February 22, 2008 at 1:44 pm · Filed under Art Freak Culture + Science & Skepticism
Professor Ken Miller, who is famous for being the lead expert witness against Intelligent Design at the Dover Trial, has recently proposed that scientists reclaim the word “Design” from the ID movement (ie., the Creationists).
You can listen yourself to his argument for semantic reclamation here in a short discussion he had with James Randerson. I’ve also transcribed a couple of the most relevant quotes here:
ID proponents argue that we can see the hint of design in nature and they use that as evidence against evolution. And that puts scientists in a position of arguing that there is no design in nature — that nature is somehow capricious, arbitrary, random, pointless. Well there is design in nature and we should take that word away from the ID movement and define it in a scientific sense….
Yes design is real but that design emerges from the evolutionary process and the laws of physics and chemistry.
Personally, I couldn’t agree more. I really like the sound of Emergent Design. Others in comments on PZ Myer’s post have suggested Natural Design or Evolutionary Design or the longer Evolutionary Emergent Design which may work too. However, I prefer the term Emergent Design because I think it sounds better and it can contain more meaning: Emergent Design can also cover such emergent patterns such as evolutionary programming, fractals, Mandelbrot, etc.
PZ Myers, of the ScienceBlog Pharyngula, doesn’t agree with Ken Miller on this:
Look at all the flailings about over the word “theory”; lay people will hear that word being used by scientists and conclude that the creationists must have been right all along long before they get around to remapping their mental connections to design.
Another problem is of even greater concern. The word “design” carries other implications: purpose, planning, calculation. These are not present in evolution!
PZ Myer’s first argument is that it will just give creationists another means to twist our words. And his second argument is that this new use of design differs from current usage. Neither of these arguments are really valid when discussing the pros and cons of semantic reclamation.
Every time a word is reclaimed it is always the dirty word that everyone shies away from. The words are purposefully being twisted from their traditional meanings. Of course, some terms are not so much reclaimed as empowered such as Black and Gay; however, there are several examples of successful semantic reclamations:
- Punk, something or someone worthless or unimportant; a young hoodlum, becomes the proud Punk rock; and now gets transformed further to a suffix that means a style or movement characterized by the adoption of aggressively unconventional and often bizarre or shocking in both fashion and attitude.
- Queer, disparaging term for homosexuals in the sense of effeminate or unmanly, becomes the proud Queer embracing all who deviate from sexual/gender stereotypes; to now transform and mainstream even further with “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”
- Dyke, used disparagingly by many, but like Punk and Queer it is now used proudly by the many of the same people it meant to insult.
Of course, one could point out that the hip hop cultural use of nigger, bitch, and ho haven’t really been all that successfully reclaimed. However, those terms are still also used negatively within the hip hop culture, which makes it hard for these terms to ever take on a new positive meaning.
What does this all have to do with Intelligent Design you might say? Well in this instance, Design isn’t used exactly as an insult, but it is being used as a means of attack. As a result, it has become the dirty word that scientists must shy away from. By being afraid to use the word Design, we are reinforcing the meaning that ID proponents want it to mean. We are empowering it for them not us.
Ken Miller is right. Anyone who looks at nature can plainly see pattern and design. By allowing the ID camp a monopoly on the word Design we are allowing all perceived design to be a win for the creationists. By instead reclaiming Design as Emergent Design we are reclaiming it and empowering it for ourselves.
September 5, 2007 at 7:36 pm · Filed under Art Freak Culture
With a red eclipsed moon in the sky, a person set forth to burn the Man early. The fire was extinguished, but the Man was a shadow of his former self, and a decision was made by the Man Krew to once again get to work rebuilding it. I was fortunate enough to participate in the rebuild — it was an amazing team of individuals and honestly one of my best experiences ever in the Black Rock Desert.
The controversy surrounding the early burn was one of the most talked about events on and off the Playa and it appeared across several news outlets. Unfortunately most if the gossip and coverage has surrounded the man responsible, Paul Addis, rather than the efforts of the rebuild team and effects it had on the event as a whole.
Paul Addis’s jaded facsimile of wisdom
Paul Addis has been interviewed a few times already, yet he has yet to present a clear reason for his act. Mostly his interviews just come off as rambling screeds of jaded narcissism. He himself has not been to the event since 1998, and yet he seems fit to rant that “Burning Man doesn’t accomplish anything anymore. What do we get out of Burning Man? Nothing.”
What the hell is the we he’s talking about? My first burn was in 2002. I’ve gone every year since — not for the party, or the man burn, or the BMorg, but because of the creative inspiration, empowerment, and fulfillment I get from the community. By the community, I mean the 5% of people who still make shit happen: the artists, the performers, the cooks, the camp organizers, the pranksters, the city builders, and hell even the fucking rave camps. Over the years, I’ve become friends with several of these people and even participated myself in several ways. As a result, I’ve gotten a whole lot out of Burning Man — or else I would have stopped going long ago.
Frankly, Paul Addis stopped being one of those 5% a long time ago. His jaded empty diatribes don’t relate to me or any of my burner friends whose Playa experiences began after Addis stopped going.
The BMorg Bubble
Addis doesn’t represent me or my friends, but neither does the BMorg. If they really wanted to propel the event on to bigger and better things they’d find out what inspires these legions of new burner artists of the Oughts. Why do these people keep pouring their heart, souls, and money into Burning Man projects in the face of crap themes, annoying bureaucracy, asinine yahoos, and ever encroaching police state atmosphere?
