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Nature and the Idea of a Man-Made World

2006-12-12T03:23:43Z

Over the course of the reading “Nature and the Idea of a Man-Made World,�? Norman Crowe takes the listener through what he believes to be the differences between the natural world and the man-made world. When is the line drawn as to what is purely nature and what is man-made? Below are five key points that he brings up about the natural world:

farmcentre.com/english/photogallery/page3.htm

1) When explaining the point of the book, Crowe says describes the difference between the man-made world and the world of nature as that of their interaction with each other and the fact that what we create make up our world but not the natural world. But doesn’t saying this basically mean that every last thing that we do or action that we take will have a consequent that exists not in the natural but the man-made? This confused me very much as there are examples of things humans do that I still consider part of nature. For example, isn’t planting trees, fruit, vegetables, etc. part of our natural world. What are being planted is actual seeds produced by natural plants yet it takes a human action to plant them. Maybe this wasn’t exactly what he was talking about as most of the things that humans do are very much part of the human world and not natural, but there are still things such as this that are done to the natural world as positive things.

www.environmentalschools.org/.../introduction/

2) Crowe determines that “our understanding of nature configures the way we approach both the environment that we create and the environment in which our creation resides in�? (7). He concludes that beauty in the built environment becomes a question of the idea of nature as well. I most definitely agree with what he is trying to tell us in this paragraph. I believe that a person that is grown up in the woods or even in the country is not going to have nearly the same view of what the difference is between the human and natural world as a person that grows up in the inner city. Someone that lives in the country is probably going to cherish everything in their surroundings as most times they live off of the land and are supported by it. On the other hand, people living in bigger cities may not necessarily realize where they get their food, and what nature really does do for us.

www.internetbrothers.com/blueridge_pic4.htm

3) He then explains that the balance between the human and natural world is not the same for everyone. It depends on everyone’s “world view�? which is determined by individual beliefs of their surroundings. I thought that this was a perfect explanation to my question of where the difference between the natural and human world is drawn. An example that I’ve always questioned is that of a log cabin in the thick woods. To me even if this log cabin is not furnished and is simply made out of the logs that were taken from the forest, I’m not sure that I could call this nature. In my opinion that is taking away from nature to create space for man which would then be part of the human world. To others this may however be nature, and the reading tells us that that is only because of our difference in world views.

www.gorzow.mm.pl/~bebelebe/

4) After reading on from the last point, I realized that he explained exactly what I was inquiring. Crowe said that the balance between the worlds is always changing due to many external forces that many can’t even control. He points to religion, culture, science, and simply personal experiences as the things that truly influence ones view on the human vs. natural world. This is totally true, as for some people even a simple trip to a “natural�? place on the earth can change the way they feel about nature, or the way somebody finds religion may lead them to believe what is natural, or finally simply reading research can influence what one believes. These things are special to each person only on that personal level, and may only power them to change their views.

spin-doctor.us/web/index.php?module=ContentEx...

5) Finally, Norman addresses the problem that humans don’t realize how much they are connected to nature, and how much the public as a whole is hurting not only the environment but also themselves. This is quite possibly the biggest problem, I believe, that results from people having different views of what is and is not natural or man-made. The rise in global warming is not natural. It is the result of humans not taking care of the environment by emitting large amounts of pollution into the air. The effects that humans have on the environment are incredibly serious and in the long-run will begin to hurt the environment much, much more.

Computers = World

2006-12-04T04:50:56Z

The articles by Neil Gershenfeld called “Fab,�? and by Louis Kahn called “Essential Texts,�? were very much similar in their narrative of the relation of visual things to other things in the physical world. In the reading by Gershenfeld he says “If the world is a computer, then the science of computing is really the science of science�? (4). When reading this it immediately made me think that computers actually do help the world become what it is. My last blog response had to do with technopolies, and one of my examples was about computers and the internet. Even though there are some drawbacks to computers there are no doubt that they have improved the world as a whole. This led me into my comparison between the two articles. In the second article by Kahn he says that “light enabled people to see and experience space and structure�? (228). When I tried to analyze this quote I immediately thought about light being compared to the computer in the first article. There is no doubt that programs on PCs help people to understand space and structure better and easier. With new technology and graphics that make things look real it is amazing what people can do with computers. In the most recent lecture given in Architecture 1701, we discussed the virtual or digital world and the fact that it is split into many different categories. When applying the computer to the lecture, you could pretty much place it in all of the categories in how the first computer became PCs. The size of the computer shrunk, the complexity went down as it became very much user friendly, and the acceleration or speed of the computer has increased beyond anyone’s dreams.

