have any recolection of that Lee, do you thinki you could throw some of it down?
I am also curious about the way Anika refferd to the Orison as a charecter? Was she mistaken, actualy reffering to Somni instead? This I want to find out, I wonder if we should look at the orisson strictly as the tecnology, which makes more sense to me now I have now written it down. Or to look at the nature of its recording and the Somnis recording on the device.
Hey found this deffenition of what the Orison is " a reverent petition to a deity".
I found it here http://www.thefreedictionary.com/orison. So a prayer later basically.
So maybee we could base the presentation around a weird techno sermon.
I also had a quick mental image of how the orison could be dissplayed in 3D.
I see it like the corridors in the Harry Potter book where the Prophicies are stored, guess their the same thing realy. Anyways it would bee cvool to have a camera panning across the units in which the orisons are stored (im not sure if this will reflect the nature of our conclussion) I think we may have to tweak that as we go.
I like the idear of catching a glimpse of each recording as the cammera panns past untill it finaly settles on our orrison/s. I also like the idear off possibly having the Somnis orisson giving our presentation, but that may be stupid as she is probably dead/ reorientated. It also may not fit in with our Idears.
I am also curious about the way Anika refferd to the Orison as a charecter? Was she mistaken, actualy reffering to Somni instead? This I want to find out, I wonder if we should look at the orisson strictly as the tecnology, which makes more sense to me now I have now written it down. Or to look at the nature of its recording and the Somnis recording on the device.
Hey found this deffenition of what the Orison is " a reverent petition to a deity".
I found it here http://www.thefreedictionary.com/orison. So a prayer later basically.
So maybee we could base the presentation around a weird techno sermon.
I also had a quick mental image of how the orison could be dissplayed in 3D.
I see it like the corridors in the Harry Potter book where the Prophicies are stored, guess their the same thing realy. Anyways it would bee cvool to have a camera panning across the units in which the orisons are stored (im not sure if this will reflect the nature of our conclussion) I think we may have to tweak that as we go.
I like the idear of catching a glimpse of each recording as the cammera panns past untill it finaly settles on our orrison/s. I also like the idear off possibly having the Somnis orisson giving our presentation, but that may be stupid as she is probably dead/ reorientated. It also may not fit in with our Idears.
Lets actualy Start something.
First I want to put up a few points from the brief, just so I have a remider in one place. Well Hear is the brief:
"Examine a given communication technology in relation to a pre-selected quotation."
and our quote
‘We are all robots when uncritically involved with our technologies.’
Marshall McLuhan, War and Peace in the Global Village-
However I think that this point from the brief is perticularly important!
"Create a short presentation where the emphasis is on your conclusions."
Oh, im sure that we are both fully awair by now that the technology linked to the quote is "THE ORISON"
I appologise for being so boring and for stating the blindingly obvious. xx
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