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The Astonishing Art and Technology of Burning Man

9/10/2013

Whew! I'm back from Burning Man. I've been back for over a week and I'm still overwhelmed. What a great year! The quality of the art and eye-popping technology leaves the default world in it's dust. Today I'm going to focus on two standout projects among the many that I witnessed on the Playa.
By far my favorite art car "el Pulpo Mecanico" or, the steampunk octopus, as it is lovingly known at Burning Man. This large, fire-belching, eye-popping, other-wordly wonder was created by Duane Flatmo with a lot of help from his friends, who hail from Arcata, California. I'm not the only one who loves El Pulpo, it has even generated worshipers. According to the Facebook site, The Church of th El Pulpo Mecanico,

"WE FOLLOW EL PULPO MECANICO. THERE IS NO OTHER. JOIN US OR PERISH IN HIS OCTOPEDAL FIRE."
(And, yes, it is in all caps; so you better obey.)

Here is the description of the project from the official website: "The "El Pulpo" is a combination of art and technology melded together. We built this knowing that it would be fun to watch as the giant cam spun up through the center moving the tentacles and eyes in and out while fire spewed from the tentacles and head. No hydraulics or computers were used in this contraption. We built the sculpture primarily out of recycled and used junk found at our local scrap yard."
I strongly recommend you visit the website which has the details of the conception and construction of this magnificent work of art. There were rumors that this is the last appearance for this work at Burning Man. And it looks like, since there is a remodel in the works, the rumors might be true. A short video of the remodel is linked on the right below. I don't know if they can top what they've already done, but I'm definitely excited to see what they come up with next year.

Another favorite, of the much-lower tech variety, was a puppet, an ichthyosaur, AKA "Dr. Camp's Holy Bones." Brought to the Playa by a group hailing from Reno Nevada. The lead artist is Jerry Snyder, who was interviewed in this blog entry. The puppet-creature is based on the actual ichthyosaurs, which are textbook examples of convergent evolution. They sort of resemble a mix of dinosaurs, crocodiles and porpoises. Real ichthyosaurs were about 6 to 13 feet long, but the puppet was over 50 feet. [Oops! Apparently I was wrong about this. Please see Jerry Snyder's correction in the comment section below.] The puppet was suspended from a frame and the primary construction materials were plywood and ropes. It was designed so you could tug on the ropes which caused the alligator-like jaws to open and close and the puppet to writhe through the atmosphere, giving the impression, particularly effective at night, that it was swimming through the ocean. Very spooky. Very cool. Apparently, Dr. Camp is the name of a legitimate paleontologist, but it was decided to commandeer his name and create a fictional character. As Jerry explains it, " We’re sort of reinventing him as this itinerant miner who wanders into Berlin, Nevada, an ignorant, uneducated guy who has this revelation that this is God’s portrait on Earth. This is the face, the image of God!...God is a fish-lizard!" I admit that I have seen god take on various forms in assorted mythologies in the world, but a fish-like dinosaurian god is a first for me. My thanks to all the folks who helped bring this fabulous project to Burning Man! All hail the fish lizard! May he inhabit our dreams forever!

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Behold: The Flying Spaghetti God!

8/11/2013

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It has always struck me as odd that anyone could worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster. After all, how can one possibly worship a monster? So, I created a new entity. (Actually, I created him a few years ago and He is now ready for wider public distribution.) Introducing: The Flying Spaghetti GOD! The Monster is his Son, and He was created in His image.

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Fire, Fruit, Frankenstein, and Fission. On Science, Mythology, and Responsibility.

