User:MarjoleinStassen/UTC

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UNRAVEL THE MEME

For this first project you will take look at particular given memes and analyse them. Formulate your own questions in order to dissect, interpret, assess, the meme. For example: What characterizes your meme? How is it used? How widespread is it? Where did it originate from? What are keywords that you would attach to it? What is it’s effect? What are it’s components? What does it link to? What is your opinion of this meme? How is it transformed? How would you categorize it’s iterations? What story might you want to tell about this meme? And how would you visualize this story? Ultimately your findings will be displayed as a mini-exhibition during the Wereld van Witte de With.


RICKROLLED

Dancerick.gif

In 1987 Rick Astley was released, making it a solo debut single of the album 'Whenever You Need Somebody'. Later at the 4CHAN community, one of the founders m00t, says that the RickRolling started on the VideoGame board circa May 2007. This all started with the predecessor named 'DuckRoll'. The Duckroll all started because a word filter on the 4CHAN boards turned the word "egg" into "duck". When typing eggroll it would turn into duckroll. Later a picture with a duck on wheels became popular "Duckroll" by send it to a friend or someone who is anticipating something and gets this picture to trick them. Basically getting a duckroll when instead they want to see another picture.

Since the game GTA IV was so anticipated int he year 2007 people started to link Rick Astley's video on the 4CHAN platform disguising it as a sneak preview or trailer for the anticipated game. This is how the RickRoll all started. It is a 'Bait and Switch' type of joke.

"To post a misleading link with a subject that promises to be exciting or interesting, e.g. "World of Starcraft in-game footage!" or "Paris Hilton blows Busta Rhymes' dick" but actually turns out to be the video for Rick Astley's debut single, "Never Gonna Give You Up". A variant on the duckroll. Allegedly hilarious." - Urban Dictionary.
Victim.jpg

This can happen on Youtube itself, with misleadingly titled videos, or with links from other sites to youtube. These videos usually have a misleading image in the middle of the video, so that the thumbnail on youtube looks legit. Sometime they even make names that seem legit.


Timeline

  • 2007 (APRIL/MAY): 4CHAN, DuckRoll.
  • 2008: Gaming Scene, GTA IV Sneak Peak Release video is Rick Astley’s music video
  • 2008: Youtube uses it as April Fools Joke.
  • 2008: NYC Mets uses “Never going to give you up” as 8th inning song, because of popular vote of the people
  • 2008: Rick Astley gets to preform his classic song on the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade after 14 years.
  • 2008: Rick’s song becomes so popular that he even gets voted for “Best Act Ever” in the MTV European Music Awards.
  • 2008: Studies show that in 2008 18 million adult Americans were RickRolled.
  • 2010: Lyrics are used by Oregon’s house of Representatives during a House Sessions.
  • 2010: WikiLeaks uses lyrics in an article about serious attacks on Visa, MasterCard, Amazon and Paypal
  • 2011: The Whitehouse tweets a link, which is actually a link to Rick Astley’s music video.

Chart rickroll.png


Popularity

Rickastley.jpg

The reason why it became so popular was because it was a way to be part of the joke. The Rickrolling slowly expanded from the Gaming-Scene to more of the mainstream where other anticipated audiences were tricked too. It is also fun to see your friends or known people react to it as a form of Peer-Reaction. This type of jokes have been tormenting the internet from a long time, with not only having the RickRolled as a Bait-and-Switch video there are also others in that same category such as:

  • Scary Prank Videos
  • Two Girls one Cup (Don't google for your own safety)
  • "X Amount of girls online in your neighborhood and want to chat" - Ads
  • Fake Close Buttons on Ads
  • Fake Outs


Targets

  • People Looking for Movie / Game Trailers / Footage
  • Abridged Series Watchers
  • People who try to watch TV on Youtube


MORE RESEARCH

After exploring our meme we were placed in a group with "Doge" and "3 Wolves Moon". Our overall theme is "CONTEXT". With this over all theme we will make something for the Wereld van Witte de With. For that we need to do additional research on the certain techniques we like to use for Thursday, and have it finalized by then.


Which News Sites

After exploring news sites and how to generate the photos from these websites, we decided to go for twitter feeds instead. Looking at twitter and different feeds we searched for a certain type of feed. We need an active and picture related feed. We want to use these pictures, take them from the feed, and then make it reappear in our Processing document with the generated text. After though research we settled for CNN and BBC World.


