What does it mean to be human? (final)

Humans evolved from nature and have led most of their lives under the impression they simultaneously evolved beyond nature. It is this fantasy which brought humans to make a decision, to take more than what nature offered. This is where our class began, with takers. Ishmael explained the earth was created as a place of balance, creatures give and take; one day a dear eats and the next the dear is eaten. It is this balance which has sustained our planet and its species for so long. But, when humans decided they were above this system they began to threaten the whole balance.

For many, being human means the right to rule. To rule other species, agriculture, and the planet in general but, I believe being human means a choice. Humanity is the choice to fall into the balance of nature, to respect our origins, or to continue in our parent’s paths, assuming the role of a divine power. I do not believe this choice is an easy one to make but I do fear the future if we are too arrogant to admit our mistakes.

To asses this question of give and take I choose a song by Jack Johnson called “Talk of the Town”. Jack Johnson advocates for a simple lifestyle, to do what you love and to take only what you need. This song is very simply about appreciating nature. I thought it did a wonderful job showing how humans, despite our advances, are still in awe of nature. It is impossible not to admire the tones of the sky as the sun sets and changes from bright red to a light violet or the balanced path nature rarely seems to sway from.

This text directly contrasted the in class text I choose, the video MAN.  In the video MAN a seemingly friendly man waves at the audience before demolishing everything around him to demonstrate his superiority. At the end of the video the pleasantly windy skies and green grass have been replace by piles of gritty gray trash and a small throne on which he sits alone. Unlike Jack Johnson the video takes the stance of a ruler. These two forms of media represent the choice we can make to coexist or to destroy.

In this project I worked on assembling the script and answering questions for the script with Charlie. I also annotated the video MAN for our smaller group. I believe these two smaller groups worked well though it was difficult to create and organize a script for such a large group of people. If I were to do this project again I would have liked the only group portion to be a small skit and preferably with less people. Such a big group was difficult to organize and make sure the work was evenly distributed. I also would suggest having the annotations of in class texts fall into the individual portion of the assignment. These were particularly difficult to organize and seemed to give some people more work than others. I think assigning each person 1 or 2 in class texts to annotate along with an outside source would be more effective. I really did enjoy the final product. I believe our game show is a fun performance and does a good job of summarizing a lot of the information we learned in class. 

A life Defined by Death

The question of Chris McCandless’ cause of death is truthfully a question of character. Was he a brilliant mind seeking solace only to be betrayed nature or was he a selfish, overconfident, boy brought to learn his limits in his own mortality? Krakauer’s book, Into the Wild, creates an unclear character. McCandless seems to slip easily in between an intelligent, agreeable, friend and a stubborn, judgmental, son.  Chris McCandless and his return to nature have captured the attention of many; the idea of living in a natural state among the wild is a romantic one but few are willing to subject themselves to such a test and they idolize those who do. This idea requires a worthy person who embodies the desire to live a simpler life. Their motives for actions contribute just as much too their merit as their actions. It is this which makes McCandless’ death such an important aspect of his story.

In Krakauer’s book he offers an explanation for McCandless’ death, the presence of a toxic alkaloid in the potato seeds which had become a staple of his diet. This explanation allowed McCandless to maintain a certain sense of heroism, the food did not appear to have an obvious affect on his health until it was too late, nature had tricked him. It was this explanation which preserved McCandless’ purer personality, his excursion was one of self discovery for which he had prepared, he was able to gather food and survive rough weather and, if it weren’t for the potato seed, he could have existed this way as long as he wanted. This was preferable to the foolish young boy who ran out into nature for attention only to find he was unable to sustain himself and starved to death out of stubbornness.

In 2007 Dr. Clausen completed an analysis of the seeds and declared them harmless, saying “I’d eat it myself”. With this announcement Krakauer and many others lost a little faith in Chris McCandless. They began questioning his competence and in that, his character.  Krakauer’s voice in the article seemed more desperate as he attempted to salvage the valor of McCandless. After months of research Krakauer found what he was searching for, an amino acid named Hedysarum alpinum. After a second test the seeds were said to contain .394 per cent beta-ODA, well within levels harmful to humans. As McCandless was already suffering from malnutrition the seeds caused significantly more damage leading to his death.

Even in today’s society we idolize those who are able to connect with nature on a higher level. Documentaries follow rock climbers and skiers as they explore unknown mountains and people respect those who find peace in the solitude and simplicity of forests. But just as quickly as we revere this group of people we condemn those who cannot survive in the nature we originated from. Chris McCandless cause of death was examined not to determine what killed him but rather if he was an unlucky idol or an important lesson.

I too find myself charmed by nature, jealous of those who are free from the inexplicable need for consumerist goods but, it seems wrong to me to decipher the meaning of one’s life through the cause of their death.  Prepared or not McCandless’ walk into the wild should be defined by his successes as well as his failures. This means not separating his good characteristics from his bad but allowing them to coexist just as they did in his life.

