Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 10:20:52 -0500
From: "Robert G. Grimes" <grimes@fcol.com>
To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
Subject: Re: memetic engineering and superstition
Kastytis Beitas wrote:
> At 11:07 1998.03.26 +0100, Josip wrote:
> >Valuably for WHO? Nature or technology? Technology is only a bad copy of
> >Nature. What is the point of "synthesizing" it with Nature? Is it not
> >better to "engineer" technology in such a way to be "coexistive" with Nature?
>
> I'm afraid there are to much of polemical heat.
> It is not exact way to characterize technology as 'technology is only a bad
> copy of Nature'. Technology and Nature are different systems, they solve
> different problems.
> For example, walking systems (insectal hexopodic or vertebrate tetrapodic)
> seem very sophisticated, but the wheeled systems are better on smooth
> horizontal surfaces. And walking 'legged' systems are more universal in
> very rough terrain.
> In case of evaluation of technological systems not only as 'producing
> systems', but as 'non-interfering to natural ecosystems' also,
> technological systems are badly integrated or nonintegrated at all
> ("non-coexistive").
> But best integrated technologies were of primeval hunters and gatherers.
> All their wastes (with excluding of flint chips) were easily naturally
> destructible. And maybe extinction of some species (for example, American
> horses and camels, Eurasian mammoths etc) was human-enhanced but quite
> natural events.
>
> Snip
Pardon me, but are folks saying that human technology is any different (other than
character and amount) from say, Bower birds making their bowers? Everything is a
product of "nature" in my way of thinking. If humankind is "natural" then the
products of humankind are natural.
I know that this error (in my opinion) is repeated often, including the
"exclusion" of humankind from the world of animals but that is a little primitive
now a days, isn't it?
The "artifacts" of mankind are the "natural product" of a "natural being." This
includes what we call "contamination" and waste, technical products, art, etc. My
art work may be someone else's "trash." You probably have several examples spring
instantly into mind! All of this is the "natural" product of the human animal....
Cordially,
Bob
--- Bob Grimeshttp://members.aol.com/bob5266/ http://www.hotwired.com/members/profile/bobinjax/ http://www.phonefree.com/Scripts/cgiParse.exe?sID=28788 Jacksonville, Florida Bob5266@aol.com robert.grimes@mailexcite.com
Quoth the Raven, "Nevermore....."
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