Archive of ‘Ecologies of Noticing’ category
The paradox of value
Saw this video some time back and thought it was interesting. After reading Bogost’s Chap 1 & 2, this video made so much sense now.
Water is cheaper than diamond but it doesn’t mean that it is less valuable than diamond. In a situation when we are trapped in a dessert, a water bottle values more than a diamond. Again, it is not about how much things values but what each item can do. If we take out “human theory” in this video and let the otology of diamond and water speaks for itself, can a diamond outdo water? We focus too much on the value of diamonds and we undermined the importance of water.
Today, we discuss the philosophy of how things works in the age of machines.
Uber- the largest cab company without owning any vehicles
AirBnB- the largest rental company without owning any properties
Apple- the largest media company without producing any media content
this theory would sound ridiculously stupid 10-20 years ago but this is how the “system” works now. People tend to see apple as a software/technology company that produce both innovative hardwares and softwares because we only see what apple means and not what apple can do. It changed my perspective when Adrian mentioned how Apple is the largest media publishing company.
By using the Apple illustration, I had a better understanding of the projects and the readings.
I guess, we often focus too much of what an object means and not what it can do- by doing so, we tend to neglect the impact of the object, and not utilising them.
Project updates:
We went to flagstaff garden to observe the happenings in the garden, complied a list of things and sound we heard- the list was massive, we had problem selecting and categorising the list to structure our script initially but we’ve decided to pick random numbers off the list instead of choosing and structuring them because everything in the list are things that represent/describe/part of Flagstaff garden.
We wrote our script and we are in the midst of recording the soundscape.
Is language the enemy of the “List”?
Base on Bogost Chapter 2-
” When made of languages, lists remind the literary-obsessed that the stuff of things is many”
” List do not just rebuff the connecting powers of language but rebuff the connecting powers of being itself”
According to Richard F. Kitchener’s theory
Connecting powers of language-based human’s definition and observation (Ontography)
Connecting powers of bring itself ( Ontology)
Are we over analysing things base on human language/definition/theory?
Decided to make my own list while reading Bogost chapter 2 on Ontography
electric, ink, pink, dust, velvet, sticky , food stains, tree, cotton, birds, transport, gravity, engine, bugs, softwares, church bell ringing, vision, upbeat and the list goes on..
Double Loop Learning (C. Argyris) Argyris (1976) proposes double loop learning theory which pertains to learning to change underlying values and assumptions. The focus of the theory is on solving problems that are complex and ill-structured and which change as problem-solving advances.
Adrian discussed about our approach in our reading and essays. We need to observe our practice, I tend to get anxious whenever it comes to submissions and deadline, I realised that I’ve spent too much time worrying about time when I should be more anxious about the process of understanding during my readings.
I need to change my mindset towards readings and assignments- I tend to get through the readings even if I don’t understand them.
There is this Chinese proverbs that says ” 活到老学到老“ it means you are always learning as you grow and there is no age limit in learning. We learn news things everyday, new word, new recipes, new formula, new applications etc.
We are also very much often dependent on the internet. When I see an unfamiliar word, I will google search it immediately and that’s how i learn new words. When we see something new, we will probably describe it on the internet and we will try to find out what is it, what does it do, will it harm us etc? What if we don’t have the internet? We will probably spend more time observing every move of the object, it’s reaction to different situation etc. It will definitely take a longer time for us to learn but what we see is what we get, we are not dependent on information from others/ the internet.
Are we selective in our observation?
Are we trained to observe differently? How?
Does our upbringing and cultures affect how we observe?
Ignoring certain observation does not mean that it doesn’t exist.
There are different approach to this assignment and after watching 10 other videos, I find that adaptability is one of the qualities that matters. Can our audience relate to the video or the message behind the video?
If we listen to the script and watch the visuals separately, it contains its own message. The skill here is the ability to blend different forms of media into one video. the visuals, audio, script and editing.
It is like making a good cup of coffee, the ability to pull a good espresso shot, not too coarse and not too fine and frothing milk at the right temperature( between 50-70 degrees). Pour the milk into the shots so that our customer can enjoy a good cup of coffee.
After watching my own work a couple times, it could be done a lot better.
I spent most of my time finding the right footage to fit my voice over but I should have spent the same amount of time editing and figuring out the pace of the video. After watching Cameron’s work, I realised I could have explored more in editing and Nora’s work, I could have explored more in scripting- the perspective of the object.
Now I understand why we were instructed to spend 25 mins for each section to draft our script in the first place. we should also spend more time crafting and exploring how we should work on different forms of media.
Every process is equally important. I harvested some good coffee beans but I’ve spent lesser time crafting on my skills on the coffee machine.
A friend sent me a personality test link on Facebook, spent a good 10 mins answering the list of questions and I got my personality test results- according to the test, my personality type is a defender with a whole list of individual traits. true to a certain extend, period. nothing changed or nothing will change because of this test.
Another friend said she went to the psychic recently and she told us how accurate her prediction from the psy was. I don’t believe in such things , or maybe because I haven’t been to one yet. I find that most predictions are general and whenever the psy predict something, we tend to find the closest relation to the prediction.
Do we define ourselves or do we allow others to define us?
I find this article ( How to stop “flipping “) useful and could relate well to the term flipping.
In my opinion and observation with advanced technology, our brain and attention spent is trained to work in a fast paced environment where we could get anything and everything instantly. When was the last time we spent the whole afternoon reading a good book? Or When was the last time we had an actual face to face conversation with a friend/family member and not through text?
I’ve learnt a new term – sclerotic management: becoming rigid and unresponsive, losing the ability to adapt.
Problems with advance technology – with short attention spent, we lose the ability to adapt and we tend to follow rules/system, becoming rigid. which links back to Tuesday’s discussion about Technological determinism( please correct me if the term is wrong) how much control do we have in the chain of agencies in our lives?
Last thoughts- I’ve been watching Black Mirror on Netflix and it scares me how technology takes over the future of humanity.