Generating Content

For the generation of the twitter content we will probably have to use an API to get our content.

"API, an abbreviation of application program interface, is a set of routines, protocols, and tools for building software applications. The API specifies how software components should interact and APIs are used when programming graphical user interface (GUI) components. A good API makes it easier to develop a program by providing all the building blocks. A programmer then puts the blocks together. - Wikipedia

Types of APIs - Source - There are many different types of APIs for operating systems, applications or for websites. Windows, for example, has many API sets that are used by system hardware and applications — when you copy and paste text from one application to another, it is the API that allows that to work. Most operating environments, such as MS-Windows, provide an API so that programmers can write applications consistent with the operating environment. Today, APIs are also specified by websites. For example, Amazon or eBay APIs allow developers to use the existing retail infrastructure to create specialized web stores. Third-party software developers also use Web APIs to create software solutions for end-users.


Popular API Examples - Source - Programmable Web, a site that tracks more than 13,000 APIs, lists Google Maps, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Amazon Product Advertising as some of the the most popular APIs. The following list contains several examples of popular APIs:

  • Google Maps API: Google Maps APIs lets developers embed Google Maps on webpages using a JavaScript or Flash interface. The Google Maps API is designed to work on mobile devices and desktop browsers.
  • YouTube APIs: YouTube API: Google's APIs lets developers integrate YouTube videos and functionality into websites or applications. YouTube APIs include the YouTube Analytics API, YouTube Data API, YouTube Live Streaming API, YouTube Player APIs and others.
  • Flickr API: The Flickr API is used by developers to access the Flick photo sharing community data. The Flickr API consists of a set of callable methods, and some API endpoints.
  • Twitter APIs: Twitter offers two APIs. The REST API allows developers to access core Twitter data and the Search API provides methods for developers to interact with Twitter Search and trends data.
  • Amazon Product Advertising API: Amazon's Product Advertising API gives developers access to Amazon's product selection and discovery functionality to advertise Amazon products to monetize a website.


Useful Links


Popular Memes

These memes below are a few of the most popular memes we will be using as a substitute text to change the context of the images. By using these titles hopefully this was create an interaction or topic of conversation.

GOODGUY GREG • FOREVER ALONE • YOU DON'T SAY... • NOT BAD! • THEREFORE... ALIENS!! • BAD LUCK BRIAN • WAT? • MOON MOON • DRINKING MY OWN PISS • HOMOPHOBIC SEAL • FIRST WORLD PROBLEM • SCUMBAG STEVE • BRONIES • WOW • FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC • BITCH PLEASE • WATCH OUT, WE HAVE A BADASS OVER HERE. • OVERLY ATTACHED GIRLFRIEND • I TOOK AN ARROW TO THE KNEE • RIDICULOUSLY PHOTOGENIC GUY • SEE ME ROLLIN', THEY HATIN' • DERP • ONE DOES NOT SIMPLY WALK INTO MORDOR • HATERS GONNA HATE • DO YOU EVEN LIFT, BRO? • SOCIALLY AWKWARD PENGUIN • SERIOUSLY? • TRUE STORY • DEAL WITH IT • AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT • I THANK NOT ONLY GOD BUT ALSO JESUS • U MAD? • LOOK AT ALL THE FUCKS I GiVE I DON'T WANT TO LIVE ON THIS PLANET ANYMORE • 2/10 WOULD NOT BANG • I LIED • OH GOD... WHY • HONEY BADGER DON'T CARE • COME AT ME BRO • MY BODY IS READY • WORK-SAFE PORN • THAT ESCALATED QUICKLY • MOTHER OF GOD • SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY • LIKE A BOSS • IT'S A TRAP! • RUINED CHILDHOOD • CLOSE ENOUGH • DEAL WITH IT!

CONCEPT

Since the over all theme is "CONTEXT" we had two types of contexts that we are incorporating. We want to show that by changing the text of an image it can create a new context of the image. The story behind it will change and it might even change the topic conversation because of his certain image. The other part is the context of "RickRolling" it all started with substituting a link with other content.

"Our installation will substitute the context of a most recently uploaded news item (from a specific twitter pages by adding ‘famous’ meme titles."


