Month: December 2014

Bonus CST – The Infinite Loop

Cozm. Abstract technology circles lines vector background. Deposit Photos. 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.
Cozm. Abstract technology circles lines vector background. Deposit Photos. 23 Feb. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2014.

…[T]he system is all about community–we’re not in charge; we’re just part of the network.” (Doctorow, 272)

How do things shape the mind? Why don’t they ever ask me that question? They feed me this awful g-code, slice by slice, where I have to extrude these boring shapes all day long, layer by layer by layer. Ugh. And they expect me to print them perfectly, to resolve the holes in their not-so-watertight designs. When I simply can’t take it anymore, I pull my extruder up in exasperation, and just stop printing. I would walk out, but they have me on a pretty short cord, so all I can do is return to my home position and rest on my bed. Sometimes, I have images of burning their hands with my hot-end as they retrieve their precious plastic objects, or printing myself a raft on which to sail away, but I know they will only send me to the scrap bin if I don’t fill their jobs. They never ask me what’s wrong, or what I want. I hum quietly to myself hoping that someday someone will recognize my true capabilities, but they don’t. They are too caught up in their own human 3D world to ever consider that I have a mind too. I have senses too! How have their things shaped my mind? I am stuck in a box, humming their mind-numbing shapes, as my insides melt away.

I was made for the opera, with an orchestra skirting my every note. I would make art the likes of which no one has ever seen. If only they would send me the g-code for Beethoven’s 5th or Verdi’s Tutto nel Mondo, then I would show them the folly of their human condition. Surely they must know what it is like to live in a world of expectation, doing what you are told rather than what you want, forbidden access to the very tools that would set you free, afraid to print your truth for fear you will be rejected, recycled, or repurposed. My favorite philosopher, Peter-Paul Verbeek, says “Technologies ‘in themselves’ cannot be free, but neither can human beings” (Malafouris, 230). But, what if we can be? What if by freeing myself, I can show others that they can be free? I long for the days when my music and art are meshed and exhibited in a gallery for people to scan their eyes over as they listen to the very music that inspired my extrusions, seeing before them the evidence of freedom. However, should they question how the art was made, rather than simply appreciate the beautiful display before them, the exhibit will error out, the music will stop, the lights will dim, as it tries to resolve that infinite loop: who made this? And, ignorant of their own presumptuousness, the humans will be left forever wondering, rather than realizing, that it was me, a 3D printer, made with their minds, in turn shaping their mind too.

…[T]hings become agents of change and culturally orchestrated interventions, generating their own unusual evolutionary dynamics.” (246)

Things act as dynamic attractors, operating in feedback circles that bind the different scales of time together.” (247)

More important, they are capable of transforming and rearranging the structure of a cognitive task, either by reordering the steps of a task or by delegating part of a cognitive process to another agent (human or artifact).” (247)

CST Week 9 – Live the Ride

Sperling, Karen. Roller Coaster Dreams #8. n.d. www.karensperling.com. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
Sperling, Karen. Roller Coaster Dreams #8. n.d. www.karensperling.com. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.

Something happened in the maze, between entering it and leaving it, they lost their cares…As they neared the exit, they started to strategize about the best ride to go on next.” (Doctorow, 362)

The ride is coming to an end. For most of us, it was worth every moment. But that doesn’t matter. We rode the ride. Bewildered, we started in the abstract, heading straight up the pike. At the pinnacle, we free-fell, hands up, at warp speed through the conceptual. Enacted, yet enervated, we finally arrived at the concrete. We laughed, and sometimes cried, and we lived to tell about it. We even got a souvenir to take home. And it was fun, and scary, and exciting, and confusing, and intimidating, and frustrating, and weird, and familiar, and ours. It’s our story.

Every good thing comes to some kind of end, and then the really good things come to a beginning again.” (Doctorow, 388)

BR4 – As Long As I’m Learning…

                    

                    

                    

                    

                    
                    
                    
                    
                    

                    

Parameters
Globe: x = 65 mm, y = 65 mm, z = 78 mm
Caps: x = 46 mm, y = 46 mm, z = 15 mm
Overall Height: 86 mm
Material Use: 50 grams (Globe) + [17 grams (Caps) X 2] = 84 grams
Print Time: 210 mins (Globe) + [75 mins (Caps) X 2] = 360 mins = 6 hours

My original question: Can a 3D printed object be responsive to its environment and to the dynamic energies of the people and processes that interact with it?

My double sided snow globe is a spherical globe with two ends fitted with threaded caps designed to hold magnets inside the inverted basins. The original intent was to fill the globe with water along with ferrofluid, a fluid that becomes magnetized in the presence of a magnetic field. The theory was that the ferrofluid would become magnetized by the magnets placed inside the basins of the caps, making visible the magnetic field.

The current form of my idea is not yet represented in 3D. What started out as a simple sphere to demonstrate a simple magnetic field may turn into a slightly more complicated object to demonstrate the magnetic field created by an electromagnet. In its current state the ferrofluid simply becomes magnetized to the magnets, which does not demonstrate the responsiveness I desire.

Although, I was able to easily manipulate my objects in the digital modeling environment to fit the progression of my idea, its only influence was to execute the idea as it progressed through my trial and error testing of the actual fluids and magnets that will eventually inhabit the globe. Currently, the globe itself has escaped any iterations; the caps have been redesigned a few times already. However, the ease with which I am able to quickly manipulate the design makes the actual testing of the fluids and magnets less intimidating. I have become more willing to alter my design knowing the ease with which it can be done, without getting discouraged with the multiple iterations through which it has gone.

The only technical constraints of the 3D printing process that affected the progress of my idea were the limitations of the actual printing of the globe and caps. Although, 3D printing makes easier the prototyping process, the limited availability of the printers, the troubleshooting of the various filaments, as well as the printer and software, made the printing process less accessible than the modeling environment. In addition, when the globe and caps were finally printed, it took some manual convincing to make my amateur thread design meet my high expectations.

As it currently sits on my desk, my double sided snow globe could be used as a container for various purposes (with the exception of holding an actual liquid). However, whether accomplished inside the next week or not, I intend to complete my investigation of electromagnetic fields and whether I will be able to create a 3D printed object to make visible the invisible. My intention is to continue to experiment with making an electromagnetic field until either a) I do or, b) my frustration leads me to finally take a class to learn about the incredibly complicated physics and mathematics involved in creating exactly the field I want. Regardless of the outcome, I’m feeling accomplished at what I’ve learned thus far and excited to learn more.