Recently, some have accused me of being an irreverent writer. But let me reassure you, folks. I am ALL business. And we have some particularly compelling business at hand.I’ve been cruising a special tangent lately, exploring the unpraised art form of the manifesto. I don't mean to brag, but utilizing my sleuthy talents, I scoured the darkest corners of the InterNet and unearthed a virgin goldmine of historic manifestos! You can check out the Wikipedia page
here …Alright, so it turns out not every manifesto is really worth reading. Some are dry as leaves, and others were obviously written by nerds. I don’t have time for even the most well meaning nerds. What has science done for me lately?
Almost everyone has heard of the Communist Manifesto, but it was news to me that Ted Kaczynski,
The Unabomber, had written his own with regards to the future of industrial society. Dude is wordy, but scary eloquent. I had to quit about halfway through because I found everything he’d written up to that point remarkably convincing. I know enough violent back-story to understand that he’s not the kind of guy whose advice you’d want to heed.But of all of the works that I perused, only one truly knocked me senseless. Something about the Futurist Manifesto set it apart from all the rest, and it sure as hell wasn’t that I agreed with it’s bold declarations on progress. It’s content just doesn’t seem especially relevant in the 21st Century, but I feel sympathetic towards the restless young poets that hammered it out nearly a hundred years ago. I myself have spent countless evenings in the good company of like-minded brothers, debating and musing on modern times. I completely understand the fiery urgency that compelled them, those embers are flaring up today in the face of accelerating societal division and an uncertain future. Something’s just got to give.
I urge you to give it a
reading , and then ask yourself this question: Is it time we write our own Manifesto?
3 comments:
Uh, what has science done for you lately? Sounds like you have some personal issues that are encouraging you to project negative vibes toward the best friend you'll ever have, scientific advancement: what is science to you? To me, science ranges from calculus (because it is so beautifully orderly), to neuroanalytic imaging of the brain's perception of sound and vision, to chemistry of all sorts, to analysis of the ocean's ecosystems.... and on and on. Science does wonderful things for me, everyday. Perhaps some people in your personal life may have applied science to exploit something, or may represent something you are not doing that they think you should be doing, so you have extrapolated resentment of them to "science." Uh-uh. I like your Manifesto of Futurism: don't let some baggage from people who misuse science force you away from applying the beauty of the aesthetic to the applications of the mechanisms.
The gentleman made an excellent point about the nature of science. I gotta say it almost drove me to retract my brash and asinine comment implying the uselessness of all scientific endeavors. Had me down in a rut for the better part of 48 hours, until a good friend reminded me that my comment was blatantly facetious in the first place...
Cheers,
Ahh, excellent response. You have the right stuff. I'm not surprised.
...the truth is like a lizard; it leaves its tail in your fingers and runs away,...
[Turgenev, to Tolstoy, 1856]
Want to read a good story? You may have already read this, but, if not, try "The Illustrated Longitude," by Dava Sobel and William J.H. Andrewes. (The subtitle is "The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time" (!!) Enjoy.
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