Extra Credit Event 1- ArtSci LASER

-ArtSci Leonado Art Science Evening Rendezvous - May 25th, 2017-

On May 25th, I attended the Art Science departments lecture event which contained multiple speakers discussing a variety of different topics. As a whole, having an event that contained a vast variety of different speakers from different backgrounds and with different ideas was a really fascinating way for me to gain some knowledge, as well as see how different things can connect. First to speak was Claudia Schnugg who first opened with the idea of how important collaboration is. In essence, I feel this topic is at the core of our class. Even the class name itself, Art, Science, and Technology is centering on the idea that different field perform the best and work the most efficiently when they pool their knowledge and ideas together. Claudia discussed how, unless there is an outside opinion or viewpoint introduced that differs from ones own, nothing new will be thought of.  She then went on to discuss how we can enhance our communication, and one of the ways was through a device called a Unicorn Helmet which essentially measure the brain waves of the individual wearing it in order to better understand when and why people get distracted.  This combination of psychology and technology can only happen when people with understandings in both fields can come and work together, as we saw in the first chapter of this class, Two Cultures.

Barnard shows an artists' sketch of
of the graves discovered

The next speaker, Hans Barnard, discussed something entirely different, but in some way, along the same train of thought in the end. How to enhance communication. He begun by providing a background of a group I had never heard of before, the Pangraves, who existed before Ramsey II near the red sea. His discussion certered around their burial, as that is the only tangible proof currently remaining of their existence.  There were multiple oddities about how these individuals were buried. They were placed in semi-circle shaped graves, covered with a layer of stones,

followed by a layer of necklaces and other possessions. The strangest part however was what they found in the graves next to these people however; cow skulls with some type of hieroglyphics, as seen in the picture on the right. This is were the communicating comes back in. Due to the fact theres were unlike anything seen before, there was some miscommunication in decoding it. Essentially then, this process took an archeologist to find the work of an artist, and then take it to a scientist in order for it to be read by a historian. 4 professions, one goal. There may not be a more clear example of people from different background and fields coming together to pool their knowledge to help find a meaning.

After the next speaker Stephanie Volland discussed how the photoreceptors in the eye function, and how we may even be able to cure blindness one day, Tamira Elul came up to speak. In her talk, she introduced the process of embryo formation and how the cells in our body are helping us grow from an early age.

Volland discusses embryo division

In it, she discusses how cells grow faster or slower depending on whether or not there is a precursor present, and how an embryo can continue growing even when divided in half.  This idea of we can do something, but should we, is something we discussed in the medical technology and biotechnology chapters in class. Should we genetically engineer things the be the best possible versions of themselves?  Through Volland's research, she may be able to provide some of the answers to the "how" about cell reproduction, but in order for the "should we" answers, there will need to once again be collaboration, and communication, with other thinkers like philosophers and politicians so that the best decision could be made for the people of the world. These types of conversations have always been fascinating for me, and the work Stephanie Volland and others are doing is vital to making an informed decision.

The penultimate speaker was Behnaz Farahi who discussed the interaction between humans, art, and technology.  What she discussed was very much in line with the material and topics discussed in our nanotech and neuroscience chapters. She put a heavy emphasis on the relation us humans have with technology and how we like to mold our soundings in a comfortable manner.

One of the artist pieces she presented was a suit that morphed to the body based on different things, such as what the person was looking at, what their mood was, and a myriad of other inputs the person could provide. This gave interesting insights about how technology influences perceptions we have about things in our day to day life, and just how involved with it we really are.  The interesting thing she said that really caught my attention however, is how everything is related to nature; the scales look like those on a fish, a helmet you can wear looks like that of a shark, and so on. So much of our inspiration comes from nature. Why is it that the newest and most innovative things take motivation from something that was made 3 billion years ago when Earth cooled? Even here, it's all about communication.  Learning things from something that may not even seem related, but when someone opens their eyes and really sees the connections, it becomes much more clear.

Finally, the last speakers at the event, Syrian Chawla and David Ertel, presented their art instilation they had created in the Nevada desert.

Focusing their discussion on what is public vs. what is private, they buried a truck in the ground. Essentially, turning a private material possession into a public entity by returning it to the land. They also discussed how things like thoughts, which we often feel are the most private things we can have, suddenly become public when we post something on twitter or facebook.

Overall, this great event showed off just how important communication and collaboration is between two fields, and making sure that the 2 cultures of art and science, and the many others, are able to properly function together to make one that is much more meaningful and powerful together.