One of Duchamp’s most famous and controversial pieces
It is a model urinal bought from J.L. Mott Iron works. Duchamp turned it 90 degrees from it original position such that the side which is suppose to face the wall now functions as the base. It was signed R. Mutt 1917.
Duchamp was the director of the American society of Independent artists. He sent the fountain in under a fake name and the piece got rejected by the committee
However, an anonymous author defended the fountain as an art piece in The Blind Man (An art journal published by Duchamp). He equated his “art” with artwork of both the Virgin Mary, and Buddha. The shadows cast on the urinal gave the illusion of a veil on it, much like the Virgin would wear. Also, all three images have the same general outline shape.
see http://myweb.wit.edu/sheas/EP/Work/MarcelDuchampsFountain.pdf
Controversies. (Points to think about)
Duchamp never gave an explanation for the Fountain. Some said it was just to test the impartiality of the committee. According to the rules, the piece can be exhibited.
Authorship: It was not manufactured by the artist. It was a piece of plumbing taken from a company. Can it then be considered art?
Identity and nature of art (a.k.a. What is art?): When you put the urinal in the art museum, are you transforming it into an art piece or the museum into a lavatory?
Sources:
http://arthist.binghamton.edu/duchamp/fountain.html
http://www.artscienceresearchlab.org/articles/betacourt.htm
:Noted:
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Duchamp's Fountain
Monday, January 7, 2008
Georg Cantor: The Man who went Beyond Infinity
Georg Cantor (1845-1918)
Georg Cantor is a German mathematician whose work in set theory and transfinite numbers remains as one of the most important conributions to mathmatics. His theorem implies the existence of the "infinity of infinitied".
His work was not well received initially as it was counter-intuitive and question the authority of much of modern mathematics. His history-making paper was at first denied publication and when it was finally published, reception was by no means cordial.
His ideas encountered resistance from other leading mathematicians especially Leopold Kronecker who was once his mentor.
By 1900, his work had gained some respect in the mathematical community, however, it was still not universally accepted.
Sources:
Evolution of mathematical concepts, R.L. Wilder
The Story of Mathematics, Motz & Weaver
http://dissertations.bc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1092&context=ashonors
Point.
The traditional views of the mathematicians prevented them from acknowledging and accepting Cantor’s work. For a theorem to be considered as part of mathematical knowledge, it has to be first accepted. Is there then a social aspect in mathematics?
:Noted:
Saturday, January 5, 2008
"N-ray" Phenomenon
N-ray Phenomenon
- "discovered" by French scientist, Prosper-René Blondlot, in 1903.
- subsequently found to be illusory.
what?
- changes in brightness of an electric spark in a spark gap placed in X-ray beam.
- Blondlot even managed to photograph the N-rays!
- many scientists even claimed to be able to detect rays from most substances (including the human body!)
but...
- no other researcher was able to reproduce Blondot's results.
worse still.
- when another physicist secretly changed the setup (removed essential prism from apparatus), experimenters still said that they observed N-rays.
so...
- N-rays was a purely subjective phenomenon
- cautions against the dangers of error due to experimenter bias. (patriotism)
questions/usage
- subjectivity in science
- certainty & accuracy in science
- is science any different from social sciences?
sources
\ \ / / bam.
Friday, January 4, 2008
Please, Save Me from My Leg
Applied Ethics.
Background:
- Several thousand people worldwide suffer from an extremely rare psychiatric illness called body integrity identity disorder (BIID).
- The afflicted have an obsessive desire to be rid of a normal healthy limb, which they view as an alien appendage.
- BIID can be distressing and deadly, especially when patients decide to take matters into their own hands i.e. saw the offensive limb off, freeze it to death, or even conveniently place it in the way of an oncoming train.
Dilemma: Should surgeons grant BIID patients their wishes?
Yes
- To prevent BIID patients from injuring or killing themselves.
- Medical ethicists Tim Bayne of the University of Oxford
and Neil Levy of the University of Melbourne in Australia
No
- Amputation of healthy limbs violates the Hippocratic Oath (which instructs doctors to do no harm).
- BIID patients must be protected from their own desires for amputation, which are as delusional as the desires of anorexics for weight loss.
- Amputation is permanent while the desire for it may not be.
- Significant costs to society could be incurred if BIID amputees claim the right to medical rehabilitation and early retirement.
- Arthur Caplan, director of the Centre for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania
Thanks to: Mueller, S. (2007). “Amputee Envy”. Scientific American Mind 18:6. New York: Scientific American.
Finding the theory in reality: What metaethical theories do the respective stands represent?
Disclaimer: The above arguments are put forth solely by the respective persons to whom these arguments are attributed. By posting the above views, T-lymphocyte is by no means endorsing or criticising either stand. Please use at your own discretion.
One night I woke and found a leg
I thought it was a corpse
But when I threw it out of bed
I landed on the floor!
Abel's Mistake
Niels Hendrik Abel (1802-1829)1823: At the age of 21, Abel published a paper where he gave the first general solution to fifth degree algebraic equations .
(Equations of type Ax5 + Bx4 + Cx3 + Dx2 + Ex + F = 0)
A year later, Abel retracted the claim in a famous paper in which he proved that the general 5th degree equation cannot be solved in terms of algebraic radicals.
Source: The Story of Mathematics, Lloyd Motz & Jefferson Hane Weaver
Point.
Even in the realm of mathematics, certainty is not guaranteed. As hard as it is to believe, mathematicians are human. Thus, it is not unreasonable to believe that years from now, some of today's mathematics will be proven wrong or invalid.
More about Abel:
:Noted:
