Synesthesia

Before researching Synesthesia I had no idea what this word meant. Nor did I realize that there were many different types of Synesthesia or that up to 4 percent of the population has some form of synesthesia. One of the types of Synesthesia which is the most common, deals with a person who may associate individual numbers or letters with a specific color. I tried to do this myself with associating a number with a color but I could not picture anything that solidified what the letter S represents other than it’s the letter of my first name and my favorite color is blue, so naturally S should be blue. I don’t think this qualifies me as someone with this ability.

If you had the ability to combine multiple senses, I think it would allow you to see the world in a more artistic way because you have a way to identify certain objects, sounds, colors or words and give them a distinct characteristic. It could also be very limiting for example if you associate the shape of a circle with the color red, then would every circle you draw have to be red, or do you just see it that way and can make a conscious choice to change the color to purple or something else, but still knowing full well that it should be red.

I found a website that gives you a little test to see if you may have any signs of this condition. You can check it out here: http://www.synesthesiatest.org/

What is even more interesting to me are people that have the ability to actually evoke a certain taste when they associate or hear certain words. This is a very rare form called, Lexical-Gustatory Synesthesia. It would be interesting to see what words had what flavor, and if you could taste it after hearing a specific word, would you also crave that food or be disgusted by it?

The biggest take away from learning about Synesthesia is that everyone perceive reality in a variety of ways. This also makes me think how no two people see color the same way or how subjective a piece of art is to each individual. If I could pick a type of Synesthesia to have it would be the ability to taste color. I want to know what blue tastes like.

Thomas Heatherwick: Building the Seed Cathedral

The designs and Architecture of Thomas Heatherwick seem to break the mold of what we are use to seeing in design and everyday building structure. From the examples he presented in his TED talk, I was left thinking why are we not seeing more of this in modern Architectural design? Each one of his projects seemed to take into account how the design was going to be used, the message or experience it was sending to the viewer, and how well it was going to work with the natural surroundings.

I particularly liked the design of the rolling bridge that became a circular sculpture when it lifts out of the way. This was a completely new approach on how bridges normally would open and its not only still functional, but it makes the bridges purpose more interesting and exciting for the user.

The UK Pavilion project gave Heatherwick Studios the opportunity to create a unique representation of their country without employing outdated stereotypes. By focusing their design on a small area allowing the remaining area to become a public space it gave their design a focal space that kept it separate from the Expo’s other pavilions. The design itself reminded me of a sea anemone, that gracefully flowed among the waves.

What I observed most about Heatherwicks designs were the way he used arches and curved lines in most of his work. You do not see a lot of hard lines in his work and each design seems to flow in harmony with the surroundings. Each of his architectural designs and renderings of buildings are not only intellegent use of space but they are also very inviting to the viewer. If I could incorporate this idea in the way I design my next studio I think I will add some elements of curves and find more ways of making it work within it’s natural surroundings.
   

TED: Heather Knight: Silicon-based comedy

Heather Knight brings up an interesting point in her TED that explores the interactivity between robots, and humans. She states “ It’s just a robot. It doesn’t have feelings.....yet”. Which makes me wonder just how far away are we from robots making emotional decisions? I like the idea of using robots to tell jokes or for entertainment purposes but where will we be even 10 years from now when a Robot not only can tell the jokes, but maybe learn your emotional state and make decisions on how to react to you based on your mental state.

A robot that tells jokes seems harmless, but it just makes me wonder where do we go from here? As you watch the audience react to the robots jokes, you almost forget that its just moving parts and electronics up there, and you start to almost humanize the robot on some level. The technology used in robotics seems to be developing so fast that at some point we may have to ask ourselves “how human do we really want robots to be?”

 If I were to relate this to my own design it might be to think of how I could add that human element of connection to my videos. If you can connect with your audience with humor, excitement or emotional level that solidifies that human connection, than you have created a lasting impression.

First Amendment Findings

When analyzing the 1st Amendment and trying to decipher the outdated text, I realized that many people may not understand all that this amendment entails. I rewrote it to state: The government will do nothing to prevent the expression of ideas to those that are interested in hearing or reading about them, nor will it do anything to promote or stifle the practice of any religious faith. Nor will it prevent the citizens from peacefully protesting or expressing opposition towards the government.

I asked 4 people their opinion of this definition. I interviewed a male in his 20’s, a female in her 50’s, a female in her 60’s, and a female in her 30’s. Each had a little different take on this definition. They all felt that the freedom of expressing ideas was a good thing, but a few felt that the freedom of religion allowed for radicals to abuse this right.

I was surprised to find out that there really was no pattern. I found that the location of where the person lived, and their background, impacted their opinion more than the age. The male who lived in Texas felt very strongly that American’s should have this right, however felt that there needs to be limit on these freedoms when it comes to people who are in the U.S. illegally. That illegal aliens should not have these same rights. 

The women in her 50’s lives here in Washington and her main focus was on the limits that are already implemented on Christians. She felt that the freedom of speech has been denied because a Christian can no longer say “Merry Christmas.” She mentioned the Sea-Tac Christmas tree debate. The woman in her 60’s was from Wyoming, she supports this freedom as long as it does not infringe on other’s rights. She focused on the religious extremist who would allow their children to die instead of get medicine, because they believe it’s in God’s hands. She lives in a very rural area and there are Amish settlements nearby. 

