I’ve seen this article a couple months ago and it works nicely into my current context. The boundary between work and leisure is and has been blurred for many centuries. Can electronic objects enjoy “weisure”?
In Marxist theory, commodity fetishism is a state of social relations, said to arise in capitalist market based societies, in which social relationships are transformed into apparently objective relationships between commodities or money. The term is introduced in the opening chapter of Karl Marx’s main work of political economy, Capital, of 1867.
As it relates to commodities specifically, commodity fetishism is the belief that value inheres in commodities instead of being added to them through labor. This is the root of Marx’s critique relating to conditions surrounding fetishism—that capitalists “fetishize” commodities, believing that they contain value, and the effects of labor are misunderstood.
Marx’s use of the term fetish can be interpreted as an ironic comment on the “rational”, “scientific” mindset of industrial capitalist societies. In Marx’s day, the word was primarily used in the study of primitive religions; Marx’s “fetishism of commodities” might be seen as proposing that just such primitive belief systems exist at the heart of modern society. In most subsequent Marxist thought, commodity fetishism is defined as an illusion arising from the central role that private property plays in capitalism’s social processes. It is a central component of the dominant ideology in capitalist societies.
Thinking about idle time a little deeper, I started looking up information on “down-time” of electronics. Most of them talked about how many hours we spend on TVs, computers, video games, cell phones, and etc. What I find interesting about this info graphic piece is that it shows how much energy is used during their down-time. I guess this can be perfectly explained with the idea of “basal metabolism”—energy spent even when we are sleeping, resting…basically doing nothing at all. This image doesn’t necessarily represent what I’m trying to do but it gives me an idea as to what to do next. I think a chart with how many hours of down-time each piece of electronic piece has can be a good one.
source: http://awesome.good.is/transparency/008/trans008vampireenergy.html
Gotta watch this. Hopefully it’ll give me more insight as to what my goal should be after the end of this term.
The Story of the “Spirit String”
An interesting tradition still followed by many (if not all) Navajo rug makers is making sure that a “spirit string” is part of the completed rug. You see, the Navajo rug maker puts a lot of time and effort into each handmade rug. They believe that part of their spirit or soul gets trapped in the rug as it is woven on the loom. They purposely leave a small piece of yarn, called the “spirit string,” sticking out slightly from the surface of the rug. This will allow their spirit or soul a way to get out of the rug.
Also, the Navajo believe that only God is perfect and that what humans do cannot be on the same perfect level. Therefore, they will make sure some little imperfection is part of anything they create. Usually, one has to look very close to find the imperfection, so it does not detract from the beauty of the item. On a Navajo rug, it’s the loose piece of yarn. On beaded handiwork, one of the beads might be threaded differently to ensure some slight imperfection. For many people, even though the imperfection is not noticeable, knowing it’s part of the creation adds to the charm.
"“Darwin Among the Machines”
George B. Dyson
pg. 112
Hertzian Tales, p17
This quote serves as back-up to my “we’re trying to design objects, systems, games, and robots that look just like real living things in this world and it’s not the best idea.”
