YouTube

In my cinema and media studies class we have been discussing YouTube and its impact on society. However it was out of class that I was exposed a phenomenal video. All 55 minutes of the video are informative and captivating, but if you don't have 55 minutes the first 5 will at least get you thinking.

An anthropological introduction to YouTube

What is this space we call the internet? How does it impact our interactions with each other? How does it impact our interactions with ourselves? 

Is the internet an imagined space since it is not tangible? Or is does it fall under a third category? 

Motivated By Purpose

I would like to see more schools that use the logic expressed in the video below. Motivation by purpose. 

RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

Sociology of Space

While reading about Georg Simmel for a sociology class, I came across articles that he wrote on the sociology of space. Here is a quick paragraph and a half about his contributions from The Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science (another interesting website I discovered while searching for more info on his writings).


" In the 1903 article, and later 1908 chapter section, "On the Spatial Projection of Social Forms," Simmel focuses upon how social interaction produces various spatial effects and forms. He discusses four domains of spatial formation. First, social organization requires organization of space, especially at the level of political and economic institutions. For example, individuals can be treated differently by their national location. Second, authority and domination take on various spatial dimensions, such as territorial control. Third, there are spatial dimensions to social solidarity. A group's communal bonds may be stronger if they have a "home" or physical center; however, he notes that the Jewish people, post-Diaspora (and pre-Isreal), find social unity without a central location. Similarly, modern society is developing toward greater abstractness, without a center. A money economy is an example, in which objects can be thought of abstractly as pure expression of value. Also, communication technologies allow concrete spatial settings to be less important in many transactions, with today's Internet society a case in point.
Overall, Simmel's thoughts on the relation of space to the social world did not, at first, leave a legacy. This was in part because he offered mainly a collection of ideas and insights, rather than a theory or method that others might adopt. Simmel, however, clearly showed his readers the relevance of space to sociological thinking and analysis, which has only recently been rediscovered. "


Find the whole article about Simmel here: http://www.csiss.org/classics/content/75.

Language Can Impact How You Perceive Space

We can perceive the space we are in differently if we speak different languages. I found this fascinating. "Psychological experiments have also shown that under certain circumstances, speakers of Guugu Yimithirr-style languages even remember “the same reality” differently from us. There has been heated debate about the interpretation of some of these experiments, but one conclusion that seems compelling is that while we are trained to ignore directional rotations when we commit information to memory, speakers of geographic languages are trained not to do so. One way of understanding this is to imagine that you are traveling with a speaker of such a language and staying in a large chain-style hotel, with corridor upon corridor of identical-looking doors. Your friend is staying in the room opposite yours, and when you go into his room, you’ll see an exact replica of yours: the same bathroom door on the left, the same mirrored wardrobe on the right, the same main room with the same bed on the left, the same curtains drawn behind it, the same desk next to the wall on the right, the same television set on the left corner of the desk and the same telephone on the right. In short, you have seen the same room twice. But when your friend comes into your room, he will see something quite different from this, because everything is reversed north-side-south. In his room the bed was in the north, while in yours it is in the south; the telephone that in his room was in the west is now in the east, and so on. So while you will see and remember the same room twice, a speaker of a geographic language will see and remember two different rooms." Read the full NY Times article here.

Imaginary space and "Cosmic Love"

I've thought about the notion of physical space before (tangible space-- buildings, forests etc), but I have yet to consider mental, spiritual, imaginary space. When I listen to certain music I am transported elsewhere, whether it be to a memorable moment in time or to a fictional place.

I'm familiar with the idea that my thoughts occupy space in my head metaphorically, for example some thoughts are in the front of my brain (implying three-dimensionality), and others are lost in my brain (implying that they have gone missing among other things, just like your keys). But, they don't really occupy space do they? Yes, there are some biological things that occupy space in my head that produce thoughts, but that is insignificant right now. So, if they don't occupy space, what happens when one has these day-dream-like experiences? Is it possible to have a mental space?

I was listening to the song "Cosmic Love" by Florence and the Machine when I decided to compose a post on this topic. The name of this song in particular is interesting to consider when thinking about the phenomenon of non-tangible space because the word "cosmic" refers to either outer space (as in where the stars are) or the idea of limitless/immeasurable space. The word "love" refers to an emotion. Perhaps I thought about non-physical space because of the title of the song, or maybe it was just a coincidence, but I thought the relevant title was worth mentioning. I'm mentioning it's title also because I recommend you go listen to it (I'm really into this song right now). Don't watch the music video until you've listened to it a few times. Videos create for you the imaginary space that music usually evokes, and what's the fun in that? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfBY96qxVRQ

Beyond college

I often forget that there is a world beyond collegiate institutions. I go to college to become more worldly, but while I'm here I rarely watch the news and find it difficult to find time to volunteer in the surrounding communities. I spend most of my time doing school work, and when I'm not doing school work I am usually with other college students. Sometimes I pick up information about the world beyond the 'ivory tower' in class or through friends, but too often I find myself caught up in the small world that surrounds my dormitory. I am beginning to make more of a conscious effort to keep track of world events. This weekend I had an inspiring conversation on an airplane with a Foreign Service Officer (I'll post more on this conversation later). We discussed the role education plays in international relations and peacekeeping. I was inspired to spend some time online searching related organizations and came across a video that brought to my attention a huge issue that was not even on my radar because it is so unlike anything I have to deal with while in school. It is about the impact of armed conflict on education. When I think about educational environment, I think of desks and chairs etc. I forget that some children do not even have access to safety. Stories like this provide me with an immeasurable amount of inspiration. Through this video and the conversation with the man on the plane I remember why I wanted to study education, why I feel that it is my duty. To have education is to have understanding, to have the potential for empathy, to have the tools to create a safer world for all.