The last interview was a woman in her 30’s. She listens to the news daily and she supports the right of freedom to protest as long as it didn’t encroach on other’s rights. She mentioned the religious radicals who protest at innocent people’s funerals. All of these people had great examples of when we might need to place a limit on our rights.

These interviews made me realize that like so many other written texts, the 1st Amendment can be defined in various ways based on a person’s age, background, and area of residents. Each person put their personal take on these questions and gave local examples of their concerns. I think it would be a good idea to modernize this amendment so it is better explained to protect everyone’s rights equally and not allow for there to be loopholes that allow people to press their beliefs onto others. Each person has a right to their beliefs but no one has a right to belittle or slander someone else’s beliefs and opinions, and as of now this law blurs that line between expressing one’s opinion and putting down others.

Propaganda Poster

Media Ethics

    I think Spiderman says it best when he says, “With Great power comes great responsibility.”   We all are given so much more power in communication than ever before as the Internet takes our words across the planet and thousands of people can be impacted by a story.  That line between our freedom of speech and accuracy of news stories has become blurred. In all 3 podcast we learn a little about not only our place as bloggers, facebook posters, and twitter fanatics but also the new form of journalism and what roles these news anchors, journalist, TV hosts play in this modern world of communication.
    The first story ‘We Decide you Report” asks the question, is it ok for the journalist to pander their works towards the audience?  The interviewer wants to know when is reporting no longer about news but more about what the audience wants.  The Second story “Sue you!” is a story about the legal battle between a blogger and the person they were slandering in their blog.  It focuses on the first amendment and makes us ask the question, when is the first amendment no longer protected for an individual.  The last story “People in holes” goes back to the first story about selling news for the audience.  It focuses on mankind’s morbid fascination with people being trapped underground.  It goes back to the original podcasts question, does a journalist cater to an audience and when is news for the ratings and not the story.
    In all of these stories there were a few places where I was a bit shocked by what I heard.  The first story, the interviewer seemed to be a bit jaded about news stories catering to an audience instead of just telling news.  This is a tough call when the new medium is online and news stories will not be read unless key words are triggered in a Google search.  The next story was interesting to me to find out that the word Skank was found in court to be a word causes defamation. The person who blogged this word was denied her first amendment rights when the court ordered Google to give the bloggers name up to the court.  The last story was the one that had the biggest lesson to learn.  I was shocked to find out what happened to many of the people involved in the news sensational story about the 18 month old girl who fell down a well after the news stories faded.   It was the first time local news gave 24 hour coverage on the story and the fame that the rescuer experienced, tainted him as he tried to chase that high again. It was too difficult for him to go back to the daily grind and he ended up taking his own life.  This gave me a moment of pause, we, the audience only remember a breaking story for a few days and then we move on, the people in those stories have to live with that experience the rest of their lives.
    Again, “With Great power comes Great Responsibility” We all can become media specialists, getting our words out there for the world to view but with this power comes the responsibility of ethics.  We hear each day more and more people being sentenced for Internet media crimes than ever before.  I think about the Facebook bullies that caused a girl to take her own life.  They were just using their freedom of speech, but it caused pain to someone else.  Then you have to ask, are they responsible for this girl’s death?  Or Snowden who is able to leak government information for the entire world to see.  His words hold so much power that he is wanted as criminal of the USA.  These Podcasts make me reflect on not only my responsibilities as a blogger but also the media’s responsibilities.  I believe that we need to treat online words as we would words the come out of our mouth.  If we can’t say what we say online to that person or about that topic face to face then we shouldn’t write about it, and unfortunately many people use the opportunity to be anonymous as an outlet to say mean and harsh things. 
    The famous cliché “The words are mightier than the sword” is true in any form of media.  We all need to be sure that we accurately reflect news, speak without defamation, and not try to hunt down a news story just for the ratings.

A Home becomes the medium for many messages.

 Photo by Tony Bartholemew

 Photo by Tony Bartholemew

 The Podcast Earthbeat: Goodbye is symbolic of the “medium is the message” from our reading by Luneffeld’s.  In the story of the house on the cliff, the house is a medium for a much deeper message.  As the podcast mentioned, Kane Cunningham bought a house knowing that someday it would fall off the edge of the cliff on which it resides.  Cain bought this house as a project that inspires art and creativity but it becomes so much more.  It becomes a symbol for people across the globe.  He says that he receives letters from all over world and many of them write about “life and death, loss, bereavement, dreams, getting old, mortality and the transient of life.”  Cain also used the home as a studio and it gave him an chance to protest on a range of issues.
In this instance, the house being on the edge of a precipice is such an important medium for the message.  The fact that the house is teetering on the edge of destruction is what makes it such a strong message and can be interpreted in many ways.  A house for the most part is a Medium that give security and support, a place to go when you need to feel safe.  Home is where the heart is and yet this house turns the entire symbol of “home” on its head and that is why it is such a strong medium for this message.