TECHNICALITIES

By taking news pictures from a twitter feed we get a reliable source of content and data. All the data is gathered by the processing script and from a text file is selected at random which is why the pictures can make no sense or be really rude/funny. The code also has an offline version which takes the pictures from a folder instead of a live feed.


DOWNLOADS

Down below are downloadable links, mainly our presentations.


END RESULTS

On Thursday we had our first presentation at Eendrachtstraat and later that weekend it was present at Witte de With festival.

Context1.jpg Context2.jpg

UNRAVEL THE INFRA-ORDINARY

Design/make/craft one or more objects, spaces (or both) that address changes in physical and/or social behaviour in public and private space due to digital devices. The final design must be based on findings from your initial research and should relate to a clearly articulated perspective. Examples of possible perspectives are: critical, speculative, practical, visionary or other.


BRAINSTORM

RITUAL - Phone on table during dinner. - Taking phone to toilet. - Google as a doctor. - Filter for Information

BELIEFS - Disrupted Brainwaves

DISFIGURATION - Neck Muscles / Shoulders - Loss of Eyesight and Hearing - Small Typography - Technology ruins reading and writing - Isolation - Lack of Social Skills - Obesity - Poor Sleeping Habits - Pollution - Increased Bullying - Lack of Privacy - Wrapped sense on Reality - Stress - Shortened attention span - Addiction - Lack of Empathy

HABITS - Not taking on ‘Unknown Caller' - Always connected - TV is Background noise - Listening to music in Public - Always carrying an USB - Wifi is everywhere - No time is wasted - Never unreachable - Illegally obtaining content - Impatient Culture, No waiting needed - No one gets birthday cards - Overeating on content


WRAPPED SENSE ON REALITY - Using the internet as an escape from real life is very easy to do. In real life you only speak to a few people each day, there’s no Photoshop or avatar for the reflection in your mirror, bills must be paid and saying smartass things is frowned upon. However, online you are a freaking rock star! You have enough “friends” to form a small country, you look great in your pics or you have a kickass avatar, plus you get rewards or points for saying clever things (more if the clever thing is also mean-spirited). Unfortunately we must live in the real world whether we like it or not.

  • Addiction (Drug)
  • Lack of Social Skills
  • Isolation
  • Poor sleeping Habits


RESEARCH

Perspective - Mental Disfiguration


Wrapped sense.jpg

Last month, Google revealed that it uses its own artificial intelligence program, known as Artificial Neural Networks, to classify and sort its images. The technology basically works by spotting patterns in pictures in order to identify them -- and it's already being used in Google's new photos app to recognise faces and animals. DeepDream is a computer vision program created by Google which uses a convolutional neural network to find and enhance patterns in images via algorithmic pareidolia, thus creating a dreamlike hallucinogenic appearance in the deliberately over-processed images.


Artificial Neural Networks

In machine learning and cognitive science, artificial neural networks (ANNs) are a family of statistical learning models inspired by biological neural networks (the central nervous systems of animals, in particular the brain) and are used to estimate or approximate functions that can depend on a large number of inputs and are generally unknown. Artificial neural networks are generally presented as systems of interconnected "neurons" which exchange messages between each other. The connections have numeric weights that can be tuned based on experience, making neural nets adaptive to inputs and capable of learning.

For example, a neural network for handwriting recognition is defined by a set of input neurons which may be activated by the pixels of an input image. After being weighted and transformed by a function, the activations of these neurons are then passed on to other neurons. This process is repeated until finally, an output neuron is activated. This determines which character was read. Like other machine learning methods - systems that learn from data - neural networks have been used to solve a wide variety of tasks that are hard to solve using ordinary rule-based programming, including computer vision and speech recognition.

These nightmarish images offer a unique and mesmerizing insight into how computers see the world - and what happens when a mind-bogglingly complex system of artificial intelligence is let off its leash. To discern and process the billions of photos that pass through its site, Google engineers designed ingenious tools known as artificial neural networks, or 'ANNs'. Google's ANNs are programmed, through an endless stream of similar photos, to recognize objects within images by their distinctive characteristics. For example, the ANN will be taught to recognize a fork by processing millions of pictures of forks - eventually understanding that it has a handle and two to four tines.