www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Science/Comp.html

www.krunker.com/.../computers/laptops/page/2

Technopolies

2006-11-19T19:12:48Z

In his article “Technopolies,�? Neil Postman shows the opposite side that most people think about when it comes to technology. The common thought of most people is that most technology is good for everyone. Postman would call these people technophiles as they “… see [technology] as without blemish and entertaining no apprehension for the future.�? However as people look at these new technologies as good they must not be taking into affect all the different kinds of people or parts of the earth that they affect. Below are two perfect examples of how things may be a perfect upgrade for a certain group of people but may hurt a lot of others.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/whurleyvision/135697081/

-E-Mail-
E-mail speeds up the communication that corporations and small businesses have with everyone from clients to business partners, however is this it? Is e-mail seriously only beneficial to all? Not necessarily says Neil Postman. There is always a negative aspect to all technologies. When it comes to e-mail for instance what happens to personal computers and people who use it simply recreationally. Sure they can send an e-mail to anyone, but how about the junk mail, or spam, that corporations send daily to e-mail accounts. A mail box can overflow with this type of mail and it takes literally hours to search through it all, and that still doesn’t stop it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/howrad/51640739/

-SUVs-
Many automobile companies have been going in a direction that is going towards fuel efficient cars. But at the same time we still have companies coming out with powerful SUVs. Obviously these vehicles are necessary for certain tasks such as heavy towing or carrying things, but for the average family these sorts of vehicles are not necessary. Most people don’t realize the ridiculous amounts of pollution these vehicles are causing that in the end could ruin our environment and climate completely.

In the end, more people need to become aware to what technology is beneficial to them and what actually in the end could be very harmful to not only them but the people around them and nature. We want to protect our earth for as long as we can and also stay as healthy as we can but to do so we need to be more careful with our research and buying power.

Mathematics and Design

2006-11-05T23:57:02Z

When thinking about combining design and mathematics, I automatically think about proportions and why things are designed the way they are. A door frame is usually 80 inches tall, and that’s not just because it’s somebody’s favorite number. They make doors that tall, or put windows at certain heights, or ceilings so tall because they take the average human body into their thinking. Realizing that an average man is about 6 feet tall they are obviously going to give them more headroom. Things like this are specialized for certain customers, but normally the architect designs for what a normal customer would like. If you make a ceiling to small, the residents are going to feel claustrophobic. It does not stop at architects however, as all designers take proportion into account. Sculptors think about how a human would look and create their art off of that. Clothing designers think about what fit is going to look best on their client. All of this measurement and planning brings mathematics into their head. People have known about this forever. Drawings by Leonardo da Vinci and the ones below by Adolphe Armand Braun are perfect examples of how people think in terms of the human body.

www.artlex.com/ArtLex/Pr.html

Oppositions and their Resolutions

2006-10-22T21:07:46Z

http://home.planet.nl/~petermk/turkey/_kapadokia11_3.html

During the two lectures we had in class on oppositions, I really enjoyed the first opposition that was talked about; the struggle between man and physical nature and landscape. We went through many examples within the opposition, but one that struck me as the most amazing was the “Dig in�? example. Even more specifically, I was amazed by the dwellings in Kapadokia, Turkey. Living in the mountainous region in which they chose, there was no real option to create structures on that ground. So they decided to instead to construct their buildings in to the surrounding mountains as shown in the picture above. This is amazing to me as it is aesthetically very cool looking and at the same time very convenient as the structure is already there and there is no building to be done only carving out. The shelter is all natural and the roof over your head is literally tons of rock. This response was called enveloping oppositions, which means taking the extremes and enveloping them into the boundaries to which you can work.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/spike55151/14471576/

