Sunday, September 26, 2010
Give me Reason...
...to shift from the optical to IR EM spectrum of perception. Is "because we can," sufficient?
I suspect that when I retire one fine day many years from now, that I'll never again log onto a computer or the internet. I know I'll never personally own a cell phone or Blackberry. Paper, pen and a good book. That's as far as I'll travel. Okay, perhaps I'll keep a DVD player and an old fashioned AM/FM (not Satellite) radio... the lines between reality and imagination are blurring far too rapidly. The visuals on this video are just too radically morph-able. Analog to Digital, THAT was threshold of "no return", crossing the "digital divide" and breaking through previous biological limits on imagination.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Honestly Joe, I don't know what you're talking about a good bit of the time, or at least I don't let myself believe that I know what you're talking about. Either way, I end up feeling cheapened in the process, i.e. painted ladies.
ReplyDeleteBut to your question: Some people think that "because we can" is sufficient, but I don't agree in all situations. I think that there has to be a bigger goal, a betterment in mind.
But then, just when I think I know, I'm surely to be knocked down and reprimanded....so....I'm stuck.
Sorry, the painted ladies reference was one from my own personal past. I didn't mean to imply anything demeaning. I was just waxing romantic for my long-past "sailing" days.
ReplyDeleteI agree, "because we can" shouldn't be enough of a reason for going forward. Unfortunately, the dangers and downsides are seldom appreciated at the outset of any new discovery, idea or technology.
People of our modern age often criticize the Greeks for not embracing technology (Archimedes was more the exception than the rule). Most Greeks held the manual labour associated with invention in ill repute. And stories of Daedelaus reinforced this prejudice.
I hope you don't feel knocked down and/or reprimanded too often. I suspect that the only thing standing between you and your highest goals and aspirations is a little encouragement.
ps - I don't know what I'm talking about most of the time I post... it starts w/an impression and/or feeling and grows from there. And usually its not anything "specific" and it's something I'm looking to "ruminate" upon and later "digest."
ReplyDeleteNo worries.
ReplyDeleteOn reason: "And if you wanna make sense,
Whatcha looking at me for?
I'm no good at math." - Fiona Apple, A Mistake
I am MUCH better at rhetoric than logic. This I know for sure. :-)
I agree, "because we can" shouldn't be enough of a reason for going forward. Unfortunately, the dangers and downsides are seldom appreciated at the outset of any new discovery, idea or technology.
ReplyDelete--------------
Yes, but there are ways that we can benefit from ideas and discoveries that we will miss out on if we sit on the sidelines.
I, for one, am an adventurer. I prefer the excitement of the journey. I know there will be regrets in life, but I'd rather have the regrets of "I wish I hadn't" than "I wish I had".
Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission... ;-)
ReplyDeleteIs that reasonable? Logical? Or all rhetorical?
ReplyDeleteI don't know. :-)
Yes, and for what it's worth, I rarely ever say "I wish I hadn't". I (so far) just don't see things as "mistakes". If I learn something, why is it a mistake? When I know better, I do better. It seems to me the only way to build in an upward fashion. If everything with ANY negative consequences is a mistake, then I'm always regressing, going down, losing ground.
ReplyDeleteThat's not how I want to do things.