Ye Olde Blog

The blogging continues…

The astrolabe pretty much blew my mind.  I am so dumbfounded by a technology that is so old, yet so complex… I have no idea how it works, despite Tom’s step by step guide.  All I know about the astrolabe is that it somehow represents the sky on a 12” plate that is really pretty.  Despite my lack of understanding, I am so intrigued by the astrolabe, perhaps more about what it signifies than the actual workings of it.  I agree with Tom that progress is a change in which something is gained and inevitably lost.  While the gains are exciting, I mean I would take my iPhone over an astrolabe any day in today’s world (and will get just as excited as the next person when the iPhone 5 arrives), there is also a sense of despair over what has been lost over time – at least for me.  The astrolabe does represent a much deeper connection and understanding of our sky than any iPhone ‘Night Sky’ app could.  With the astrolabe we must really think and consider the sky and our thoughts as the astrolabe acts to mediate between the two.  I think as technology continues to grows, its role as a mediator between what is real and our thoughts expands.  I often feel, despite a love for technology, that it is dividing us more and more from our natural world, and each other.  For example, people will text their friends prior to engaging in conversation with a stranger when a bus is late, or spend days inside on their computers living in a virtual world.  I think it is sad that this is becoming more and more the accepted norm for communication, as it hasn’t always been this way.  I feel a strong sense of despair over this, even though I would text my friend over talking to a stranger (hypocritical I know), because I think society is ever losing something fundamental and natural to our existence as technology continues to evolve.  Communication and connection to our earth and each other has always been part of survival in the natural world, we should be no exception and yet technology may end up turning that primal rule onto its head.