I am starting to think about studying abroad. In fact, I have to decide what I want to do before December. If you have any ideas please share!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnpUcQ5WlNE&feature=player_embedded

"Believing Is Seeing"

It's been a little while since I last posted. This article from the NY Times moved me to begin posting again. This article connects the concept of space in a photograph to human behavior (both behavior of the documentarian, and of the documented). It focuses on the brilliant documentary filmmaker Errol Morris' new book, "Believing Is Seeing."
“Believing Is Seeing” is about the limitations of vision, and about the inevitable idiosyncrasies and distortions involved in the act of looking — in particular, looking at photographs.

"Fragments in Time and Space" at the Smithsonian

An exhibit about the use of time and space in art at the Smithsonian. The description reads: "since the beginnings of Modernism, issues of time and space have been central to art in all media, from the fragmentation of space in Cubism and the depiction of speed in Futurism to the manipulation of these elements made possible through cinematic techniques. ...Using a range of both direct and indirect approaches, all of these works encourage viewers to focus on and reconsider the way they perceive and experience the world — from a single moment in time to a vast idea of the infinite."
Fragments in Time and Space | Exhibitions | Smithsonian
 

"Zen in the Art of Travel Behavior"

"How do people perceive and understand their transit journeys?... This project used visual data, specifically photographs, to examine people's experiences as they navigate the public transit networks of Los Angeles. We asked participants to gather pictures of the things most important to them on their transit trips using their own, and now nearly ubiquitous, digital cameras, smart phones, or camera phones." Check out the full description of "Zen in the Art of Travel Behavior: 
Using Visual Ethnography to Understand the Transit Experience" from the minds of UCLA here: http://www.its.ucla.edu/uclatransitphotos/ProjDescription.html


And check out the product (photographs) here:
http://www.its.ucla.edu/uclatransitphotos/gallery_index.cfm

Who else looks up at the same sky?

Think on this.

Stars

(A poem by me, sjhuber, originally part of a poetry assignment way back in 9th grade-- please do not share without asking me permission first)

It’s hard to think of violence when you are on a blanket under the stars.

Your head is full of happiness and your stomach is full of roasted marshmallows.

The stars flicker up above and that is all your sugar-coated mind cares to follow.

But, think.

Who else is looking up at the same stars?
Who else sees them flicker?

Who else sees them dance?

Is her mind caramelized or are her thoughts sinking into pits of waste?

Is her stomach satisfied or is it hollow?

Is she with loved ones or is she watching her loved ones being taken away?

Think while on a blanket under the stars.

Even though the calming embers of the fire spread warmth,

Not everyone feels the warmth, instead some may be charred.

"Inviting The World To Dinner"

Oh how I would love to live like this!


"Every week for the past 30 years, I've hosted a Sunday dinner in my home in Paris. People, including total strangers, call or e-mail to book a spot. I hold the salon in my atelier, which used to be a sculpture studio. The first 50 or 60 people who call may come, and twice that many when the weather is nice and we can overflow into the garden." A story from NPR in 2009, give it a listen.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99172304&sc=emaf

Developing a blog

As I start this blog I have the challenge of figuring out what I should post here and what I should post elsewhere and what I should just keep to myself. I come across so many interesting articles that I want to share it's hard to just keep this blog for issues of space and place. So I will begin to post other things as well. We'll see how it goes. After all, I'm not supposed to know where this blog is going... a blog is not a book with a defined ending.

Different angles

Here are several different photos that I took of a stairwell. It is amazing how many different ways the same space can be viewed, or in this case defined by a camera.

What does the place you sleep in say about you?

Check out this NY Times story on children and their environments titled "Where Children Sleep."

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/08/04/where-children-sleep/

Think about the room where you sleep. Does it represent you? Your identity? Personality? Social class? Geographic region? Culture? Your lifestyle?

Why I am here

When I have the internet open on my lap top, I feel like the whole world is sitting there waiting for me, like the world is sitting on my lap. So, when I go to use word processing software to record my thoughts, I close my internet browser. The portal is closed and the world disappears.

What is an appropriate space to share my thoughts? Is the most appropriate space the air around my lips, so I can exhale my thoughts, and let them float around the room until they settle in a pile of clothes or books? Or is a tangible piece of paper the appropriate space? I can leave my thoughts in ink or graphite. But no one else will ever see the paper. The paper either gets lost in the mess around me, or it is filed into a folder of other thoughts quietly awaiting…Awaiting what? I don’t know. Or should I let my thoughts sit on my computer in electronic code, let them sit in a file accessible only through the clicking of buttons? And still, I am my only audience.. Or is a blog the appropriate space? Should I share my thoughts with strangers? Share them with the world…the very world that I cut myself off from so that I could write the thoughts down? What is an appropriate space? Then again, what is space? Scholars spend their lives answering that question. I hope to use this blog to informally explore the relationship between people and their environments.

With this first blog entry, I am seeing what it feels like to leave the portal open and allow my words to travel where they may. After I post my thoughts, instead of feeling like the world is waiting for me, I get to sit here waiting for the world. So please, World, leave kind comments, and send interesting observations and thoughts my way.