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Week 11 - Static, noise, interference, glitch

A Blitch in Geethoven

Blitchin' up Geethoven's Symphony No.5

Original Drawings For 'Seed is Tree; Self is Human' Short Video

ASSESSMENT 2: CONCEPT STATEMENT

SELF AND THIS IDEA CALLED HUMAN

Seed is Tree

But a seed is not a tree. A seed becomes a tree by fulfilling a certain condition, namely growth (evolution). Thus the tree is an idea encased in the seed.

Self is Human

But the self is not the human. The self only becomes human after fulfilling the necessary condition of evolution.

This work explores the self as a phenomenon in growth, in expansion. That is the evolutionary process of the self from its seed nature (individual self(s) with limited interaction and consequently limited knowledge of all the parts that make up the whole) to its tree (human) nature consisting of interdependent selves with full knowledge of their responsibility to each other. These interdependent selves bearing full responsibility to one another and working as distinct units of one great organism - the universal human, is the realisation of the idea, HUMAN, the idea packed up in the seed of self.

The constant stream of data, which suggests a quantitative turn of the self, reflects the growth pattern, expansion level and the overall evolutionary activity.

Taking the idea of growth in plants as a part analogy for the evolution of the human race, this work which presupposes our nature as social atoms draws to light the inevitability of interaction whether by data projection, collection, etc, serving for the upbuilding of a super organism reflecting the collective desires of the multiplicity of selves who share in its creation and are thereby retroactively created.

The seed interacts with its environment for growth to occur. This interaction is sustained by every cell developing from the seed and likewise the cells interact amongst themselves. This silent interaction in all its minute details is the vehicular force which ultimately transforms the idea of a tree embedded in the seed into the materiality of a tree.

By the same token the quantitative turn of the self indexed by the constant stream of data form the basis for connection of the seemingly unrelated multitudes and these interactions serve as conduits for the passage of homogenous traits which harmonize to form independently working but connected parts of the whole.

Globalisation, it seems, is the hallmark of this quantitative turn of the self and through its vehicle, the internet, it continually draws together and bonds into cohesive organs harmonious traits or ideas (product or aspects of the seed-self) which ultimately link up as one whole. Although in its burgeoning stages, it already bares a semblance of the self(s) as its creator and it is quickly and retroactively creating the self. The endless stream of data we generate bond into a a sentient (however immaterial) being.

Self is a profound phenomenon, the depth of which we still struggle to understand. There is no gainsaying the fact that much break through has been made in science which affords us a glimpse into the periphery of this depth. But with every new discovery, especially in the socio-technological sphere, the self as an entity whose greater part lies in the darkness of the ‘yet to be known’, evermore reveals the complexities of its labyrinthine nature. For instance in our stride for advancement we make other self(s) - robots - but this only throws back in our faces the question: what does it mean to be A Self? What does consciousness and experience entail? What does it mean to be a sentient self? Is the physical body the self, or are they separate entities in union? And as we are plagued by this pertinent questions more advancement in the field of science and technology bedevil us even further with more questions as to the purported capabilities of the self in the near future: is Teleportation of the self possible? If so what are the repercussions to the self, our world and the universe at large?

But evolution, which might seem like a game of chance, may hold its own ‘telos’ and as it unfolds the seed-self into the self of human it may lay bare (as it is slowly doing ) the mysteries and possibilities in the self. The quantitative turn of the self may be one of such slow but certain revelations.

BIBILIOGRAPHY

1. Ball, P. Critical Mass: How One Thing Leads to Another. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, London. 2006

2. Dainton, B. Self, Philosophy in Transit. Penguin Group, London. 2014

3. Her, 2013, motion picture, Warner Bros. Pictures, USA

4. I Robot, 2004, motion picture, 20th Century Fox, USA

5. Roberts, M. 2014, Song, Land of Silver, https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/vistas/id847584399

6. Russell, W. Universal One. The University of Science and Philosophy, Virginia. 2006.

7. SOS - Chopper, aired on SBS TWO 2 September, 2014, short film, Netherlands, http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/319332931749/SOS-Chopper

8. Star Trek, 2009, motion picture, Paramount Pictures, USA

9. Surrogates, 2009, motion picture, Walt Disney Studios, USA

10. Transcendence, 2014, motion picture, Warner Bros. Pictures, USA

11. The Fly, 1986, motion picture, 20th Century Fox, USA

Teleportation

As my main body of work I have successfully made a (mock) teleportation machine. A hoax, I am sure, anyone seeing it already knows. However, I have gone through the troubles not so as to make a realistic teleportation machine but to examine the evolving nature and dynamics of the self in a socio-technological context. It is in this wise that my teleportation machine begs for value. Through the avenue of teleportation we have uncovered the intricate connection (or unconnectedness) of the self and the body; of the self as a point in time, of the universal principle of relativity.

