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Angela Becerra Vidergar

As Synthetic Biology Becomes Affordable, Amateur Labs Thrive - The Tech - 0 views

tech.mit.edu/...biohack.html

DIY technology science steampunk

shared by Angela Becerra Vidergar on 10 Dec 08 - Cached
  • In a third-floor loft where programmers build Internet start-ups, Mackenzie Cowell is talking about the tools he and like-minded young colleagues are using to fuel what they hope will be the next big thing in biology. The list includes a cut-up Charlie Card, ingredients bought on eBay to make a kind of scientific Jell-O, and a refrigerator, just scored on Craigslist.com, that chills to 80 degrees below zero.Cowell is part of an effort called DIYbio — short for do-it-yourself biology — that aims to move science into the hands of hobbyists. It is starting by holding sessions where amateurs extract DNA, and attempt genetic fingerprinting using common household items and the kitchen sink.
  • It shatters that clinical image.
  • What Cowell and crew hope to achieve is a democratization of science that could propel the field of biology into the mainstream, much as computer hackers fueled computer development a generation ago.
  • ...9 more annotations...
  • enormous American enthusiasm for invention that carries on in each generation
  • In a third-floor loft where programmers build Internet start-ups, Mackenzie Cowell is talking about the tools he and like-minded young colleagues are using to fuel what they hope will be the next big thing in biology. The list includes a cut-up Charlie Card, ingredients bought on eBay to make a kind of scientific Jell-O, and a refrigerator, just scored on Craigslist.com, that chills to 80 degrees below zero.Cowell is part of an effort called DIYbio — short for do-it-yourself biology — that aims to move science into the hands of hobbyists. It is starting by holding sessions where amateurs extract DNA, and attempt genetic fingerprinting using common household items and the kitchen sink.
  • It shatters that clinical image
  • the biohacker
  • After all, Silicon Valley’s Homebrew Computer Club played a part in the personal computer industry and counts Apple Inc. founders among its attendees
  • This follows in the heels of enormous American enthusiasm for invention that carries on in each generation
  • But the work also raises fears that people could create a deadly microbe on purpose, just as computer hackers have unleashed crippling viruses or broken into government websites
  • Tom Knight, a senior research scientist at MIT who is cofounding a synthetic biology company called Ginkgo BioWorks, sees the transformative value of biohacking — the phrase used to describe doing to living organisms what computer hackers have long done with electronics. But he has reservations about putting such power into the hands of amateurs.“I think if the safety issues can be addressed, there is a big opportunity,” Knight said. “It’s a huge issue; how do you regulate so [people] don’t cause havoc.
  • The clash between the potential benefits and dangers of doing home science were highlighted by the case of Victor Deeb. The retired 71-year-old chemist in Marlborough saw his basement lab dismantled by authorities this summer after it was noticed by fire officials putting out a second-floor air conditioner fire.The state DEP said officials intervened in Deeb’s workspace because it did not meet lab standards. Chemical companies shipping Deeb their materials were unaware that they were shipping to a residence, authorities said.Deeb, who said he was trying to make safer surface coatings for food containers, insists that the chemicals he was using were less hazardous than common cleaners and household chemicals. He questions why his hobby was seen as more dangerous than, for example, a hunter with a gun collection, or a person using a propane grill
Angela Becerra Vidergar