Now Google is offering the public these networks' codes - allowing people to upload photos and mutate them into terrifying and wonderful versions of the original. A simplified explanation would be to say that the ANNs recognize patterns within images, in the same way a child might spot a shape within a cloud. Recognition of such patterns can be exaggerated so that, while processing an image, the ANN turns a normal-looking photo into a psychedelic nightmare by enhancing swirls and blemishes it has misinterpreted for other objects. Going a little deeper, Google's ANNs consist of 10 to 30 layers. When an image is fed into an ANN, each layer progressively extracts more complex information from the picture, from edges to shapes until finally the idea of the image as a whole is formed.

Computer geniuses recently realized that when images are processed using higher-level layers - which identify more sophisticated traits in the picture - complex features or even whole objects begin to emerge. If a blemish on a face looks like part of an eye, the layers of the ANN can be manipulated to enhance this blemish and run with its recognition of an eye - repeating the process until an actual eye appears. The results of this 'DeepDream' software are surreal and can turn some of the world's most recognizable photos into bizarre, beautiful and abstract forms of themselves. Unfortunately, just to use the software requires a level of expertise beyond the vast majority of people.


Computer vision

Computer vision is a field that includes methods for acquiring, processing, analyzing, and understanding images and, in general, high-dimensional data from the real world in order to produce numerical or symbolic information, e.g., in the forms of decisions.[1][2][3][4] A theme in the development of this field has been to duplicate the abilities of human vision by electronically perceiving and understanding an image. This image understanding can be seen as the disentangling of symbolic information from image data using models constructed with the aid of geometry, physics, statistics, and learning theory. Computer vision has also been described as the enterprise of automating and integrating a wide range of processes and representations for vision perception.

As a scientific discipline, computer vision is concerned with the theory behind artificial systems that extract information from images. The image data can take many forms, such as video sequences, views from multiple cameras, or multi-dimensional data from a medical scanner. As a technological discipline, computer vision seeks to apply its theories and models to the construction of computer vision systems.

Sub-domains of computer vision include scene reconstruction, event detection, video tracking, object recognition, object pose estimation, learning, indexing, motion estimation, and image restoration.

Areas of artificial intelligence deal with autonomous planning or deliberation for robotical systems to navigate through an environment. A detailed understanding of these environments is required to navigate through them. Information about the environment could be provided by a computer vision system, acting as a vision sensor and providing high-level information about the environment and the robot.

Artificial intelligence and computer vision share other topics such as pattern recognition and learning techniques. Consequently, computer vision is sometimes seen as a part of the artificial intelligence field or the computer science field in general.


DeepDream Space.jpg

Artificial intelligence

AI is the intelligence exhibited by machines or software. It is also the name of the academic field of study which studies how to create computers and computer software that are capable of intelligent behavior. Major AI researchers and textbooks define this field as "the study and design of intelligent agents", in which an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its chances of success.

AI research is highly technical and specialized, and is deeply divided into subfields that often fail to communicate with each other. Some of the division is due to social and cultural factors: subfields have grown up around particular institutions and the work of individual researchers. AI research is also divided by several technical issues. Some subfields focus on the solution of specific problems. Others focus on one of several possible approaches or on the use of a particular tool or towards the accomplishment of particular applications.

The central problems (or goals) of AI research include reasoning, knowledge, planning, learning, natural language processing (communication), perception and the ability to move and manipulate objects. General intelligence is still among the field's long-term goals. Currently popular approaches include statistical methods, computational intelligence and traditional symbolic AI. There are a large number of tools used in AI, including versions of search and mathematical optimization, logic, methods based on probability and economics, and many others. The AI field is interdisciplinary, in which a number of sciences and professions converge, including computer science, mathematics, psychology, linguistics, philosophy and neuroscience, as well as other specialized fields such as artificial psychology.


Cognitive science

Cognitive Science is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the mind and its processes. It examines what cognition is, what it does and how it works. It includes research on intelligence and behaviour, especially focusing on how information is represented, processed, and transformed (in faculties such as perception, language, memory, attention, reasoning, and emotion) within nervous systems (humans or other animals) and machines (e.g. computers). Cognitive science consists of multiple research disciplines, including psychology, artificial intelligence, philosophy, neuroscience, linguistics, and anthropology. It spans many levels of analysis, from low-level learning and decision mechanisms to high-level logic and planning; from neural circuitry to modular brain organization. The fundamental concept of cognitive science is that "thinking can best be understood in terms of representational structures in the mind and computational procedures that operate on those structures."