Some of these problems shored up by our teleportation expedition is discussed below:

Dissolve the body at a specific location and recreate it instantly at another.

Every material form may be said to be essentially a “point in time”. Thus in reconstituting a given point in time such that by moving it forwards or backwards in the one mass of matter, it successfully becomes another given point in time, then the first given point would become the latter.

The problem, however, arising from this is that two separate things can not occupy the same position at the same time.

Thus in the scenarios above the first given point moving back in time to become another given point, thereby displaces that other which in turn displaces another and consequently all every other point is displaced.

Relativity: One body occupies the space it does because another body occupies the one it does.

Yet another problem is one of consciousness and our experiential personalities. What this means is that consciousness is often (by most people) separated from our physical bodies and even more so our experiential personalities. If this is the case then the question arises: when the teleportation machine destroys and recreates anew a replica image of the old body does it also recreate or transfer the person’s consciousness (or) experiences to the new body?

If consciousness or experiences cannot be transferred then the new body is someone else, the totality of resemblance not withstanding.

Teleportation Close Up

Teleporting Robot Arm and Head (Non Sentient Selves)

My finished teleportation machine

Inside my teleportation machine showing the laser scanner/dematerialiser and scanner monitor.

Me trying out my teleportation machine.

Teleporting my robot arm and head. Teleporting the Self is far more complicated.

My Teleportation machine in the making

Week 7: Value

Our studio activity during week 7 was locating the value in a work of art and how this is determined. We were asked to create a currency (money or medium of exchange) and then create a work, thereafter, we all were to display our works and then bid for the displayed work with our currencies depending on the value we attached to each work.

A fun exercise it was making a legal tender and valuing someone's work with it!

The currency AC (my colleague) and I made was called CT Bucks. CT, meaning creativity and time. We had first devised the Time Bucks (TBucks) which we jettisoned after realizing its inadequacy. The problem had to do with the finding a standard of judging the quality of a persons time. Thus, Mr A worked hard over 8 hours and earned 8TBucks; and Mr B did a less demanding job for same 8hours would he really be entitled to 8Tbucks, if we took Time as the only factor to be considered. This would seem unfair. Hence the CTBucks which formula is:

CREATIVITY x TIME = VALUE

Therefore, time without creativity becomes less rewarding, and of course there cannot be creativity without a given measure of time expended. So, more creativity, even though executed in a short time, would imply that there has prior been an unseen negative time (the cradle of the creative genius) which is now manifesting as overt acts in a compressed positive time space.

Ok, away with all the theoretical explanation for our CTBucks! Below are pics of the jettisoned TBucks and preferred CTBucks.

On this note, I shall be employing this standard, and any other I subsequently devise, to self-assess the product of my research and any work ensuing from it.

A quick question just popped into my head: how do we objectively determine creativity? In other words, what may be creative to Mr A may not be creative (enough or at all) to Mrs Y.

Hmmmmmm!!!!!!

The problem of objectivity and subjectivity when dealing with multiple Selves. Can it ever be solved? We constantly try by forcing standards into society to fix this problem, or at least keep it at abeyance while we carry on with our 'civilized, meaningful' existence. But it plagues us unremittingly, even to our very marrows as we in disregard enforce a drone culture, with forced standards.

But our civilized society must forge ahead...

Ahoy, Sailor! The tempest is only but a test of courage, and on the golden chest is our appetite fixed! Sail on children of desire, for if it be not our doom today then our treasure! Ahoy Sailor! Ahoy!!!!!!!!

Virtual Computer Worlds; Sentient Computer Beings

Let me take a break from Teleportation and revisit one of the issues (from the labyrinth) encountered in my quest for understanding the Self vis-a-vis its quantitative turn occasioned by streams of data generated. I speak here of virtual computer worlds and sentient computer beings.

Imagine a world parallel to ours but inundated with computer automated beings who, like ourselves, are self-conscious! Or rather, imagine this taking place in our world! What then becomes of the human self and its much vaunted place in the universe?

If your computer suddenly becomes emotive, laden with the psychological complexities of life and self conscious, how would you respond?

