Final

I've heard it said before that technology has progressed farther in the past 20 years then it did in the 200 before that. This exponential difference can be attributed to the invention of faster communication - it started with the telegraph, at the time it was considered revolutionary, because now you could send messages almost instantly over a great distance for the first time. Later on, after electricity was standard in most houses, the telephone made it so we could communicate from the comfort of our homes, without having to decode a telegram, and along with satellites we invented cell phones, now we can communicate anywhere we can receive signal from space. Then during the 1970's Bill Gates founded Microsoft, the company that made it a standard for every home to have a personal computer. Now we can not only communicate across the globe instantly, we can also send pictures, files, or charts - anything we need to get the point across.

With improved communications people are now able to share new and powerful ideas in the blink of an eye. According to the "did you know?" video, in 2010 the amount of technical information is predicted to double every 3 days. In the past we could only form ideas based on what we know, but now we can gain infinite different perspectives on the situation by communicating with people world-wide who often think very differently from us because culture wires our brains and maps our thought process differently. So if you set out to develop a new technology, and you hit a wall during the design such as a technical issue or even shortage of creativity, these setbacks wont hinder you for long because you can post a blog and get feedback and ideas from almost anyone, where in the past you had to know who you wanted to ask, and wait by the mailbox for their response.

Sharing information is the best thing for our evolution, the more basic understanding we have the more we can apply it to complex problems, so if everyone has an abundance of even remedial understanding about everything they come in contact with the wheels of productivity will move that much smoother. If they don't have this understanding however, they can go to the computer and odds are they can find the answers their looking for almost instantly if its readily available, less than a day if they have to ask. this great leap in problem-solving enables us to invent more efficiently - and faster every day - because we can gain knowledge and benefit from the mistakes and successes of others, instead of just our own.

Art Critique

The piece I chose to critique is on display at the Denver Art Museum, and it's one you HAVE to see. I say this because it is bright red, and probably over 100 cubic feet in size. this piece is called Fox Games, and it was created by Sandy Skoglund. Upon research the first thing that struck me about Skoglund's art is her masterful use of stark contrast to contribute to your perception of the piece. I was also impressed by how smoothly she blends artistic mediums, such as sculpture and stage design. However the part that I found to be the most creative was how - like other pieces - it make the viewer the subject, but uniquely to this piece you can stand away from it and other people walking through become the subject. while walking through this piece you're almost overwhelmed by the vibrant red which coats everything from the walls and carpet, to the bread rolls and flowers on the table (literally painting the roses red). The shade of the grey foxes which surround you at this point will jump right out at you (you might not even see the lone red fox) - but fear not - because the foxes themselves are quite docile, most wont even take notice of you.

My overall impression of this while I stand inside and look around is that it's like a freeze frame from a cryptic dream. Foxes represent cunning and deception, as well as good survival instincts, and red in design is used to excite, or agitate. According to Global Oneness, dreaming of being by yourself in a restaurant indicates isolation in a crowd, and bread (which is the only food present on the tables) represents the basic needs of survival. Based on this the overall message that I feel Skoglund's 'Fox Games' conveys is: even in civilised society, we all - on some basic level - are just trying to outsmart eachother in order to survive.