And now a brief lesson on cultural equation, or, the counter to White’s Law. Leslie White argues that “culture evolves as the amount of energy harnessed per capita per year is increased, or as the efficiency of the instrumental means of putting the energy to work is increased.”
Wikipedia goes on to tell us that White rank-ordered technology thusly:
Technology is an attempt to solve the problems of survival.
This attempt ultimately means capturing enough energy and diverting it for human needs.
Societies that capture more energy and use it more efficiently have an advantage over other societies.
Therefore, these different societies are more advanced in an evolutionary sense.
His point being that our goal and job was to “harness and control energy.” White, who helped found the anthropological studies department at the University of Michigan, wrote this in the 1940s, so we can assume that his understanding of controlling and harnessing is similar to ours. So let us consider, briefly, the Romans. Specifically the Romans in modern England. Provincia Britannia existed from about the years 43 to 409, peaking around 150.
An excerpt from Wikipedia on the Romano-British culture:
Thousands of Roman businessmen and officials and their families settled in Britannia. Roman troops from across the Empire as far as Spain, Syria, and Egypt, but mainly from the Germanic provinces of Batavia and Frisia (modern Netherlands, Belgium, and the Rhineland area of Germany) were garrisoned in Roman towns, and many intermarried with local Britons. This diversified Britannia’s cultures and religions, while the populace remained mainly Celtic with a Roman way of life.
Where’s all this going? The lasting of history, and the harnessing of culture, as an energy:
A superb Roman eagle in near pristine condition, serpent prey wriggling in its beak, has been found by archaeologists in the City of London. A symbol of immortality and power, it was carefully preserved when the aristocratic tomb it decorated was smashed up more than 1,800 years ago – and is regarded as one of the best pieces of Romano-British art ever found.
The preservation is so startling that the archaeologists who found it a few weeks ago at the bottom of a ditch, on the last day of an excavation on a development site at the Minories, were worried in case they had unearthed a Victorian garden ornament.
It will soon be on display at the Museum of London, just 30 days from ditch to gallery. This artifact had to do with the death of someone highly valued in the culture.
And now here are modern artifacts dealing with the life of the middle. A fundraiser and fun event that allows students target their professors:
For as long as YouTube around that’s going to be there. As long as there is electricity to harness and and server to point to, culture is going to have videos like that.
And cool videos like this, worth your while if you’re interested in the genre. The groom here is a graduate from our program. The video was produced by two guys who are also veterans of our department. And they are doing some amazing work.
The One Where Drew Marries Kaitlin from Logan Dillard.
So Drew has great form when tying his shoes. Needs work on the dancing. But he’s a good fella, a good part of the culture, you might say.
Things to read … Another guy riding a bike murdered in Mobile. Bicyclist found dead in Lyons Park, Mobile police investigate. A few days ago this father of three was killed on a bike there. How close were the two murders? Close.
Mobile, according to the people in the comments of both stories, has a problem that they should remedy quickly.
A surgeon at UAB and a surgeon in Atlanta do the same procedure. UAB doctor performs surgery using Google Glass. I remember when, about 10 years ago, I interviewed a doctor who was talking about visiting with patients through a digital interface from some office a town or county or state away. It all seemed only mildly fantastical then. You know, possible, but maybe not for you. You could see how the tech would work, but you want the human doctor. And now, today, this stuff just makes you think, “Of course.” The 21st century is amazing:
It was if the surgeon had another set of hands to help during surgery to replace a shoulder.
Floating ethereally over the surgeon’s own hands, the hands guided and pointed as the surgeon worked the scalpel.
[…]
“It’s not unlike the line marking a first down that a television broadcast adds to the screen while televising a football game,” Ponce said. “You see the line, although it’s not really on the field. Using VIPAAR, a remote surgeon is able to put his or her hands into the surgical field and provide collaboration and assistance.”
UAB doctors say the technology allows a veteran surgeon to oversee and instruct in real time surgeries performed by less experienced physicians.
Some quick journalism links:
What happens when a newspaper plagiarizes itself?
Also, two things on the multimedia blog. One tortured lead and Two quick social media anecdotes. I changed the template there this evening, too. Now there’s a tea background, which is apropos.
That’ll probably be what they bury me with one day in a hundred years, tea bags. I do love the stuff so. I doubt it will last the millennia and more that the Roman carving did.
