Loneliness

It seems like after reading a large portion of the novel, loneliness appears to play a major role in the novel. The first time we see loneliness in the novel are the letters in the beginning. Walton's letters express is loneliness as his adventure get less appealing. Victor is separated from his family by his work. He spent most of his years in isolation away from everyone while he was in his lab. Then his friends and family begin to die, which does not help his situation. The last character that experiences loneliness is the monster. We have seen that he feels like his creator, Frankenstein, has left him alone in the world. He felt as if he was neglected and should have been raised like a child rather than thrown into the world.

There always seems to be this loneliness when ever science is involved. Have we seen this in any of the other novels? Why does loneliness seem to be so apparent when science if involved? Just some things to think about.

Franskenstein and Knowledge

In reading the classic novel Frankenstein, I noticed that there are multiple relationships between science, knowledge, and different characters. What kinds of relationships can be seen between these three things in the novel?

One relationship I noticed is between Dr. Frankenstein's lifestyle and scientific knowledge. This knowledge was Victor's drive in life ever since he was a young child. When Victor was young, he watched his father perform electrical experiments. This began his interest in science. Once he began attending college lectures, his interest in science exploded. To Victor, science is the only route to knowledge. Once he creates his monster in chapter 4, he is frightened by the creation and is astounded that his methods did not work correctly. Because his scientific knowledge fails him, Victor goes into withdrawal from society. Clearly the link between science and knowledge affects Victor's life detrimentally. After creating the monster, Victor cannot even bear to speak with his very own teachers.

What's Your Model?

The reading today was an article about varying models of how science is spread among countries and colonies through imperialism. There were four main models, as well as MacLeod's own model. Each of these models had a differing view of how imperialism and science were intertwined (or even separated). These models are the instrumentalist model, the cultural independence model, Basal's diffusionist model, and Sagasti's counter-model.

Which of these models (including MacLeod's) do you most agree with? Why? What do you not agree with concerning the other models? (If you think you may have a better model describe it).

I agree most with the cultural independence model because I believe it best takes into account the cultural influences and the effect they have on science. This model allows a worldwide interpretation of the spread of science to "colonies" all over the globe. It also allows for individualism and creativity in creation of new forms of scientific study that vary from "mother" country's versions.

MacLeod's model is far too specific, which fails to take into account the spread of science to countries other than America; and Basalla's model is too clear-cut in its definition of "Western Science" leaving no room for varying forms of western science.

This Week = Last Week

Spoke to Dr. Tiff, she agreed that it would be okay to use the post I made last week on Sex in The Calcutta Chromosome for the post this week. [Sorry for not having this up sooner... I could have sworn I posted it right after class Wednesday.]

(In Homage to Marissa) Think.

So I thought that the Red Group's "Anti-Crisis" presentation was interesting in class today. As a reminder, they considered anti-crisis to be an undercover siege meant to infiltrate a certain thing for purposes of the infiltrator, without the knowledge of the observed. They described it being a bad thing, for obvious reasons, but also a good thing in the case of a rare African tribe being researched, "romanticized", and advertised. Their question really hit me: Is this anti-crisis really a bad thing or are there good aspects to this philosophy of indirect, incognito operations? I thought that it was funny how our group specifically had a lot of interesting things to say about whether anti-crisis was a good or bad thing. Conor, specifically, really caught my attention when he mentioned what was good about anti-crisis. He pointed out that of the two evils, the fact that they were not immediately bombarding these people and were less intensely intruding them was a good thing. That idea never crossed my mind when I first heard about anti-crisis in the presentation. In response to that, though, I think that it kinda contradicts itself. Anti-crisis is bad because it intrudes on the life of whoever or whatever is being observed, but it is good because it does not immediately displace it but instead slowly creeps its way into the life of the observed? I don't think so. The fact that we need to find an excuse to intrude, whether directly or indirectly, should immediately imply that it is a bad thing. Though in Heidi's example the African women of rare descent were benefitting from their pictures being taken, they did not initially intend on this infiltration to be a silver lining to their slow, undisturbed lives. I just thought it was funny that, though we were looking for "good" things in anti-crisis, we just ended up pointing out even worse things about it.

I also thought that our discussion about subalterns during class today was very interesting. Subalterns are these people and things that we classify as under us--people or things to disregard because it is "natural" for us to assume that we are better than them, or it. In our case, we were talking about people. Whether in novels or in real life we are always seeing examples of subalterns. In class we assessed subalterns in The Calcutta Chromosome, but what about some real life examples? A subaltern is defined as: "lower in rank; subordinate". We may not realize it, but we are constantly surrounded by people who we look down on, and consider ourselves better than. From custodians to workers in the dining hall, to professors and maybe even fellow classmates, we always consider ourselves better than them--someone to disregard or ignore because they have no benefit to us. But when you really think of it, subalterns are not always subalterns. They are just lower-ranked in our perspective, whether that be because of our arrogance or because of social status. In reality though, subalterns are the reason why there is a backbone to our world--a foundation for the lives that we lead. Custodians clean up after us, kitchen workers feed us, and professors educate us. Our classmates even teach us things about ourselves sometimes! And not only do subalterns frame our real lives, but in novels, you never notice what a big role subalterns play in the plot and in the story. Those one-liners or characters in that one chapter are there for a reason--to enhance our reading experience and our perspective of the story.

