daniel
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Design Media Arts at UCLA
Daniel Cohen (M, 27)
Burbank, US
Immortal since Apr 4, 2007
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    From meganmay
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    From daniel
    The Secret
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    Inspiring or Scary?
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    Design Media Arts at UCLA
    In the 1970s space colonies were considered to be a viable alternative to a life restricted to planet Earth. The design of cylindrical space...
    Now playing SpaceCollective
    Where forward thinking terrestrials share ideas and information about the state of the species, their planet and the universe, living the lives of science fiction. Introduction
    Featuring Powers of Ten by Charles and Ray Eames, based on an idea by Kees Boeke.
    From daniel's personal cargo

    Inspiring or Scary?
    Project: Design Media Arts at UCLA
    I just watched all 6 of the movies on the space collective homepage and while most of it was inspiring, I found some of it kind of scary. One of the clips even has a picture from an incident that happened 2 days ago, that was fast. It makes me think that the people who created those videos are leaning on the pessimistic side which inherently does not inspire. I like the visuals and thought of nanobots though. I think we should just edit all the war and pessimism out and make a long clip which is optimistic. Any thoughts?

    Thu, Apr 19, 2007  Permanent link

    Sent to project: Design Media Arts at UCLA
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    folkert     Sat, Apr 21, 2007  Permanent link
    Hey Daniel, I like your idea for making an optimism-only video, maybe you can start it, post it here and invite others to add to it.
    josh     Tue, Apr 24, 2007  Permanent link
    i would say its not so pessimistic, but rather realistic. humans have, for thousands of years, used violence against themselves and their surroundings. this is how we evolved as a species. there are some of our kind that are still stuck with their primordial instincts to divide and conquer. however, the intention of space collective is to promote forward thinking individuals.

    we understand our past and visualize our future.
    folkert     Tue, Apr 24, 2007  Permanent link
    I would say forget about realism, as everything is a version of itself anyway. I see big advantages in proposing positive-only versions of reality from this moment onwards, as personal realities seem to be self-fulfilling. Or something along those lines.
    A0013237932294     Wed, Apr 25, 2007  Permanent link
    Hmmm. I don't know if it's the best idea to edit out war and discard reality from our discussions and proposals.  If we want our community to move beyond the safety of academic detachment, there are certain subjects that we will have to at least acknowledge, if not engage.  War exists in our first life and Second Life as well (apparently along with genocide and dildo storms and other such strange expressions of human beingness).  We can debate things like how war functions, if it is necessary, whether it it is possible to build future societies and space colonies without it, etc, but let's not limit our collective experiment by censoring our assesment of humanity the same way NASA white-washed the time capsule aboard Voyager 2.  If we are serious about envisioning true global change, we need to begin by being brutally honest with who we are as a species.  Just like in any 12-step program, we first acknowledge a problem, and then move on fast from there. Â

    I do agree with Daniel that it is dangerous to overly fixate on the apocalyptic aspects of life on earth.  As always balance is key.  To focus too much on anything, whether it's violence or peace, skepticism or techno-optimism, means that you're not pulling back enough to get the full technicolor panorama.  No system or reality is ever positive only, or negative only, it just is.™

    SpaceCollective should be a place that embraces reality without being confined by it.  We should have the courage to acknowledge confusing, conflicting and sometimes terrifying truths about our world, and then move forward with inspiration, intelligence and optimism. Â

    Word up, Obviously Subtle.
    A0013237932294     Wed, Apr 25, 2007  Permanent link
    That said, I think Superfamous had a great suggestion about posting self-produced (and optimistic) video. I'd love to see more of it here on the site. Any willing collaborators?
    folkert     Thu, Apr 26, 2007  Permanent link
    A0013237932294—thanks for your thoughts and while I agree that war exists in our realities, so do lots of other things (...) that have as yet gone unregarded also. It would be a lot of work (and if you ask me, waste of valuable time) to visit each of these subjects.