7/30/2013

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Chained to a rock for eternity. Every day the eagle comes to devour his liver. And every night, because Prometheus is immortal, the liver grows back. What was his crime? He defied the gods and gave fire to mankind. In Old Testament mythology in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve could eat freely from the Tree of Life, but, tempted by the silver-tongued snake, they partook of the "Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil," and were banned forever from paradise. Early in the 19th century Mary Shelley, at the remarkably young age of 19, wrote "Frankenstein" ("The Modern Prometheus"), the story of Dr. Viktor Frankenstein, architect of an experiment that goes tragically wrong. And, in the last century, there is J. Robert Oppenheimer, who, with Enrico Fermi, is described as the Father of the atomic bomb, came to regret his work. He quotes the Bhagavad Gita , "I am become death, the destroyer of worlds." In the video below of Oppenheimer the sense of regret and guilt embodied by this epiphany is crystal-clear, and quite moving.
There are several not-very-subtle unifying threads that can be seen in all these stories. One thread is human curiosity. It is characteristic of the human spirit, I think, to the very essence, the root of our being, to be explorers, discoverers, inventors. Human beings have a natural desire, stated so eloquently in the Star Trek series "To boldly go where no one has gone before."
Second, scientific discovery is a profound and sacred enterprise. As Arthur C. Clarke wrote, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Every new scientific advance is a transition from the unknown to the known, from the sacrosanct to the wondrous, and, finally, to the commonplace.
A third thread is that human beings are rebellious. Forbidden fruit is so delicious. We will defy our very God or Gods to discover something new.
Another thread is hubris. We have the excessive pride and self-confidence to believe that we can contain, to control, the knowledge we uncover. But, we being mere mortals, sometimes have a narrow understanding of the consequences of our discoveries. In the wakes of discoveries there are innumerable unknowns. Although it can illuminate, Science is also dangerous. The consequences of discovering the keys that unlock the mysteries of the Universe are hard to predict. Fire can bring light, but it also burns.
And, my last thread, with knowledge comes responsibility. What is done, cannot be undone. As in the old saw, you cannot stuff the genie back into the bottle. In all four of my examples above, whether myth, fiction or real, the principals felt acutely responsible for what they had done.
But, there is now a different ethos spreading through humanity. People are rejecting the gods and mythologies of the past. More and more the gods are seen as a product of the human imagination, rather than the other way around. We are alone. We must take full responsibility for our fate, and the consequences of our actions. I would not wish to dismiss the benefits of scientific advance. Who wishes to live without medicine, or agriculture or transportation? Still, humanity is faced with substantial challenges; overpopulation, global climate change, nuclear proliferation. and now we don't have a Sky Daddy to rescue us. William Faulkner said as part of his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, "There are no longer problems of the spirit. There is only the question: When will I be blown up?"
But, there is hope in all four of the stories I cite above. Prometheus was finally unchained from the rock by Hercules; Adam and Eve went on to "be fruitful and multiply;" We have listened to Mary Shelley's cautionary tale which has spread widely, and morphed into many similar legends; and we are trying, at least, to harness the atom for peaceful purposes. Even Faulkner, maybe especially Faulkner, refused to surrender to fate. Later in his speech he stated, "I believe that man will not merely endure: he will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance. "
So, this blogger asks not the question "When will I be blown up" but I ask: Will you blow it up? Will we?

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Mind Meld with a Rat. Betazoid or Vulcan? You Decide!

4/11/2013

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There have been a lot of astonishing things happening in the world of neurobiology. This qualifies as one of the more intriguing. Scientists at Harvard have, for the first time, engineered a brain-to-brain electronic communication between two different species. Another first, they were able to do it "noninvasively," which is a good thing, since one of the species was a human being. (It might be difficult to find grad students who would volunteer to have their brains directly drilled into.). The rat in the experiment had electrodes implanted into his brain. (My guess is that the rats were not volunteers.) Humans were attached via electrodes attached to their scalp and stared at a synchronized flickering strobe light. The electrodes were connected to an electronic translator controlling ultrasound pulses linked to the anesthetized rat. The human guinea pig could then direct a controlled flicking of the rats tail.
Okay, this communication didn't exactly qualify as intellectual, and it only went one way, but imagine the applications once this technology is perfected, extended, and made wireless. The possibilities are endless! Just think, you might actually be able to control your cat (instead of vice versa) through an electronic mind-link. Herding cats might become a real possibility! Links between rats has already been accomplished and when we develop human-human links we may actually be able control our spouses. Men may be forced to do chores! Women may be directed to this part censored by internet police! We could maybe get our own pet zombies! I see this as more than just a seminal experiment, I see it as "One small step for science, one giant leap toward the Borg collective." Come on, you know you want this! Resistance is futile! Who needs telepathy--we have science!
Whew. Okay, I've caught my breath now. Below is the video of the experiment.

The Astonishing Art and Technology of Burning Man

Behold: The Flying Spaghetti God!

Fire, Fruit, Frankenstein, and Fission. On Science, Mythology, and Responsibility.

Mind Meld with a Rat. Betazoid or Vulcan? You Decide!

A Step-By-Step Guide to Destroying Humanity with Nanotechnology. Be Amazing!

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