our place in this world

I am getting a few questionnaires returned now, some interesting points emerge, not that people's perceptions of "truth" are anything radical or ground breaking, but to see that people actually argue with themselves on paper. I can see the struggle that people have to actually identify what "truth" is. This is where my interest lies, the knowledge that people talk of "truth" - how everyone is supposed to know what it is (like an unwritten rule), but they still can't quite put their fingers on it.

I am also noticing that when people fill in the questions, they do so in order of sequence, that is to say, they don't read all the questions first, or read them in groups, to determine what to say in each answer. I have carefully ordered the questions to make people think of elements on their own. It is particularly obvious in the "technology" section, where I ask: "Do you trust technology to convey truth?" and many of the responses deal with the human implementation and involvement of the technology, then after this question, I ask "Do you trust the human element in implementation of technology?" - to which most people have already answered that, by thinking that technology IS human implementation, and not "just" a collection of wires and switches. Is technology "programming" ? it is fascinating to think that "all technology" has been developed by "human hand" - circut boards designed by a person, to which human programmers write code to facilitate the switches and gates within these boxes for a myriad of purposes, shopping, news, voting, census...killing imaginary aliens on an imaginary planet in an imaginary future...

The knowledge that our lives are directed by our actions (collectively and individually), in understood realms (personal experiences) and complex "leave it to the experts" realms - we seem to have it hard wired into our brains that anything we see, must in some form revert back to our influence or relativity. Even looking at the natural world, where mankind has not had a "hand in making", we anthropomorphises, we seem to assume ownership (farming, ecological "missions", preservation areas etc). This all points to a very selfish perspective of our place in this world. I wonder if ants care for the well being of the planet? I wonder if when ants chew trees, they "understand" the ramifications of their actions?

has all this come from asking "what is the truth?"...a large area indeed.

the degree show opens tonight - the sculpture department looks cool...lovely space