JeffLearman Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Slide rules have been extinct in engineering educations, I'd bet for at least the last 20 years. More like 35 years. I saw no slide rules at University of Michigan in 1975. For reference purposes, the first "affordable" electronic pocket calculators appeard about 5 years earlier. I remember that the first HP, which could add, subtract, multiply, divide, take square roots, and store one number, cost $300 in (IIRC) 1970. By 1974, a $80 TI calculator had all the trig functions, logarithms, exponentiation, and a few statistical functions. It did't take long for the slide rule to be displaced by the calculator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veracohr Posted December 13, 2009 Share Posted December 13, 2009 Paint was invented to mark and protect surfaces. Writing was invented to retain information without the pollution of memory. Masonry was invented to build walls and enclosures and sculpture to mark the surfaces thus produced. Tiling and mosaics were invented to produce durable surfaces. Weaving was invented to make nets and fabrics. All the activities that became arts started with a mundane purpose. I'm not clear on the distinction you make between everything else and recording and photography. Recording and photography are both "inherently functional" AND neutral? Isn't everything? Well recording, photography and music are the subjects at hand. Anything else (painting, writing, etc.) would have to be considered separately. Don't misunderstand me: I'm not making a "you are wrong" argument. It's just a matter of perception. In my mind there are very few artistic things that are 'inherently' artistic. That's just because most human inventions have been invented to perform mundane functions. The primary goal of humankind, as all life, is to propagate the species, and most invention is done to serve that end. But music really serves no purpose that is not artistic in nature. The Australian aborigines that use music to map the landscape of their migrations, the African peoples that use music to communicate across vast distances, the North American aborigines that use songs in their sacred ceremonies that can only be taught within certain families, a good sized chunk of the European church music tradition, the rowers that use songs to establish cadence, and the African griots that use music as a memory aid in oral histories, to name a few, would also disagree with you. I am unaware of any of these things. This is a squishy subject because I'm attempting to apply an absolute meaning to something, which is a difficult thing as someone some posts back went into detail about. But still the examples you gave are, to me, just examples of different uses of music which do not change the fundamental nature of music. Just as I am saying that artistic uses of photography and recording are great, but do not make them 'inherently' artistic (that word is becoming tiresome, isn't it?). That's just one of the great things about being human: being able to invent new uses for our tools that don't necessarily have that much to do with the original intention. "And then you have these thoughts in the back of your mind like 'Why am I doing this? Or is this a figment of my imagination?'" http://www.veracohr.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted December 13, 2009 Author Share Posted December 13, 2009 Disposable cameras, M-Audio KBs, Fruity Loops software and Behringer-owned Midas consoles, etc. the Brownie sold like hotcakes,but a lot of the people who bought them went on to 35mm SLR cameras. the Vox Continental didn't replace the Hammond,which didn't replace the pipe organ. the Ampex reel-to-reel didn't destroy recorded music because you could overdub. None of these inventions allowed folks to saturate the market with disposable art. Those products inspired folks to create and facilitated industry. Technology trumps everything these days. The tools have become more important than the results, making it easy for anyone to create because it's fun. Ability, effort or personal growth are optional, and the level of art is the last destination, so the one least arrived at. The entire post was excellent but the quote above weighs a ton pertaining to this thread. PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted December 14, 2009 Share Posted December 14, 2009 Well, since the entirety of my last post was ignored, perhaps condensing the point and driving it home will help.... Technology made it easier for people to express themselves. It didn't make it any easier to do so in a competent fashion. People who have no clue how to write a song will continue to have no clue how to write a song, no matter what technology you offer them. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProfD Posted December 14, 2009 Author Share Posted December 14, 2009 Well, since the entirety of my last post was ignored, perhaps condensing the point and driving it home will help.... Technology made it easier for people to express themselves. It didn't make it any easier to do so in a competent fashion. People who have no clue how to write a song will continue to have no clue how to write a song, no matter what technology you offer them. Nah mayne, I thought your "pop-in" post was a great example of how technology affords folks the opportunity to hit the market with junk food. Once folks realize their still hungry, they consult a real chef. Got it. PD "The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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