“We may die rich, we may die poor. But we certainly shall not die of boredom.” (Prince Roy Bates, of the Principality of Sealand) When the Bates family took over the WWII anti-aircraft platform called Roughs Tower in the 1960s it was still outside of the British territorial waters. Since its conception, both sides […]
This is what we know — We have transformed roughly 3/4 of Earth’s land that is not covered in ice. Our use of fossil fuels has acidified the oceans and dramatically raised temperatures. We have influenced entire species of flora and fauna, often causing extinction. Humans presently influence over 50% of the planet’s river systems […]
[“at the onset of a process of self-organization…the mechanisms become extremely sensitive to minor fluctuations in the environment…”naturally selecting” one assembly pattern over another” -Manuel DeLanda, Nonorganic Life ] Many of our networks can be described as “alive” because, while they are not made of biological tissue, they have become so complex, that the […]
There is no argument that the world is getting smaller with technological advancement such as the wheel, the boat, and internet. One has no choice but to surrender to the idea that they are a part of this invisible network, whether they like it or not. Today, globally the main form of exports is information. […]
The earth is in constant reconstruction. Organisms constantly collect and stockpile resources. Naturally waves, wind, even the moving earth are all effects that are prone to organize and move resources. Almost every action has an effect of stockpiling. By this definition all actions can be looked at as an organism. Biologically by consuming, certain elements […]
What defines the boundary between a network of life and systems that is one organism and the greater network in which that organism lives? In our discussion last Wednesday, it was mentioned that “I” is sort of superficial because “I” (referring to a single human body) is actually referring to a combination of systems […]
One of the very first pages of the Geologic Now PDF has a string of phrases across the page. One reads “Design for an Infinite Quarantine”. In the context of the readings, I realized that we are the infectious disease and it is the earth that needs to be protected. Over the time humans have […]
In Solaris, as well as most science fiction, the interior architecture of space ships or interplanetary habitats is usually very cold and unaccommodating. Is this correlated to the negative psychological effects of space travel exhibited in the characters (loneliness, anxiety, paranoia, loss of identity, etc.)? Will a more humanized architecture help ease the transition into unfamiliar habitats? What qualities and methods of design would […]
“The more you can change, the more you can adapt. Adaptation is fitness, adaptation is survival. It’s deeper than intelligence, deeper than tissue; it is cellular, it is axiomatic.” The Thing, Peter Watts There have been many assumptions about what the future has in store for us and how to plan for such situations. However, […]
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