Thursday, June 02, 2005
Amazing race
Sitting in the lounge with the powerbook on my lap, thanks to wireless. Cat is on the armchair, one dog on her bed in front of the gas heater and other dog on a pillow on the lounge. Been a bit quiet on the blog front lately. I think I may have got lost in the PHD forest at the base of Mt Fuji. My sister told me it is the deepest, most impenetrable and disorienting forest in Japan. Apparently the army runs orienteering training for their cadets there and many people have got lost. So anyway I felt like I was there and am just emerging from the woods. I've been working on my confirmation of candidature document and it requires formulating and refining my research area. It's been a challenging process particularly since I haven't studied for so long. Last time I wrote anything academic was over ten years ago. I love all the readings I'm doing though. I could easily just read for three years but I don't think that's recommended...
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2 comments:
Thought you'd like to see this
Wow. She is very lifelike isn't she? Interesting that the co-creator himself commented on his discomfort of the uncanny in life-like replicas. The irony is that the "spasms" that gave her away as a not fully functional replica, are all so very human. I find this a very interesting area. What would be considered to be a fully functional replica? One that does not display any dysfunctional behaviour? Spasms, malfunctions, whatever you want to call them are all part of what it means to be human. Functionality is not neutral, it is social.
Ultimately, I wonder if what is revealed behind the desire for artifial life to be more human-like is a sort of unresolvable paradox. We desire technology to operate purposefully and to be reasonable, yet this is also a mask for the irrational motives that brings technology into creation and that sustains it, and gives it life.
Thanks for the post. I found it very stimulating.
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