Many rectangles

Black and orange

The Stroop effect

I am currently fascinated by the ideas of impermanence and randomness. As we all know, fashion, like beauty standards, is constantly changing. Some might argue that fashion is a cycle, metaphorically, but it is indeed constantly developing and progressing and interconnects to numerous aspects, such as climate and politics. I want to integrate this idea into fashion and perhaps let the computer take control of what people put on their bodies by generating random dynamic images, patterns or characters as a symbolic representation of the state of impermanence. This brings out another thing I am interested in which is data visualization, to be specific, using data drawn from various sources in surface designs and pattern making.

The articles introduced a number of visionary women of who are fighting for a better future for our society and for the planet.

The articles makes me recognize the importance of intersecting environmental well-being into social justice, although it is often overlooked for being “less of a priority”. 

One of the interesting details I found out is how the article about Neri Oxman emphasizes her personal life and charm a lot, while in the interview with Jane Goodall, Goodall motioned in her earlier years the media is focusing on her look too because that’s what most readers are interested.

1. Does the increasing awareness for climate change largely associate with women’s participation in public affairs?
2. Is using the sexual attractiveness of a woman to draw public attention to certain serious issues a good thing in the long run?
3. What is the exclusive connection between Feminism and Environmentalism？

Silent springs exposed the danger of modern chemicals and pest control methods.

In the opening of the book, Carson envisions an imaginative incident that happened in a town where humans, animals and plants lost their vitality. Although the story of this unfortunate town is fabricated, that have said happened in the town had occurred in different places in reality.

Carson later explained the hidden danger of modern chemicals, especially commercial chemicals that are sold to millions of American families and farms and businesses. People are praising the efficiency of these products yet are unaware of the negative impact they brings to human health and the environment.

Since the book mentioned a lot about humans attempt on pest control, killing or making certain insects to die out, there is always an ethical discussion about wether humans have the right to do so, disregard the impact of such action.

I think humans somehow share similar qualities with what we consider as pests, although we seen to be fragile as individuals, we are still able to to survive from many disasters and cause huge amount of harm on other animals, yet at the end of the day we are both seeking to exist and find comfort in this planet, which is absolutely natural. I think we should think in this sentiment when we are trying to manipulate nature.

In the article The Fire Next Time and I Become A Nisei, both authors discussed the state and a perspective for the future as racial minorities in the United States.

The Fire Next Time is a letter written to the author’s nephew, which Baldwin tells his nephew to recognize his self-worth and power to achieve life goals and not to believe the discouraging words from a society based on his race.

In the article, I Become A Nisei, Noguchi, narrated his journey to a concentration camp in Arizona, he discussed niseis, that is, second-generation Japanese born overseas, are in a state where they find it hare to identify with native-born Japanese yet are racially discriminated in the State.

1. Knowing that we are still attempting working on racial equality, in regard to the social-political climate nowadays, are we in the right direction or the opposite?
2. How does art help to boost confidence for racial minorities？

Oyster discussed the physical characters and geographical distribution of oysters.  Oysters are found all over the continents, to ancient humans they are portable and easy to conserve sources of nutrients.

Then the author introduced the life of oysters: Development process of infant oysters, Oyster’s food and how oysters are able to sense the changes in the environment react to it. Oysters shift their sex between males and females supposedly according to temperature.

The rest of the material is about the history of the oyster, the earliest oyster found by humans is from 542-251 million years ago. Humans have a long relationship with oysters. Finally, an outlook for oysters is offered, oyster farming is beneficial to the environment since oysters can filter the filth in the water and several ways to recycle oyster shells are introduced.

1. Are there other animals that are similar to oysters in the sense that they are widespread and are eco-friendly to cultivate.

2. Where do the harmful substances filtered by oysters go? Are they going back to the ecosystem？

3. Will the oyster price ever drop to once it used to be?

The article Manahatta provides a perspective of viewing New York City geographically, instead of an anthropological perspective.  Though the article a structure that emerged before human civilization is revealed: the hills, the streams; water and earth.

Being one of the most developed place in the world, manhattan has such a great social and economical significant that people often overlooked the land itself and the environmental challenge it is facing, which also happens in other cities, being the brain of society （versus the country where physical materials such as food are produced)  the natural characteristic is often overlooked by the general public.

1. will planning mass production of vegetables within the city more sustainable, how to make it more sustainable economically and environmentally？

The Hidden Life of Trees reveals an aspect of the life of trees that are often not unknown or ever misunderstood by general people, in a novel way of writing about trees as if they are humans or some sort of animals.

The book suggests that trees, unlike the silent creature that has no emotion or intelligent, not only have their ways of communicating to each other, they also have established a lifestyle to coexist in their “society”, the book also mentions how trees have generated ways to maintain their well-being.

The book has given me a new perspective on trees and it changes how I see other beings such as plants and it make me think if humans are not the most intellectual creature, we just don’t understand what under creatures or any things are thinking.

What makes a being considered to be intelligent or have feelings?