Vine Project

One of my closest interactions with nature is distinguishing between synthetic forms of nature used by companies as an advertizing tactic and genuine nature. Over these past few years I have seen the word “natural” become the central selling point for foods, hygiene products but perhaps the most apparent, makeup. As a girl it is hard not to notice the different makeups which can give you a “natural” look. I hoped to use this fist video to demonstrate the irony of these “natural” products.
https://vine.co/v/MJwIBUDLOqM
vine 1

I have always been interested in my dogs, whether or not they would be considered part of nature or not. As humans we often remove ourselves from nature, considering ourselves to be outside of it but is this true for our pets as well. My dogs have been tamed so far beyond their natural state that even though their origins are hunting dogs they are content to share the small yard with napping bunnies and slow squirrels. However when they play with each other their growls and playful bits seem so far from the obedient dogs I know. Whether they are nature or they simply encourage me to go out into nature I am not sure but either way this is my happiest relationship with nature.
https://vine.co/v/MJwjVDEBZDj
vine 2

The third video is to show what I find most interesting about humans relationship with nature. No matter how much we encourage ourselves to go outside and take a walk it is rare we step beyond the cement path. We follow the concrete as though it is our own yellow brick road with beautiful images waiting to corrupt us on either side. As children we are taught to keep off the grass and the longer we follow the rule the harder it is to break.
https://vine.co/v/MJwIWKPL59E
vine 3

Ishmael, 180° South

Traditionally, nature was known as an untamed beast; weather fluctuated as it pleased and food was an unpredictable victim. For many years humans were separated into two groups, Ishmael described them as takers and leavers but, later, a more accurate description redefined these names as those who believe the earth was created to be ruled and those who did not. Those who believed they were meant to rule the earth began taking unforgivably from the planet with no sense of responsibility for the damage. To them the woods were meant to be chopped, the animals to be captured, and the water to be used without restraint. The rulers looked at their work and believed it was good; there were houses for their people, they were safe from their predators, and they rarely felt the pain of drought. The rulers saw the world and believed they had tamed it.

To this day we still live as though we were meant to rule the world, our food is mass produced and out of season, our predators are hunted and, we remain ignorant to our true role in the ecosystem. But, unlike generations before us, we have begun to sense that we are captive to a disoriented idea of nature’s wretchedness. The first time I felt as though my lifestyle was not the way it meant to be, ironically, was a slow night when I sat down to watch TV. Having watched most of the contents of Netflix I decided to try a promising looking documentary, 180° South. The moment the film began I was captivated; the film follows a group of wandering friends hoping to make it to Patagonia to climb a mountain before the snow melts. The travelers did not seek to rule nature; they appeared to be struggling to keep up as storms destroyed boats and weather created hiccups in their plans. The film showed the group travel through large cities and small civilizations. The beauty of those who lived with their land, respecting the earth showed the gross reality of our consumerist society. The takers, as their namesake suggests, take far more than they need and while the argument has been raised they are simply not aware of their captivity this does not relinquish them from the responsibility of learning and changing.  

Towards the end of the film the travelers realize they are too late, while they try to climb the melting mountain they cannot compete with the change in season so, they make their way back down and enjoy their beauty of the mountains. The movie was not wasted on the unsuccessful group; in fact I have rarely felt such a strong reaction from a movie. While the climbers do not accomplish their goal the movie does accomplish its goal. We are not meant to overrule nature, we can only climb the mountains we are allowed and we should only take what we need. The earth is not a beast which needs taming, it is our home and it needs caring for.  

 

Is a Robot Human?

I believe humanity is not defined by biology but by our overwhelming desire to find in meaning in life outside of survival. Humanity is the desire to search beyond our primitive instincts. Humans are unique in their need to learn and connect with others and it is this desire which leads us to invent. Each invention is a way to transcribe emotions relating our lives to the lives of others; music, art and language play off our senses while technology works to eliminate any distance barrier. Human creations vary immensely but each creation is meant to be shared with others. We search for answers in our connections.
In class we were asked to separate into groups and explain who seemed the most “human” to us; a gorilla who signed his memories of being found after his mother was murdered, a girl who had close to no contact with the outer world or, a robot who had experienced human relationships but had lost contact with his “home”. This task was not easy, each choice showed traits I would consider “human” but, what stood out to me the most was Robbie, the robot. It was not his interactions with others or his longing to return home which lead me to chose Robbie but his final action. As the movie comes to end Robbie explains his battery life is running out and though he could preserve his life he would prefer to spend a few more moments looking at his home. Robbie understands he has reached his end and though he is sad he creates a recording to share with whoever finds it. Robbie gives meaning to his life in this video even after his life ends. It was this action, his desire to share his life, which made Robbie appear most human to me. Robots are generally designed to be logical creations but Robbie’s choice was based more on philosophy and faith than logic. Robbie would rather spend the last few moments of his life looking at his home, creating a video to share with whoever may find it, than preserve his energy and life without meaning.
Apart from this action there was one other idea I saw in Robbie which seemed to be innately human. Despite his abandonment, Robbie believed there was something beyond himself in the universe. Throughout history humans have searched for reasons to believe in life outside of our galaxy, be it a god or another species. While we lack proof of any other form of life the search has continued for generations. Robbie does not have knowledge of any other life but his video shows faith in its unconfirmed existence.
There are few things in life I believe to be more important than human connection and while new technology seems to be drawing us away from that I do not believe that is our intention. The film, Robbie, showed even with technology there are some “human” beliefs and desires it is imposable to move away from.