I know that I mentioned kinda a lot to think about, but I really wanna know what you guys think. Though I know most of you responded in class, reiterate to me what you really think about anti-crisis--do you consider it a good or bad thing? Why? And tell me about subalterns. What other examples, whether fictional or not, can you name? Do they shape our worlds as much as I think they do?

Just some stuff to think about :)

Cara-Joy

Sex.

In reading the Calcutta Chromosome, I couldn't help but notice the number of oddly placed, yet awkwardly detailed, sexual narrations within the story -- usually in Murugan's presence. One I first noticed was in one of the chapters in which Murugan is explaining his theories to Antar (around page 90+) with Grigson seemingly getting off on the anomaly Lutchman presents (or maybe just Lutchman himself). (There was another one earlier, but can't remember where exactly to find it.) And many in the chapter on Farley (ch 21). However, one of the most obvious might be in the Umilia chapter in which she and Murugan sit by the Ross memorial in the rain (pg 220-221).

The author seems almost to bring these little descriptions in at random. I'm wondering if anyone has any idea why they might be in the book.

If I were to take him as a bad writer, I would say he's going off the "sex sells" philosophy. However, they're just so oddly placed and overly dramatized, I have to think there's some purpose to it. For example, maybe, as Dr. Tiff had said about the plots multiplying like malaria, the overtly sexual innuendos mirror our human similarities to its reproduction. Since most diseases reproduce in an asexual way, Ghosh highlights malaria's difference in this sense.
Maybe it also links us to the bug in showing that, just like a parasite, we still obey our evolutionary drive to reproduce when placed in a new environment: Murugan gets excited when he finds a new person to tell his stories to, and Farley when he finds himself with a new discovery among strange people, Umilia when she finds herself questioning the world she always knew.
The details in each, as the book progresses, also seem more and more precise; as if each attempt leads to the book's great climax which reveals the answer to everything (or leaves the reader with a bad case of blue balls -- kidding).

Book Similarities...

We have begun reading Amitav Ghosh's novel The Calcutta Chromosome in our pursuit as explorers of science. The first novel we read, The lost World, was a novel about Challenger's adventure to the lost world with his new friends. The novel was filled with discovery and the pursuit of science. After reading about the expedition we could see the underlying role that science/discovery played during that time period. As we begin reading The Calcutta Chromosome some of the same underlying themes in this novel as we did in The Lost World.

From the first page of the novel we can tell that Antar is in a sense similar to Challenger in their quests to seek knowledge. They both have the drive to discover the unknown. We are introduced to Antar as an older man that basically watches a computer interpret and organize data. He is intrigued when there is some sort of anomaly and almost enjoys fueling Ave with new information. Antar then falls upon the old ID of Murugan thus beginning his new journey, similar to Challenger and the lost scientist he stumbles upon.

So I guess what im getting at is are there any other similarities between Challenger and Antar? Besides the obvious that Antar is dealing with more advanced technology what else connects their determination to discover the truth? Also, how are they different? How does technology play into Antar's journey? Just some things to think about...

"Lingua Franca" in Society Today

The short story we read, "Lingua Franca" by Carole McDonnell, had some very interesting points to it. I really liked the way it showed how influential society and popular science can be. When new technologies and sciences come about, people want the world to know about them, and vice versa. In many ways, I think we can relate this story to science and technology today. All the children in the story wanted the implantments so that they could speak to each other. In their society, I believe that the implantments would actually be helpful. The parents said that this device was good for their children's future education. The children simply wanted the implantments because everyone else had them. It was the "cool thing to do," if you will. This behavior, on a less life-changing scale, relates to today's society.

For example, some older people do not want to conform to the new technologies and sciences today's society has brought us. Younger people, on the other hand, do. Middle school students and high school students want laptops, cell phones, and mp3 players. The "elders" of our society think that these devices are corrupting society and will destroy the culture of America. Parents conform more easily because they know that these devices will eventually be helpful to their children's futures. The students on the other hand, mostly want these items just because all of their friends have them.

How about you guys? Do you all think that the people in McDonnell's story should accept the scientific transition the "Earthers" have given? Can you think of any other examples of how this situation may relate to today's technology and science?

What is our "Planetary Consciousness?"

While reading the chapters from Pratt's Imperial Eyes I came across this quote that explained the role of science in the act of systematizing nature: The finite totality of these representations or categories constituted a "mapping" not just of coastlines or rivers, but of every visible square, or even cubic, inch of the earth's surface.

So what is the role of science today? With all of the blank edges of the map filled in, how can science be used to find our own "planetary consciousness?"

