Photographer, writer, teacher :: Live honestly. Progress through knowledge. Achieve by teaching. Communicate in writing. Speak in pictures. Every day, improve the world a little...
One of those that comes into its own on black - the contrast brings out the detail but doesn't detract from the concept.
It's quite disturbing to think of how much equipment we use everyday and take for granted but have no idea how it works.
I think even the most wary of us are a lot more trusting than we realise.
@dulciknit - disturbing, really? Most people love trees. But is it disturbing that they know little of how they live, grow reproduce, function, interact, or even exist? There is no reason to know how something works in order to appreciate the scope of its effects or the pleasure of using it.
I think we should sometimes be awed, without having to know something intimately. In fact to know more sometimes spoils appreciation. I studied Environmental Sciences. Learning a lot about landscapes spoiled some of my appreciation of them, because I can read them and understand the processes of formation and change. Now days I have learned to ignore that and rely on feeling and emotion, to experience the moment rather than need to know the background.
Sometimes we need to know. Sometimes we just need to appreciate. Art appreciation (inc. photography) is all about the impact of the piece/image. We really don't need to know how it was done to appreciate it. We might WANT to know - but that is a different point.
@netkonnexion Disturbing was not the right word, perhaps sobering would be better.
"There is no reason to know how something works in order to appreciate the scope of its effects or the pleasure of using it."
I agree but I was thinking only of the *amount* of equipment we use now that we don't know how it works, not of appreciating or enjoying it.
Looks like I got my wires crossed - a bit like those in your image. :)
@dulciknit Yes, I take your point.
What is perhaps problematic (on one level) is that people don't realise what is involved in maintaining their engagement in a technological context. This is simply a connection panel - actually a 'patch panel' for patching things together. It connects all the PCs in a building to all the others and to the servers that support them, the firewalls that protect them and the connections to the Internet that make them a worldwide communications device. It is a simple piece of technology just used on a large scale. I have similar technology at home for our network. But mine are no bigger than the size of two large boxes of kitchen matches. But they do pretty much the same as this panel. What we don't appreciate is the the scale of technology that lies behind this patch panel - the servers, switches, firewalls, routers and other technology that support our connection by phone/smartphone or PC to the rest of the world. The scale of these technologies is enormous, as is the scope and the potential impact. What you see here is a tiny part of the overall scheme of things in one building. This patch panel sat next to five other cabinets of technology. Each is taller than a man, wider and deeper than a man too.
Yes, sobering is a good word.
It's quite disturbing to think of how much equipment we use everyday and take for granted but have no idea how it works.
I think even the most wary of us are a lot more trusting than we realise.
I think we should sometimes be awed, without having to know something intimately. In fact to know more sometimes spoils appreciation. I studied Environmental Sciences. Learning a lot about landscapes spoiled some of my appreciation of them, because I can read them and understand the processes of formation and change. Now days I have learned to ignore that and rely on feeling and emotion, to experience the moment rather than need to know the background.
Sometimes we need to know. Sometimes we just need to appreciate. Art appreciation (inc. photography) is all about the impact of the piece/image. We really don't need to know how it was done to appreciate it. We might WANT to know - but that is a different point.
"There is no reason to know how something works in order to appreciate the scope of its effects or the pleasure of using it."
I agree but I was thinking only of the *amount* of equipment we use now that we don't know how it works, not of appreciating or enjoying it.
Looks like I got my wires crossed - a bit like those in your image. :)
What is perhaps problematic (on one level) is that people don't realise what is involved in maintaining their engagement in a technological context. This is simply a connection panel - actually a 'patch panel' for patching things together. It connects all the PCs in a building to all the others and to the servers that support them, the firewalls that protect them and the connections to the Internet that make them a worldwide communications device. It is a simple piece of technology just used on a large scale. I have similar technology at home for our network. But mine are no bigger than the size of two large boxes of kitchen matches. But they do pretty much the same as this panel. What we don't appreciate is the the scale of technology that lies behind this patch panel - the servers, switches, firewalls, routers and other technology that support our connection by phone/smartphone or PC to the rest of the world. The scale of these technologies is enormous, as is the scope and the potential impact. What you see here is a tiny part of the overall scheme of things in one building. This patch panel sat next to five other cabinets of technology. Each is taller than a man, wider and deeper than a man too.
Yes, sobering is a good word.