The Museum of Jurassic Technology

Technology is defined as "the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes," however in this digital age, most people have a much more narrow view of technology.  Most people think of computers, cell phones and many of the other recent innovations that reflect current scientific breakthroughs. Hundreds of years ago though, breakthroughs in science and engineering were much more primitive. So when I walked into the Museum of Jurassic Technology, I was surprised to find exhibits about superstition and art the size of a pinhead. It is interesting to think about these trends in human thinking to current culture.

The first exhibit that I became interested in talked about many different superstitions and the home remedies that people used to apply against them. Superstitions can be classified as technology by the definition above because they apply current scientific knowledge (or lack there of) to every day life.   example, some people would make their children eat whole mice on toast to cure stammering.  Now, we would never eat mice on toast because studies have found that there in no correlation between mice pie and the voice box. I think this might have worked only because kids were so mortified by eating mice bones and fur that they were conditioned to stop stuttering. Today, superstitious tend to focus on luck, religion and other topics that we do not have definitive knowledge about. 

Some other exhibits including my favorite where they showed ex-rays of flowers to show their internal organs more directly showed the evolution of individual thought through science, but other parts of the museum just started to confuse me. For example, I listened to a recording that talked about an a virus that infects ants in rain forests and sprouts brightly colored fungi from their remains. I struggled to see how each of the exhibits corresponded to one another and to the museum as a whole. I guess even the natural aspects of the museum, represent different items and phenomena that helped to increase the base of human understanding and experience.  

The museum seemed like it was a collection of random artifacts, and it was. But because they covered such a wide range of topics from religion to trailer parks, dice to pinhead art a larger conclusion can be made. Humans make assumptions about the world around them based on what they have seen and experienced, this manifests itself in everyday actions and production (technology). I was interested to think why did this person decide to devote his time to creating art out of butterfly wings? While it is impossible to know the answer to this question, it is sure that the motivation came from his beliefs about the world around him and was made possible by advancement in tools that enabled him to precisely cut and place teeny pieces of wings. The museum draws together these relics from the past in order that we may understand better the knowledge that existed before more recent findings. It talks both about the collectivity of human knowledge and the uniqueness of individual experience to produce novel goods and perceptions of life. 

Kleine Welt

In this short interactive video called Kleine Welt, or Small World, the narrators perspective of small town life came through by guiding the audience through a series of slides and stories. At first, I thought it was really interesting to be able to choose what slides you went through and create your own story within the larger project. However, as I got closer to the end, my choice became less and less. By the end of the project, there were many slides with only one red box to click on and advance to the next slide. I started to think what this lack of choice meant about living in a small town. You make initial choices about how you want to live, but being in a small town really limits your free will and choice. I wondered if everyone was given the same narrow choices at the end like I was. It is really important in flash, at least to me, to have the choice between hotspots mean something that relates to your project as a whole. Choice lets the audience get involved with the story, and become invested in its progress, but if it does not increase the understanding of the main point of a project, I do not think it should be utilized. In this project, I felt that choice and interactivity were used effectively because it enabled me to explore the town like I would normally. 

My Second Life

This weekend, I began to explore the mystical world of Second Life. In this online planet, avatars can explore, make friends, buy property and even fly.  The opportunities are endless, just like in real life. For me, however, I could not connect emotionally to my avatar, nor could I master the rules that govern Second Life. All in all, I believe that Second Life may be a good outlet for some people, but I could not get into it. 

It was interesting to see the creations other Second Life members had made, and the imagination that came into creating objects such as this strawberry seat. The world is actually very beautiful. This night scene depicted had waterfalls and palm trees everywhere. Exploration also brought me to arctic tundras, tropical islands, and even Korea. Walking around in this virtual world expanded the number of places an individual could go. For someone who is generally confined to a homogenous environment, Second Life could provide a way to get out of the everyday confines of life. For me, I would rather step out my own front door and explore the real world.  Another aspect of the game that I would not buy into is the actual purchasing of Linden with real US dollars. Second Life users can buy property and material objects for their avatars to enjoy, however I could not justify spending my real money on an intangible, virtual house. 

My avatars name is Opal Burner. I was supposed to be able to change her appearance however I wanted, but for some reason, she is now wearing two skirts and has hair covering half of her face. I tried. This disconnect in control was another reason I could not get into Second Life.  I need to become more literate in the Second Life language before I make my final judgement, but as of now I do not understand where the main areas of business are, nor how to maneuver my avatar through the virtual world effectively. This disconnect may have contributed to my inability to bond with my avatar. I ended up flying through mountains, sinking in the rivers, and overall got very lost. 

I will try Second Life again soon, hopefully with better results.