Big City Blog Boy

In the reading, "Technopoly" by Neil Postman, he talks about how technology is both a burden and a blessing. This totally makes sence, because new technologies replace old technonlogies and make consumers have to but newer and more modern gadgents. An example is the 8-track tape player to the IPOD.

8-track tapes were really popular in the 1960's because they were "Totally Groovy" and cost about $300 when they first came out. This is according to people that I know that lived during that time.(my parents)

Obviously, you don't see anyone with an 8-track tape player...actually I've never even seen one in person...but something you do see everywhere is the IPOD. Obvoiusly, the IPOD is much more portable, handy, modern, useful, has a ton of memory, and you can buy it for about $300. This is one of the technologies that made the once $300 8-track tape player extinct. I'm sure that in 40 years the IPOD will cost about $10, if it's even still around and there will be something newer and better to take its place. Like what was said in the reading, "...once a technology is admitted, it plays out its hand; it does what it is designed to do. Our task is to understand what that design is..."

The way that I understand a technology as an order of nature is that after a new technology comes out, humans adapt to it, rely on it, and learn to live with it. An example is cars. I have always been around cars and I can't imagine a life that doesn't involve cars. That is a technology that was introduced and can't be taken away because it has become "natural" for humans to use and rely on cars as their way of transprotation.

To sum up Lance LaVine's lecture...which I think was the best guest lecture we've had...he talked about how Architecture is about everything, how builings show all intelligences of humans, and how buildings give ideas and house history. I never thought about any of that until he said it and I have now begun to realize how true those statements are.
Buildings show human intelligences because we can build pretty much whatever we can imagine...as long as we have the budget for it... Our buildings show that we, as humans, have an understanding for gravity, wind resistance, ground movement, different soils, and the Coriolis effect.
Lance also talked about how architects look at old buildings (mainly cathiedrals) in order to understand architecture. This is very apparent because when you look at many of the first skyscrapers, they are very catiedral and gothic looking. Some examples are the Tribune Tower in Chicago, the Woolworth Building and the Chrysler Building in New York City, and the PPG Place in Pittsburgh.

Cartres Cathiedral

Tribune Tower (built in 1925)

Woolworth Building (built in 1913)

Chrysler Building (built in 1930)

PPG Place (built in 1984)