transparency – Citizens Of Culture

Is It Technology Or Magic?

C2O Editor Conversation Pieces arthur c. clark, magic, technology, transparency 0

In the day and age of smart phones, space travel, and virtual reality it is easy to find yourself in disbelief. If you take a moment to acknowledge the wonderful technological progress that we are surrounded by it becomes clear that our ancestors would not immediately be able to navigate our world if they were somehow transported here. Even though we have an operational proficiency at the use of modern devices most of us have no greater understanding of the inner workings of the cell phones we use everyday than some one who is just using it for the first time. This is a situation brought about in large part by the digital era which has removed the observable functions of mechanics from our view.

Once we could take apart anything we bought with household tools and after some tinkering, trouble shoot or repair them ourselves. All analog and mechanical objects have moving parts that can be traces and revers engineered by investigating their components and assembly. If you wanted to understand an automobile you simply had to look under the hood. Now opening the hood of a car shows you a flat box encasing a power cell where the engine should be.

Everything from typewriters to telephones have gotten increasingly sleek in their design and complex in their operation. Certainly, each analog process has its own educational barriers to entry, but much of this could be uncovered through some trial and error and empirical study. The digital world has systemic parameters that must be operated within. Before completing a hardware build a computer engineer must consider what software will be installed and a knowledgeable Naperville Managed IT Services person should have a deep understanding of this technology adn software used inside the computer. When designing softwares, a programmer must consider compatibilities there as well. This is not to say that these considerations did not have to be made in the analog world but there were far fewer browser versions and file types to manage. Analog technologies also updated less frequently.

British writer Sir Arthur C. Clarke once wrote, “Any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic.” This seems to ring absolutely true, especially in the case of 3d printing UK. If you are a mac user and your personal computer begins to malfunction, your individual options are terribly limited before you have to bring it in to a technician for diagnosis. As sleek and beautiful as these designs are there is something particularly cold about them. Despite the broad functionality of all the digital devices around us they are not as modular as the products of days of old. In contrast this is what many computer users value about PCs, the fact that they can customize, and build them from scratch.

The closed source, sleek nature of certain designs represents a patriarchal approach to our products even though some of the brands themselves, have come to represent and be adapted by creatives. For many of us our only concern is that it works, reliably, with disregard for how. But that lack of concern for how things work, directly relates to the manufacturing, and business practices that drive business.

If you thought that inside of your car was a hamster wheel and acceleration would inflict a pain on the animal to run faster you might reconsider supporting the brand that would put creatures in harms way. As this is a far cry, it is not a far cry from what has been done with animal testing in the beauty industry. Our results oriented focus has truly led to stellar innovations at hidden costs. What it takes to uphold the world we live in may be more than we bargained for. We might also be perfectly okay with all of the collateral effects that come with our lifestyles but wouldn’t you like the option to know?

Some say this level of transparency is distracting and unnecessary, or that it could lead to the uncovering of trade secrets. It can also lead to a better understanding of the inner workings of not only our devises, but our society at large. In exchange for convenience we give up something. We give up knowledge and perhaps a little bit of freedom but the real situation maybe that we do not actually want to know. Since we are preoccupied with the function of our objects, how they do so becomes a mystery. A mystery as inexplainable as well, magic.

DECEPTION: Half-Truth, Transparency, and Wonder

Maceo Paisley by Maceo Paisley, Conversation Pieces, Publisher's Note deception, edward snowden, julian assange, transparency 0

We’ve all been lied to. Believe it or not, everyone has also lied. It is a part of life and humanity that we do not often speak of. Something inside us holds on to the idea that we are all noble at core. Values based society honors truth and fairness but that is often at odds with our interests, our feelings, and even our well-being. It is this society itself that we trust is help together by mutually beneficial agreements to uphold higher ideals, but as we have come to know in recent years it may not be an entirely trust based system. But what are we to do?

If we can not put faith in the religious, government, and corporate institutions that hold our civilization who can we rely on? This question has become particularly interesting to me as a member of the creative community. At core, the notion of citizenry implies a sense of duty not only to contribute to our culture but in some way help police it. Who then is to police those charged with maintaining order. We will browse the now famous stories of Edward Snowden and Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, less for the narrative and more to seek underlying intent behind their actions. Are they rebels, heroes, anarchists? I find it impossible to answer myself what I would do in their shoes.

But deception is not all about conspiracies and threats. Sometimes it is as simple as telling a loved one a white lie to protect them. “Honey, yes you look fabulous in that tie!” ,is a common example of these little instances of the half-truths we tell to even people we care most about. We do this of course to pad their feelings but it is amazing how these are accepted lies in our society. Even a young child learns to cross his fingers behind his back when telling a fib. The question is, at what point do the consequences of these lies override the pleasant feelings they invoke? For the artist, especially the one who engages in commercial endeavors this is a pivotal and reoccurring question. We’re always asking ourselves if we are selling out, or acting from a place of integrity.

Even still, as artists we take great pride to show polished professional works that often require a but of deceptions themselves. The magic of Hollywood is an industry that’s primary tool is the deceiving of the senses. With the new proliferation of virtual reality this is taken even a step further. Since the advent of photography we have sought to create evermore convincing mediums to fool the brain. Wonder is one of the greatest assets of the entertainment world. Without a sense of realism our ability to immerse in the story is radically deteriorated.

With all these instances it becomes clear that these deceits are not only acceptable, but sometimes enjoyable, and often completely necessary as a function of our lives, relationships, and society. After this month we hope to have a better hold on when and where out boundaries lay and reach a greater understanding of the famous words of Colonel Nathan R. Jessup in A Few Good Men,

“You can’t handle the truth!”

-MP-