There was another prolonged gap in the blog. This one lasted for six-months, but during that time I traveled quite a bit, including a month-long trip to Moscow, wrote a novel in verse (in Russian, of course), was hospitalized with torn ligaments, but generally led a rather somnambulistic lifestyle.
Lackluster months gave me an opportunity to gather some thoughts on technology, social and political aspects of life in Russia and the US, and to come up with a few observations on other topics. One in particular fascinated me to the point of constant contemplation and almost an obsession with the subject. Ironically, and I will get to the irony of that a bit later, my thoughts were about the physiological limitations of man. This more or less became a predominant issue after spending a few weeks in a cast, when moving around an apartment was a chore and going downstairs on my own was completely out of the question. Yet not being able to move, for one reason or another, is only an extreme example of limitations.
Humans have spent their whole existence coping with physiological limitations. From the dream of flight, to the search and construction of shelters, to the invention of contraceptives, providing a safe way for the mind to triumph over physiology, humans have excelled at surrounding themselves with technology that will allow their bodies to be suppressed and minds active.
Yet, our fascination with the mind, with the intellect, problem-solving abilities does not even come close to our fascination with the body. Even if Einstein was called the person of the century a few years ago, and the society is touting the benefits of education, our fascination remains solid not with the physicists or mathematicians, but with musicians, athletes, and, of course, actors, namely with those whose talents stem from physiology in addition to mental discipline and character. Speaking of the latter, we remember their faces, adore their bodies, marvel at the ability to transform themselves and undergo such drastic physiological changes that the faces and bodies we know stray beyond recognition. Recently, I heard an interview with Adrian Brody, the Oscar-winning actor that had to lose over thirty pounds from his already thin frame for the Polansky’s “Pianist”. He talked about the emotional aspects of starvation, pointing out that in the modern world, at least in the Western world, we rarely go through this experience. For him, the transformation into a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto was a feat of theatrical talent, but yet, he could only achieve this feat by adjusting his physiology closer to the prototype he portrayed.
The body triumphs over the mind. From the Christian perspective, lives of men are devoted to overcoming this triumph. From the perspective of the natural world, humans have exceeded their capacity to cope with the desires brought on by the mind, but suppressed by their physiology. Houellebecq touched upon this in “Atomised”. “Matrix” and “Terminator” displayed the romantic ideals – the fight against inevitability.
The irony of these thoughts lies in the fact that they are still produced on the physiological level (the level of neurons, axons and synapses). We can talk about inevitability, physiological limitations, we can invest in nano- and biotechnology to overcome them, yet it seems that ultimately we want to rid ourselves of physiology at which we marvel.
Lackluster months gave me an opportunity to gather some thoughts on technology, social and political aspects of life in Russia and the US, and to come up with a few observations on other topics. One in particular fascinated me to the point of constant contemplation and almost an obsession with the subject. Ironically, and I will get to the irony of that a bit later, my thoughts were about the physiological limitations of man. This more or less became a predominant issue after spending a few weeks in a cast, when moving around an apartment was a chore and going downstairs on my own was completely out of the question. Yet not being able to move, for one reason or another, is only an extreme example of limitations.
Humans have spent their whole existence coping with physiological limitations. From the dream of flight, to the search and construction of shelters, to the invention of contraceptives, providing a safe way for the mind to triumph over physiology, humans have excelled at surrounding themselves with technology that will allow their bodies to be suppressed and minds active.
Yet, our fascination with the mind, with the intellect, problem-solving abilities does not even come close to our fascination with the body. Even if Einstein was called the person of the century a few years ago, and the society is touting the benefits of education, our fascination remains solid not with the physicists or mathematicians, but with musicians, athletes, and, of course, actors, namely with those whose talents stem from physiology in addition to mental discipline and character. Speaking of the latter, we remember their faces, adore their bodies, marvel at the ability to transform themselves and undergo such drastic physiological changes that the faces and bodies we know stray beyond recognition. Recently, I heard an interview with Adrian Brody, the Oscar-winning actor that had to lose over thirty pounds from his already thin frame for the Polansky’s “Pianist”. He talked about the emotional aspects of starvation, pointing out that in the modern world, at least in the Western world, we rarely go through this experience. For him, the transformation into a survivor of the Warsaw ghetto was a feat of theatrical talent, but yet, he could only achieve this feat by adjusting his physiology closer to the prototype he portrayed.
The body triumphs over the mind. From the Christian perspective, lives of men are devoted to overcoming this triumph. From the perspective of the natural world, humans have exceeded their capacity to cope with the desires brought on by the mind, but suppressed by their physiology. Houellebecq touched upon this in “Atomised”. “Matrix” and “Terminator” displayed the romantic ideals – the fight against inevitability.
The irony of these thoughts lies in the fact that they are still produced on the physiological level (the level of neurons, axons and synapses). We can talk about inevitability, physiological limitations, we can invest in nano- and biotechnology to overcome them, yet it seems that ultimately we want to rid ourselves of physiology at which we marvel.
posted by spiodin at 1/30/2004 01:25:00 PM
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