Blog 10

It’s a widely believed phenomenon that history repeats itself. This idea can consistently be applied to situations worldwide, amongst societies that undergo routine efforts to establish systems free of the flaws that could cause them to fail. They are driven to expand for the sake of a larger global role and a stronger economy, driven to harbor leaders based on their ability to steer a nation in such directions; driven to last, and driven to prosper. Ideally, every civilization strives to be the best, either because of the shared desire amongst its citizens to collectively optimize their abilities, or because it feels at competition with contemporary civilizations. Ecofactual and artifactual evidence (i.e. tools, architecture, irrigation, other city-planning; ceremonial, utilitarian and other art) supports the first of these two reasons, depicting inadvertent and contemplative progress within societies that as far as we know had not yet been exposed to the tangible existence of others; a trend which informs us by means of simultaneous suggestion and proof that the development of a group of humans, limited to in long-term interaction with only each other, will be linear. To categorize such groupings as ‘societies’ is to assign them a title that indicates similarity, but it is crucial both to note that contemporary societies have developed differently by comparison, and to contemplate the causation. The similarities lie in the dynamics of communal life that exist as the product of innate individual efforts to meet survival and social needs – which, when collected, create a consequential need for societal equilibrium – and which are all embodied in the process of social interaction. Observations are built on observations; by this reason, such lineage unfolds in societies because development is directed by progress, and the options of those societies in isolation are less than those which emerge as the outcome of encountering foreign developments. Therein lie the comparable differences amongst societies, particularly those historically contemporary. These similarities and differences play a critical role in any society’s approach to preserving its equilibrium, and just as critical a role in any historical analysis of the internal characteristics of humanity that they symbolize. upon such exposure, the pool of developmental options theoretically expands exponentially. Disparities provide a potential sphere of influence, while recognized commodities illuminate elemental mannerisms of a community, refining their role. as the observational process proceeds, new influences will ignite the prevalence of certain observations, which set the state for future development, establishing trends that reflect human nature and in theory benefit any effort to navigate the prosperity of civilization. The rise of subjective trends even seems to fractal nature’s survival of the fittest, if applied conceptually. Such patterns serve as the backbone for societal equilibrium, but the exposure of new methods puts our rationale to use, potentially evoking new discoveries. The implement improvement upon the equilibrium, social relationships in areas such as politics and the economy may undergo a progressive transformation until they become unstable, igniting attempts to form new systems and improve their methodical structuring. Yet today we seem to be standing at the world’s edge; we have achieved total exposure to date, but we have no achieved perfection, and though the fire of speculation is still ablaze, many believe the realm of improvement has been maximized. Karl Marx, having pinpointed the rise of capitalism, deducted that individualism can in some cases function as the foundation for collective success, and in other cases, collectivism provides the best available life to individuals. By reasonable association of their fundamental values, Marx detects that when one fails, society turns toward the other, asserting that every failure or societal collapse will trigger a movement of sentiment that directly opposes the sentiment serving the previous movement, creating an endless cycle of capitalism and communism rather than seeking a medium. Isaac Asimov, a groundbreaking science fiction author, imaginatively envisioned a future dictate by similar philosophies to Marx’s in his Foundation series. To rule a galaxy, experts use a method called psychohistory to predict the future by applying the laws of statics to mass human activity, using a device called the Prime Radiant to generate pschohistorical equations that can reveal a flow of events that haven’t happened yet. It occurred to me that the development of our history has objectively completed one full cycle as yet unlabeled, beginning with inherent similarities, then transforming interactively – with differences triggering war and competition – and now, in full circle, striving to exploit the initial apparent similarities in search of worldwide cooperation, and society-wide satisfaction, and I have to as: could it be that our knowledge is preventing us from developing anything new?

