<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> I think that hitting someone in the head to make them see colors is absurd to say the least. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Call it whatever you want - it is absurd, but it was the beginning of a new research on how a human brain 'generates' colors. Most scientific experiments started out rude but developed very fast to higher levels. So the electrical stimulation of today's research is a great progress if it will lead to give blind people a chance to understand colors. And on the long run find a way to give them eyesight.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>My question was merely an example of sensing reality verses computer generated fantasy. Paintings, photographs and CG Images are visual stimuli lacking any tangible substance other than the material they are presented with. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

With one difference: photographs are a mirror of reality, as well as paintings. But cg images are only randomly placed bits and bytes - you push a few sliders to 'model' a world that doesn't have any parallel in nature or reality.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>While I believe that the criminal mind could use such a medium as a deception. I also believe that the average person that has the capacity to operate such a piece of equipment is not so gullible as to be lacking the ability to distinguish reality from fantasy. As for time and space, I would probably be better off not telling you what I think. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

It's your decision - this is a free forum ;-}.

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR> When one or a few individuals publicly base a hypothetical argument on their concern for the masses, some elements of the argument could be viewed as a pretentious state of arrogance by those to which it references. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

That why I used the Latin statement, showing that it is NOT my word. Instead, it's a historic statement, made some 2000 years ago.

I don't want to be or even appear to be arrogant. My goal is to ignite a new process in people, make them start thinking about themselves, who they are, where they are. The question why they are could exceed their capabilities, so let the philosophers in this world answer this question because they get paid for it.

Did you notice that people prefer to be destructive than to be creative? Just look at the slaughter games sold vs. the creative apps sold in this world.
How comes that the masses downloaded the chicken shooting game from a German company by the 100 millions instead of browsing galleries with cute chickens in funny situations? And then contribute their own creative input?

No, all those nobrainers want is BANG, BANG, BANG, kill, destroy, erase, hurt.

As I said - and this is what **I** say and think: the masses proved they are dumb because even if you give them a choice they run into the wrong direction.

Another proof: here in our village some people from other places accelerate their cars if a chicken (= synonym for hedgehog, squirrel, duck, mouse, marten) is walking on the road to hit it instead of slowing down to enjoy free running chicken, not imprisoned in cage batteries for nothing else but to produce cheap eggs.

I have seen Americans (sorry, I don't want to step onto your toes, don't take it personally, I think there are Europeans as well, but I've watched this in the US) arriving at a sightseeing point, jumping out of their car, pulling their camera up, taking a snapshot, rushing back into their car while the father said to the children: hurry, we can watch the pics at home, need to go to the next point now.

OK, this might be an exemption, but I've seen similar scenes in Europe as well.

So please don't tell me the masses have brains. Most of them don't even want to think. Does it hurt to think? I don't know.

Ross and Maya said it would be beautiful to have an application for everyone to be creative. Well, this application is here: the Internet. But instead of using the Internet in a creative way to research and learn, guess what happened: the masses click the links to porn sites (in Europe more than 70% of the search engine requests). And can you imagine that these dumb idiots grab their credit card to pay big bucks for the content? They do. But at the same time they complain if a newspaper or serious magazine charges micropayments (=cents!) for articles. The rest is glued to the impertinent dumb TV sets. Passive. Inactive - not interactive (they don't know what interaction really means). They escape into virtual, non existing worlds.

The masses ARE dumb. They prove it every day. Appears to me all they want to do is to f... off their non existent pinhead brains.

OK, the last paragraph might be a bit rude and simplyfied, but I am convined it hits the nail on it's head...

Maya,

you mentioned you would love to watch National Geographic documentation films. Well, it's my wish as well, but we are a minority. The entertainment industry prefers to bombard the masses with nobrainer stuff and boring advertising because a mass market is always profitable (in the brains of the big shot decision makers).

I can predict what would happen if they would set up a National Geographic TV channel: it would have to close down after a month because the audience is too small. A few thousands maybe.

It would be fantastic if they would offer a subscription to a monthly DVD or Video CD worldwide. But on the other hand I enjoy to read their magazines on the couch as well - far away from the 'confuser' ;-}

jens

jens g.r. benthien
designer
http://www.sacalobra.de

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If you don't know how to dream you'll never be a designer.
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