But no all we get is even worse themes such as next year’s American Dream, which has to be the most reprehensible themes yet. Obviously, the new theme doesn’t represent the hordes of international burners, but it also rejects the massive number of Burners who go to the Black Rock Desert to escape from the politics and flags they live under.
I know I’m not alone in this abhorrence. Of course many will just ignore the theme and continue to create beautiful art and community, as they have in years past. However, won’t it be better to find a theme that inspires and supports rather than insults and divides?
What’s gone right in the past several years
Rather than just rant, I thought I’d end this with a few words on the positive things I’ve seen happen from the larger Burning Man event:
- The Floating World: the most visually rich theme idea I’ve ever seen, which made the entire playa feel like a interconnected living entity (we need more themes with good visual hooks like this; leave the intellectual depths to the artists)
- The gods at base of the Man in 2003: The man had a dynamic human connection rather than a static symbolic one creating a constant swarm of community at the base of the man
- The Green Man: yeah the environmental push was half-assed, but it’s a start, and at least the theme didn’t feel like cheap freshman new agey philosophy as several others have
- Burning the Man early: leaving the guy who did it out of this, the community effort and cohesion that resulted from the early burn was fabulous.*
* I know I had more connection to Saturday’s burn than I ever had to any other Man Burn. Burners came by day and night to see how the rebuild was progressing, and for once the Man was just like any other art project on the Playa. It was a tangible entity, with real people behind it rather than a spectacle already in place on Monday.
Personally I think the Man should be built this way every year: sure prefab it ahead of time, but start putting it together on Monday and have it raised Wednesday or Thursday, so that the participants can see the work that goes into it. Sure some Man Krew would rather not work during the Burn like this, but I know I would, and I’m sure I could find several others that would join in.
External Links to the events that transpired:
Laughing Squid: Burning Man Set on Fire Early Due To Arson
Laughing Squid: Paul Addis, The Man Accused of Setting Fire to Burning Man
Wired: A Fiery Q&A With the Prankster Accused of Burning the Man
Valleywag: Interview with the accused Burning Man arsonist
Burning Man 2008 Art Theme: American Dream
August 9, 2007 at 3:42 pm · Filed under Art Freak Culture + Life, Meaning, & Selfhood
Many people I know have a love affair with whatever it is they tote stuff around in. Obviously the connection between a woman and her purse can be nearly sacred, but guys too have there bag obsessions.
The bag is an interesting piece of fashion, both functional and ripe with social identifiers.
I remember as a school kid being really picky with my chosen backpack. Growing up as a industrial punk, spike modified military packs were all the rage and the goths all toted their lunchboxes and little black leather handbags just big enough to carry lipstick, white face powder, cigs, and a bit of brimstone.
Gadget, check. Wallet, check. Gadget #2, check. Phone, check. Gadget #3 check.
Choosing the right bag has gotten to be even more of important in the past decade due to the rise in gadget n’ laptop culture. It’s quite fascinating to see what people keep in their bags these days. In fact, there’s even a flickr group dedicated to this called What’s in your bag?
Nowadays it’s hipster messenger bags replacing the uncouth backpack (not the most back-friendly fashion shift) — though backpacks are still cooler than those rolly packs. Also on the way out are briefcases, which have been replaced by the ubiquitous laptop bag. Oh and there’s also the nascent man-purse (aka murse) trend, which is slowly expanding beyond the it’s core metro-sexual set — “no really it’s not a man-purse it’s a gadget bag!” (I admit I’m looking for one — they’re useful)
As a great example of this generation’s romancing the bag, Scott Beale, of Laughing Squid, just posted about his new Timbuk2 Hacker Bag. It’s a well designed back and seems a perfect fit for his photographer/blogger lifestyle. One commenter accused him of timbuk2 product placement — missing completely the real reason behind the post: bag-o-philia.
Confessing my own love for fashionable lugging equipment
I admit I’ve got a strong streak of bag-o-philia myself. And that love combined with what’s left of my punk-roots often leads towards rather beat up bags. I lean towards backpacks rather than messenger bags, and in the past few years I’ve burned through a couple. However the one bag that has lasted for me is my Arkel Bug combination pannier and backpack.
I know most bicyclists go for a messenger bag, but I gotta say unless you need instant access it’s way better not having anything weighing you down or making you back sweat. And the Bug is a fabulous design. Like all their panniers, it’s extremely well made, tough and water resistant, with plenty of sensible storage, and it comes with a lifetime guarantee.
I love my Bug and like Scott Beale’s post this is not a paid product placement just an blatant admission of my passion for a good bag.
UPDATE:
My Arkel Bug is still going strong. In fact it’s lasting longer then my bike. I still really recommend it — as do friends of mine who also picked up bugs recently. However, I thought I should update this post with a couple other options for people who are looking for backpack panniers:
Nashbar makes a Action Pack-n Pannier. Tout-terrain makes a seat post attachable backpack called the Sherpa (go the bottom of the page). Ortlieb makes a weird carry system, which is basically are stow away backpack straps that you can attach to any of their bike panniers into a backpack — neat idea but it probably takes a little bit to set up rather then the pleasurable instant on-off of the Arkel.
If you want to got the DIY route, this guy came up with a pvc attachment method for his normal backpack: see pics here and here. You could also go overboard DIY and make your entire rack yourself out of wood like this guy