I feel that science has changed dramatically within the past five centuries. Science was used to explain the observable unknowns in the universe; however as science explained more things and "filled in the map," the observable unknown became more and more detailed. We've replaced the gravitational laws that great minds like Newton once studied for Large Hadron Colliders and quantum mechanics. Science is rapidly becoming more and more scrutinous, as we are running out of the observable unknown. In this sense I think that our planetary consciousness has transformed into a more universal consciousness as we attempt to explain the laws of the universe in detail.

What do you guys think? Sorry to make you read the chapters if you havent already haha

Orange Blog Represent!!

http://www.badideapictures.com/index.php?page=movieplayer&movielink=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1T2pdv2HCo&title=Guilty%20Orange

Doyle's Underlying Warnings About England's Imperialism and Racism

[Edit] This was longer than I intended, sorry.. If you want to skip reading anything, the middle two paragraphs are basically supporting details leading to the last paragraph.

Throughout the years of English imperialism, the British Empire grew in power as it captured and plundered small, isolated countries. From these countries, many emigrants made their way to England in search of lives different from the ones they had in their home countries; however, upon their arrival, many faced unexpected challenges. The English, along with many other Westerners, held many suspicions toward foreigners which made it hard for immigrants to assimilate into society. Racism and nationalism not only gave natives priority in the work force leaving even skilled foreigners without or in menial jobs, it also held bias in the judicial system, social standing, and education. In The Lost World, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle subtly mirrors this treatment through the behavior of the ape-men toward the plateau Indians and the four explorers.

We talked a bit in class about how the plateau is much similar to the English countryside, mostly on how the same type of trees grew in each place [beech, ginkgo, etc.]. But how else do the two landscapes relate? England, like the plateau, was generally fairly open with a lot of farms and hills with the exception of a central city: London in England and the Ape Town of the plateau. Also, the parallel [as someone mentioned] of the tall ginkgo tree overlooking the plateau and Big Ben overlooking London. This scenery sets up the backdrop for further parallels to arise wish the introduction of the ape-men. From the start, Doyle makes it obvious that these "missing links" have some form of organized militia that works easily amongst the trees, much as the British Navy dominated the oceans of the world. Both had small groups that could hold their own [as the single ape-man so easily escaped the fall from the ginkgo tree] and spy on enemies [inferring that it was an ape-man which stumbled upon and ransacked the adventurers' camp on that first day]; however, both could call upon a massive force to overtake those they desired [as the ape-men easily capture three of the adventurers at a strategically beneficial time of day]. Both societies seem to take similar enjoyments in public spectacles and executions: England with it's hanging of criminals and lectures [which, in Challenger's case, people expected a sort of political hanging] and the ape-men with shoving prisoners off cliffs [which Lord John even admits he finds amusing]. Doyle even goes so far as to have a doppelganger of Professor Challenger, a presumably prominent Englishman, among the ape-men to complete the link.

So, how do the actions of the ape-men say anything about England's imperialism and racism? As one of the main powers of the plateau, much like England in the wider world, the ape-men keep their domain under complete control and seem to know as soon as anything happens within their mini-empire. When a small group of people shows up, apparently with nothing but a thorn fence, food resources, boxes, and funny sticks, the ape-men take the opportunity to capture the men's camp. This action, at first thought, seems to re-secure the ape-men's position in the plateau, as it eliminates a potential threat and increases their resources.
Back in Ape Town, the men are treated in much the same way as immigrants. Lord John and Professor Summerlee, who more closely resemble the rival Indian tribe, are shunned from the society, neglected, and later potentially subjected to death as an enemy [or, at least attempted]. Meanwhile, Challenger, who looks similar in nature though speaks another language, is treated as an Englishman might treat a German or Spaniard: with politeness [as they allow him to share their food and what not] but also with condescension [as the king brushes off Challenger's pleas for Summerlee's life].

Now, how does Doyle predict the consequences of England's current treatment of those it has colonized? Each of imperialistic act of the ape-men seems to take them one step closer to their demise. First, in capturing the four Englishmen, the ape-men treat them in such a way to gain another enemy; but, they also make the mistake of disregarding the power of the guns. Likely because they can not comprehend the technologies of the adventurers, the ape-men leave behind the advancements of those they captured; advances which, had they studied them, could have given them the absolute advantage or, had they discarded them, could not be used against them. This underestimation of the humans' power, and ability to untie knots, comes back to haunt them when Lord John and Malone revolt to save their friends and again when they join forces with the plateau Indians who treat them with respect. This series of events predicts that England's habitual underestimation and belligerent treatment of it's immigrants and colonists may very lead to it's undoing. It is as if Doyle says, "Learn from those you conquer or they may surprise you."

Some other points to ponder:
~ How the actions of the non-white characters [such as Zambo and Indians] towards others compare with the actions of those with some Anglo-Saxon decent [People you meet in England, even the half-breeds].
~ If Doyle is against imperialism, why is the plateau Indians' conquest allowed to succeed? What makes it different, or a more justified outcome?
~ Could, instead, the ape-men represent some other imperialistic power [perhaps Russia, as England was in competition with it at the time. Would fit with the hairiness. :D] which the Indians [as England with their canoes] must overcome.

Just some thoughts,
Marissa Anthony