Making Sense

There is something about the description of beauty as an idea of object “beyond order” that doesn’t resonate well with me. Chaos, the absence of order, can be beautiful in many circumstances; some might argue in all because they find beauty in the idea of chaos. Human interaction, asteroids in space, the identical composition of mycelia and dark matter, are all chaotic things that many people find beautiful. But there is also, certainly, beauty to be found in order. The natural order that we find occurring without the implementation of structure by any outer stimuli is awesome – Nature, largely free of conscious thought, directs itself as if by the hands of a brilliant, omnipotent and omniscient conductor, igniting and maintaining order at the constant speed of life. Almost every species existing, both plant and animal, has been fashioned for survival and has developed physical traits that are implicative of the existence of other species contemporary to them (i.e. camouflage, instincts, built-in defenses) that are all a product of extensive time spent living with other species as a response to the needs, actions and survival of both, or all, called symbiotic relationships. Species grow colors and mutations after enough interaction with another species; bright colors imply poison, sharp talons pierce resistant skin and shells, opposable thumbs help climb towards food and out of reach of predators; the sticky legs of one insect pollinate the plant from which it feeds…all these occurrences without any conscious thought. There are still “primary forests” out there without any essence of human activity or influence, believe it of not, and they are indeed beautiful.

Free Choice Blog

While I was studying monsters and the psychology of fear, I perceived certain observable trends symbolic of the development of human tradition, and they really sidetracked me. It’s obvious today, especially with our advancements in medicine and psychology, that life has many stages which divide our mental and physical growth and into which we can compartmentalize our experiences. When I look at some traditions that were born of monsters, or that monsters were born of, I see integration of certain human activities into the construction of hteir identities and the notoriety that ensues from their ability to affect the lives of those whose existence pertains to them. A monster who may represent death, or natural disasters, or goo/bad luck, or folly, or mischief, sets an expectation in its believers to at some point in their lives see evidence of its existence. Nobody necessarily wants to stay alive to witness a natural disaster, bad luck, folly or anything of the like, but if the legend is alive, they may expect it regardless. Other traditions seem to encompass typical experiences we encounter in the span of a lifetime, like school, success, love and more. All birthdays, and certainly some in particular, have traditional celebrations – like the mitzvah held for practicing Jews at the age of 13. With the recent passing of my 21st birthday, which incorporated many conventional celebratory ideas both in practice and in my mental state, I have been preoccupied with the thought that the expectation of certain experiences encourages us to reach them during the duration of a lifetime. Even the concept of bad luck becomes an experience we associate with value, from the growth and sometimes lessons it can evoke. Because there are many infamous associations with the age of 21, especially in western civilization, I, as many people surely are, was very inclined to make it to 21 years– to at the least remain alive until it arrived and even further, to have made certain achievements by the time I reached it. By this rationality, I think that traditions have a life-elongating effect on us.

Seeing Crow's Shadow exhibit

The Seeing Crow’s Shadow exhibit was a surprising and a thought-evoking experience. My surprise stemmed from encountering collective attitude belonging to the tribe from which the exhibit’s art was born, an attitude I had never before seen evidence of amongst the west coast’s Native American tribes, while those throughout the Midwest and even some in the southwest who I’ve observed to be much more integrated with their surrounding civilizations than those living on the reservations surrounding us. The attitude was one of optimistic interest and effort towards forming some new levels of infusion between themselves and society around them.
The content of the exhibit was in a variety of printmaking mediums. Having worked an exhibit of Native American art last semester, I was not expecting to behold a collection exclusively of prints. The exhibit I worked on, like the majority of tribal art (at least of that which I’ve seen), was comprised of many mediums, including painting, sculpture, jewelry, woven baskets, poetry, and music – all very traditional techniques for artistic expression and creativity. It lacked prints entirely, evidently because the practice is not native to their culture. From this observation I infer that the art of printmaking is a practice adopted by Native American tribes to juxtapose their worldly perspectives with those of other cultures in a clearer and more direct manner, wearing down the boundaries between their cultures and others.