Another opposition that I found incredible in class was the opposition of permanence and entropy. Right away I thought of the physics definition of entropy and the fact that there are so many things can go astray in the physical world just by so many different things affecting an object all at once. I believe a perfect example of this opposition is the house “Falling Water�? by Frank Lloyd Wright. This house, all of you know, was built on a small waterfall in the middle of the woods in Pennsylvania. This specific piece of the land that the family purchased was probably not the first spot they expected to put their house one, but they did it anyway. This house stands today as one of the finest pieces of architecture in the nation because of its timelessness. The waterfall and the danger of the forest brings up the problem of entropy, but that was no problem for the master-mind/architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The resolution that I believe Mr. Wright enforced here was that of “probabilistic responses to the opposition.�? He thought about what could all go wrong and where the problem spots might be and he tested them to withstand whatever nature was to through at it.

Phenomenon

2006-10-08T21:37:55Z

www.ioncmaste.ca

Naturally the largest scale phenomenon that one can comprehend is the Solar System. The basic definition that we talked about in class of a phenomenon is “a complex system that incorporates things, frameworks, and clockworks.�? This said the solar system is a perfect example of what a phenomenon is and how one works. The clockwork in the solar system specifically is that every move of a planet can be calculated because of the pull that the sun has on each planet and the planets have on each other. For instance, we know that there are exactly 365 days in a year here on earth where there are 248 days in a year on Pluto. The framework of the solar system lies in the distances that changes between each planet constantly and how it can always be calculated. A perfect example of this is how the earth is closer to the sun in the summer months and travels farther away during the winter months in its elliptical orbit. Finally, the things, which are the first level of phenomenon, are the objects that exist in the universe that affect what happens to the other objects in the universe. This includes anything from stars to planets which take up space and effect each other.

"Genius Loci" of a meaningful place

2006-10-02T01:40:27Z

When I first learned about the idea of a “genius loci,�? or the spirit of a place, my mind automatically scrolled through vacations that I had taken and special times spent with friends. Obviously all of these were very special to me, but then I began to think about competition, specifically in my prep cross country career. The competitive nature that each athlete holds in cross country, or any sport for that matter, brings something special to the places you perform at. I could say this for a lot of the races that I have ever run, but the Oshkosh North sectional meet is special. I only ran this meet three years, but it remains hands down the event that I will never forget.

My sophomore year we went into the very competitive meet not thinking we had too much of a chance to move on to state. Everyone believed however that there still was a slight possibility. The race absolutely flew by and nobody knew what just happened until they saw their times. Every last one of the people on our team had run their best times ever. Not only that, but we made it to state as a team.

There’s something about the energy that everyone has from the second that gun goes off, to the time they cross the finish line that could not compare to anything else I have experienced. My fastest three times ever came on that course. Now there is no way that you can tell me that is not a coincidence. With everyone’s emotions running full throttle the place heightens all of your senses and abilities and almost carries you through the race.

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Social design issue

2006-09-24T22:29:05Z

In a big city like Minneapolis I believe that there is only one thing that is missing when it is compared to other cities in the nation. When it comes to New York City specifically, one of the main things that stands out is the presence of Central Park. The idea of a major place to get away from the big city atmosphere and be able to relax and do anything from read a book under a tree, feed some ducks in a small pond, bird watch, or even just walk the trails. From what I've seen of the city there are definitely some accessible running and biking trails along the river, and there seem to be smaller grassy areas and parks but there is not a major park where a lot of Minneapolis residence can relax. It would also be very convinient to put it near the University campus so that many of the stressed out students good go to hang out or even get some studying time in.

Midtown Market

2006-09-18T02:16:26Z

In my travels to 22nd and Lake St. I was not quite sure what to expect. Unfortuntately, our trip led to an empty parking lot next to the local YWCA. So to explain the energy in the area I would have to say it flowing incredibly slowly or possibly not at all. As there was nothing in the area except for a few puddles and the heavy traffic on the street near by. The market was not in session at this point in the evening and actually only is in service on Tuesdays and Saturdays.