Whitechapel - Steampunk cultural ethic - 0 views

freakangels.com/...comments.php

steampunk whitechapel ethic ideology subculture

shared by Angela Becerra Vidergar on 12 Dec 08 - Cached
  • In a lot of ways I see steampunk and the aesthetic as part of a reaction to the current state of affairs. Not in terms of politics yadda yadda, but in the sense that it seems to come from a desire to regain some of the satisfaction and catharsis of dealing without something complex and real. In technology especially, with the advent of touch screen, "no tactility" apparatus, but I think it goes further into the overall lack of sensation that mainstream society offers. The lack of hardware creativity in the general population, and the lack of any real visceral experiences to be had in day to day life, I think is a huge part of Steampunk's attraction. Other types of creativity have their appeal, but nothing that can sit on your mantle, nothing that can clog up your living space and make your home dirty. Editing an anime music video can only sate your creativity so much, when compared to putting on some steel toe boots and soldering together a mad gyrocopter with a cannon strapped to the side.It's all part of the reaction to the simplicity and ease of living we, as a species, have been working towards for years. Fight Club for sci-fi geeks.I'd love to see a cultural movement defined by activity and the things it stands for rather than one defined by protesting the things it's against and demanding that others do something about them.
  • What I'm really interested in is the Victorian enthusiastic amateur inventor/scientist part. The way I see it, most of the worlds problems - poverty, hunger climate change etc.- will never be effectively addressed by a top down, high tech research and loads of investment capital approach. Rather, I imagine that any progress that will have any real effect will have to be of the sort that a self educated person can make in their garage
  • There's been a lot of debate about weather or not all the Steampunk case mods etc. are legitimate as they don't actually use steam, aren't real Babbage engines or whatever and I think that's pretty legitimate although it also misses the point. Which is that steampunk is really an art movement. It doesn't really have any cultural agenda such as the original punk movement did and it's certainly not interested with making steam age technology "useful"
  • ...13 more annotations...
  • I would like to propose that were there to be some sort of a Steampunk cultural ethic it should be in taking that amateur inventor approach to modern technology with an eye to addressing the issues that humanity faces today.Oh, and it should of course be done in such a way as to exemplify quality workmanship and ostentatious ornamentation
  • I've been thinking about what Steampunk has to offer the world besides being another quaint subculture, particularly in light of the fact that it's about to step over the line of subculture and into trendy nonsense that will inevitably bring with it hoards of pipe clogging band waggoneers
  • Personally, I'd love to see technology regress in visual style and it might well do if we move away from using plastics, and continue recycling retro fashions at such a massive rate... and real social changes only ever happen from the bottom up. Everyone's sitting on their arse waiting for some scientist or some government to fix their problems, when the only problem is how they spend their money
  • I'd love to see a cultural movement defined by activity and the things it stands for rather than one defined by protesting the things it's against and demanding that others do something about them
  • Currently Steampunk has quite an anti consumerist mentality but I wonder how much of that is simply due to a lack of availability of steam punk products
  • What stood out for me at this Convention was the manners of those in attendance. I have never been to a cleaner, better smelling, better behaved convention
  • Guests at this convention were given space, approached only after conversations with others were finished and respectfully addressed during panel discussions. No one was lewd, abusive, or rude to me during my attendance. In terms of the DIY ethic, most people I spoke to had made some element of their clothing or personally knew the person who did. I think there is a longing for a place where there can be a structured formality - a place where the cultural rules call for respect, manners and a sense of grace. Perhaps steampunk, in it's formal expressions, provides the space to have that formality
  • part of the reason for the loss of aesthetic in most of todays goods is that in the face of such astronomical R&D and Advertising costs workmanship is an expendable area. By contrast, in situations where the garage inventor is at work nicer materials are often a prerequisite. Firstly because they tend to require less expensive tools to work and secondly because when your small you have to be the best to compete. You can't sacrifice quality because it's what makes you stand out. To appreciate good design requires a higher standard of education and to makes sales requires that the person who cares most about the product (it's creator of someone close to) engage with their customers which in turn leads to a more civil society. After all, it's a lot harder to sell crap to someone when you have to do it in person
  • I think there is a longing for a place where there can be a structured formality - a place where the cultural rules call for respect, manners and a sense of grace. Perhaps steampunk, in it's formal expressions, provides the space to have that formality
  • I think there is a resistance to the idea of formality. Many people feel that, as in the past, a formal society would be restrictive and oppressive. However, Cultural Steampunk seems to be an idea that balences freedom and a sense of formality. The people who think that it's crazy might not realize that there is a sense of freedom in formality. It is the freedom to move about as a respected individual in a community. Obviously, in the past, this freedom was not applied to all people, but since Steampunk is a mixture of the Old and the New, it now can be applied in a more equal way. In many ways, Steampunk is an ideal, rather than a reality. In a place such as SalonCon, it can exist for a weekend - but could it exist for longer periods of time? Could such formality make it's way into the mainstream?
  • steampunk at its best suggests the perfect (or maybe unique/interesting) combination of art and science - and being able to appreciate the ingenuity as well as the aesthetics and beauty of a 'thing', I think...with that appreciation comes the respect
  • The formality I can see in the aesthetic of Steampunk, because of the constraints in the design, and that would probably feed into all aspects of the culture, beware the Steampunk xenophobe. Though this would be at odds with the DIY and experimental nature of the culture, with a multitude of people all creating their own Steampunk, it could be an interesting tension.I do see the ethic or culture being a lot more anarchic, punk, than prudish, Victorian. again an interesting tension. Finding the middle ground may be something that Steampunk can make moves on, because it does seem to explicitly merge these two quite contrary ideas.
  • Small groups of people dedicated to steampunk ethics, codes of honor and general societal tendencies should work, to a point. Trying to make it happen on a larger scale, probably not so good. However, applying a somewhat watered down version of steampunk culture (hitting the big points, such as creative thinking, DIY mindsets, an emphasis on politeness and proper manners) to modern society as a whole might just work
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