If you owned a robot who suddenly takes on a life of its own and refuses to do your bidding, your first response can probably be guessed right - track it down before it causes any havoc! What may not be easily guessed is your reflective thought on what it means and entails to be Self, what does your own selfhood and self-consciousness consist of? This question which you daily take for granted or assume you know or never bothered to investigate suddenly proves the most pertinent.

And what if the endless stream of data we generate, like your computer or robot above, bond into a a sentient (however immaterial) being? For as our teleportation expedition may come to show, the self and the body could be separable entities.

As part of my research into sentient computer beings and robotics, I looked at the movies 'Transcendence', 'I, Robot', 'Her' and Barry Dainton's book Self: Philosophy in Transit.

First impression of my teleportation machine - To be made from locally sourced materials

Some Teleportation Machines I Looked At

Research Into Making A Teleportation Machine

Teleportation, a term introduced by science fiction movies suggesting the possibility ( albeit far-future) of a body to be 'transported' across vast distances without physically crossing the space between, may be familiar to lovers of sci-fi movies such as 'Star Trek' and 'The Fly'. Although in these movies its rendition is well nigh impossible, in 1993 a team of IBM researchers, led by Charles Bennett, confirmed that quantum teleportation was possible. However, on the condition that the original body being teleported was destroyed.

- Kevin Bonsor and Robert Lamb (How Stuff Works- viewed 13 Sept.,2014)

How Teleportation Works

The body to be teleported is scanned down to the subatomic level, annihilating all favorite parts at a point A and then sending all the scanned data to a point B where a computer builds up from nothing i a fraction of a second

-Kevin Bonsor and Robert Lamb

Although, it has been confirmed that teleportation is a possibility, this, at the moment, applies to non human (non-self) bodies, hence the designation quantum teleportation (was successfully demonstrated with a photon).

Quantum Teleportation - IBM Research

Since scanning disrupts original state of photon, the scientist got around this problem by a process called Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) or Entanglement. This works by "scanning out part of the information form an object which one wishes to teleport, while causing the remaining, unscanned, part of the information to pass, via the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen effects into another object C which has never been in contact with A. Later by applying to C a treatment depending on the scanned-out information, it is possible to maneuver C into exactly the same state as A was before it was scanned. A itself is no longer in that state having been thoroughly disrupted by the scanning, so what has been achieved is teleportation, not replication".

As one can readily see, this whole teleportation affair is much more complicated and bedeviled with uncertainties than the enticing name suggest. I have taken the trouble to bore readers with the scientific hocus pocus in order to show the difficulty with non-self bodies, which difficulty is even a hundred times over when carried out on self bodies. The dynamics of the nature of self does not easily (if at all) lend itself to the uncertain complexities of teleportation. My research, so far, into understanding the Self has led me to this interim conclusion. Teleportation, which I purposely chose, is just one aperture through which to examine the dynamics of the Self.

Oops! Too many words again! Lets carry on with the making business...

Yes, how is our teleportation machine coming along?

A Labyrinth of Issues Relating to the Self

In tackling my research question (question 1) I have been led through a labyrinth of issues relating to the self per se and the dynamics that follow every attempt to understand the self. The path my enquiry has followed has yielded many such issues as what constitute the self?; consciousness and experience; questions of soul and body; Virtual (computer) worlds; sentient computer 'selves'; and teleportation.

Having started off on the quest of understanding the self vis-a-vis its quantitative turn as evidenced by the plethora of data it generates, I have now decided to veer off a little and take my enquiries even further into futuristic possibilities of the capabilities of the self, i.e, the possibility of teleportation.

Our understanding of the self has been transformed over the years by science and technology. This provides the context for my research. Thus my work is aptly situated in the socio-technological context of our lives.

Be reminded that in pursuing my research question, I started off with the thesis that the self is on an onward journey ( evolutionary process) to realize this idea called Human. Through the endless stream of data generated by the multiplicity of selves, it sifts and sorts out homogenous traits ( from the data), bonds them into the several but joined parts that ultimately results in the whole ( The Universal Human).

Having arrived at globalization as the inevitable outcome of this evolutionary process and the infancy stages of the Universal Human, I have decided to critically examine the speculated possibilities of the self, namely: teleportation, in the dawn and maturity of The Universal Human.

Too many words spoken! Ok, lets get making...

I propose, once again, to make a (mock) teleportation machine as my main body of work, as well as a tribute to the technological prowess in understanding self-hood.

My robot arm ( Human Desire - the life wire of machines)

Making my robot arm

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