    From where I'm standing it looks like our behavior, intention and being is directly responsible for creating our personal realities. So by sending awareness to specific subjects, there is a greater chance that they are solidified and close in on formal occurrence. The same is true for the opposite—if something remains unregarded, awareness moves away from it and it thus the chances of it potentially occurring diminish.
    alborz     Thu, Apr 26, 2007  Permanent link
    Maybe we can start like this: what would you want to say in this optimistic video daniel? Maybe we can first draft a short essay that would be used for narration and go from there.
    daniel     Thu, Apr 26, 2007  Permanent link
    Wow, the response and comments to this post has been great. I would really like to work on the optimistic video. I'm currently working on a project relating to Space Collective involving memory. I would like to draft a version that reflects something about our memories of earth and how we will preserve our memories past/present/future. Also to comment on how we will view our memories in the future. I imagine the video would show fossils, bugs in amber, then painting on the wall, traditional painting, papyrus writings, stone tablets/writing, books/printing press, records, radio, movies, television, the internet, youtube, space collective.
    cupcakewizard     Fri, Apr 27, 2007  Permanent link
    In the same way we memorialize 9/11 or have holocaust museums, I think that although maybe disturbing it is extremely important to be reminded of what happens outside of our bubbles of everyday existence. I refuse to watch the news because it's commercial and I don't see much difference between KCAL 9 & your typical Fox Police Drama. But I feel that I should be responsible about keeping informed without being sucked into the human drama. Our past mistakes will hopefully lend insight to future problems, although I wonder how much we've learned. I'm surprised that after Rwanda, we still take minimal action with what is happening in Darfur.





    A0013237932294     Sat, Apr 28, 2007  Permanent link
    Hello all. Interesting how this thread is developing. Here's a short visual exploration I cut together based on some of Daniel's suggestions, starting with cave paintings and moving forward in time. As can be expected it's the representation of future memory that's the most challenging. How close can modern 2D/3D CG renderings come to visualizing future realities? Aye, there's the rub.

    daniel     Sat, Apr 28, 2007  Permanent link
    quite remarkable
    folkert     Mon, Apr 30, 2007  Permanent link
    Great sequence. Human emergence in 1 minute.

    What happens next?
    josh     Mon, Apr 30, 2007  Permanent link
    mmmm. that was very tasty A0013237932294.

    i find it very interesting that, save for a few instances, you used data (storage and recording) as your linking object in time. it is true that we know our past mostly because of our ability to record our present. i say this because space collective is attempting to do the very same. we are recording, documenting and storing our present reality for future use.

    if we can remember the past, why can't we remember the future?
    folkert     Mon, Apr 30, 2007  Permanent link
    OS sais
    if we can remember the past, why can't we remember the future?

    Please explain, the rest of your comment does not provide clues for how you arrived at this question. Without further contextualization I would have to submit to you that we can't remember the future because It Has Not Happened Yetâ„¢.
    daniel     Mon, Apr 30, 2007  Permanent link
    I agree, we can't remember the future because it hasn't happened yet, but maybe you were talking about the imagined futures of the past?
    josh     Mon, Apr 30, 2007  Permanent link
    we remember the past because we document it. i remember what i did yesterday because my brain has committed the experience to memory. it becomes an understood reality for me. i want to be able to remember the future in the same way i remember the past.

    in A0013237932294's short clip, there are many sequences of documents. solid forms of memory. then there is computer data, then electric current and perhaps more. our forms of "remembering" the past have become more efficient, more accurate and more tangible than ever before.

    with the technology available, the present is almost immediately the past. the day of the VT shootings (and the week following) i continued to refresh the wiki page. the moment more information was available, it was already documented as a past experience.
    The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that unfolded as...


    we are on the brink of crossing from only remembering the past to being able to remember the future.
    alborz     Mon, Apr 30, 2007  Permanent link
    Or the future is like that paradox. That if you cover half the distance between you and someone else, you'll never reach them despite getting infinitely close.
    arjuna     Wed, Mar 19, 2008  Permanent link
    I think the Awe -some and some times terrifying realities and possibilities are part and parcel of what we are and what is to come. I thought the film was mainly objective in a speculating way about what we need to prepare for, whether some of the scary trends happen or find change of direction from our preparation (It's true I have only watched them twice and a bit and plan to give them more thought). its kind of saying to me don't be scared, be prepared. And get involved! Of course we need to stay conscious of our feelings. I found some things in there a bit scary too, yet the beauty and magic of it all is ours to engage. Courage is being able to act even in the clutch of fear. "It takes courage to enjoy it" to quote Bjork - Ah! just got the urge to share a video that has always brought me joy :)
    arjuna     Wed, Mar 19, 2008  Permanent link
    proposing positive-only versions of reality

    I think it is important to see the positive, be positive - the glass is half full, Yet, have a full awareness that is it is also half empty.
    And then to take action to fill it it up if needed.

    I feel really optimistic (and in the past I was severely pessimistic) - this site validates the good I believe in. So far I see this site as an optimistic video/multimedia think tank affirmation and more. ... We can't know what to be optimistic about and have a secure foundation without knowing what to be aware of lurking in dark side of our human behavior.
     
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