Manifesto

My manifesto is centered around the idea that the juxtaposition between technology and a sustainable environment, and the idea that one is unnatural and the other is natural is a false dichotomy. To me there is no difference between an anthill and a city, they are both things created when a group of animals come together and try to create a space to live. To me there is no difference between a birdsong and Michelangelos "The Creation of Adam", they are both things that are created to enhance lives, whether it is to find a partner of decorate a place of worship.

However this dichotomy does persist, and there is a general consensus that as our society continues to develop and advance technology we will also continue to further damage our surrounding environment. This idea -if continued unchallenged- has the potential to be incredibly damaging. Especially in an age where bio-plastics (that is plastic materials either derived from renewable resources or that will biodegrade over time), nanotechnology and biotechnology are becoming more and more feasible. We have the potential to leverage emerging technologies in a way that could solve some of the biggest problems that our society faces; biotechnology could provide us with a way to create products that wont persist for thousands of years after they have become obsolete and have been replaced. Nanotechnology could provide us with a legitimate solution to the ever-growing problem of disposing of permanent artificial materials like plastic in landfills.

We see then that the solution then becomes more technology. More Science. More Innovation.

With this in mind it becomes the responsibility of Engineers and Designers to start making smarter. We have a responsibility to the rest of the world that the products they consume should be as helpful as possible, not just in a usability sense but also in the wider context of the world, and we need to start now. We need to be critical about what we are making and where the parts of it are coming from, where are your materials sourced from? do the objects use and lifespan match that of its materials? By this logic disposable cutlery is possibly the worst idea ever put through to manufacture.

It is time for the man-machine civilization to take charge of the world it is inhabiting and fix the damage it has done so far, we're hoping to be around for a while, but are treating this world like we have another one to go to.

Kurweil, K. (1999). The Age of Spiritual Machines. New York, NY. Viking Press.
Kelly, K. (2010). What Technology Wants. New York, NY. Viking Press.
Rogan, J. [PowerfulJRE]. (2013, April 9) Joe Rogan Experience #183 - Jason Silva. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjihaPY5zvQ

Unnatural Naturalness

The only way for our society to solve the multitude of problems encroaching in on us is with more technology. More science. More innovation. We need to engineer solutions, stopping technological advancement in the interest of hindering future problems will not solve the ones we currently have.

The word ‘natural’ does not mean anything. If things that we create are considered unnatural then why are birds’ nests and anthills not? To say that we are the only species capable of creating something the fibre of our world is just simple arrogance, it insinuates that we are something more than just naked monkeys.

This idea achieves nothing but blur the issue of sustainability and make it harder to head down a path of progress.

Plastic is just as ‘natural’ as dirt, it comes out of the ground. It is not like someone opened a hole in space and time and pulled plastic out.

In the past our technology has been dumb. Lumps of plastic and metal that move clumsily and will never disappear, but in modern times we have the potential to work in a way that is not going to damage our surroundings. Biopolymers, smart materials, nano- and biotechnologies are swiftly becoming a reality.

Working within the parameters of sustainability does not mean that we have to stop making, it means we need to make smarter.

While thinking about these things do not forget that there is only the present. The past is a memory and is gone. The future is merely anticipation; it is just another thought arising in the present and worrying about it will not solve the problems it may present, but it will ruin your satisfaction with now. It is always now. Enjoy it.

Harris, S. (2012). Death and The Present Moment [Video File] Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITTxTCz4Ums

Kurzweil, R. (2005). The Singularity is Near. New York, NY: Viking Books.

 

Haiku

How are they so brave

To drop out of the rat race
Just to chase whimsys

Critical perspective

“What would you like to do if money were no object?”

Design is sometimes thought of as a form of marketing, this is something I find very troubling and would like to address with this photography series. With this series I have looked at people trying to find forms of income doing the things they love and bowing out of the ‘rat race’, that is the typical nine to five grind. Whether they are street performers, artists or even homeless people. To me this is important because, with all of us about to finish our degrees and looking towards getting careers, the temptation to get a job that you don’t like but that pays well and offers security is there. I am not saying that we should be homeless people to avoid selling out, but to remember why we started a creative qualification in the first place. To me Alan Watts sums up the issue perfectly in ‘The Book’ when talking to students about to finish their degrees (coincidence that I found it so apt? I think not) and giving them vocational guidance he says “You will be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living that is to go on doing the things you don’t like doing. Which is stupid. Better to have a short life that is full of what you like doing than a long life spent in a miserable way.”