Handwriting recognition

HWR is the ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwritten input from sources such as paper documents, photographs, touch-screens and other devices. The image of the written text may be sensed "off line" from a piece of paper by optical scanning (optical character recognition) or intelligent word recognition. Alternatively, the movements of the pen tip may be sensed "on line", for example by a pen-based computer screen surface.

Handwriting recognition principally entails optical character recognition. However, a complete handwriting recognition system also handles formatting, performs correct segmentation into characters and finds the most plausible words.


Internet addiction disorder

IAD, now more commonly called problematic Internet use (PIU), compulsive Internet use, (CIU), Internet overuse, problematic computer use, pathological computer use, or iDisorder, refers to excessive computer use which interferes with daily life. Other habits such as reading, playing computer games, or watching very large numbers of Internet videos, such as those on YouTube, are troubling only to the extent that these activities interfere with normal life. IAD is often divided into subtypes by activity, such as gaming; online social networking; blogging; email; excessive, overwhelming, or inappropriate Internet pornography use; or Internet shopping (shopping addiction). Opponents note that compulsive behaviors may not necessarily be addictive.

Some people are addicted to browsing Web literally informing themselves to death and spending behind the computer for 10 or more hours a day. For such persons, browsing replaces most of other activities and serves as a substitute of TV. It is not uncommon for them to be sitting in front of the computer for four or more hours straight on Saturday or Sunday. People with "web browsing compulsion" tend to lose all sense of time when they are on-line. They are drawn so deeply into the world of bytes and bits that they do not notice entire days passing by. They forget to eat, sleep, go to school, communicate with family members and even care for their children. Like compulsive computer gamers they shirk responsibilities, slack off at work, and miss appointments because they are unable to pull themselves away. We will call them Netslaves Type II (to distinguish them from Netslaves Type I described in books by Bill Lessard, Steve Baldwin.


Addiction

People with an addiction do not have control over what they are doing, taking or using. Their addiction may reach a point at which it is harmful. Addictions do not only include physical things we consume, such as drugs or alcohol, but may include virtually anything, such abstract things as gambling to seemingly harmless products, such as chocolate - in other words, addiction may refer to a substance dependence (e.g. drug addiction) or behavioral addiction (e.g. gambling addiction). In the past addiction used to refer just to psychoactive substances that cross the blood-brain barrier, temporarily altering the chemical balance of the brain; this would include alcohol, tobacco and some drugs. A considerable number of psychologists, other health care professionals and lay people now insist that psychological dependency, as may be the case with gambling, sex, internet, work, exercise, etc. should also be counted as addictions, because they can also lead to feelings of guilt, shame, hopelessness, despair, failure, rejection, anxiety and/or humiliation.


DeepDream Man.jpg

TO READ LIST / SOURCES


AWESOME VIDEOS!

OTHER LINKS

HOLOGRAM

Holography is the science and practice of making holograms. Typically, a hologram is a photographic recording of a light field, rather than of an image formed by a lens, and it is used to display a fully three-dimensional image of the holographed subject, which is seen without the aid of special glasses or other intermediate optics. The hologram itself is not an image and it is usually unintelligible when viewed under diffuse ambient light. It is an encoding of the light field as an interference pattern of seemingly random variations in the opacity, density, or surface profile of the photographic medium. When suitably lit, the interference pattern diffracts the light into a reproduction of the original light field and the objects that were in it appear to still be there, exhibiting visual depth cues such as parallax and perspective that change realistically with any change in the relative position of the observer.

We made our own hologram to make the addiction and being absorbed into the mobile more realistic. The tutorial we found on the internet shows that the plexiglass reflects the image underneath it, creating a hologram in the middle. We wanted to use this technique with our own made hologram animation to bring out our concept of 'Mental Disfiguration'. Not only is there a wrapped sense that the mobile content is coming to life but with the hologram we are trying to suck people even more into the fake reality of their phones.


First Experiments


Fire Hologram

Fire Hologram


CHANGE OF CONCEPT

Goldfish have a better attention span than you, smartphone user Of all the movies about species that attempt to overtake humanity -- Planet of the Apes films, the Piranha movies, Night of the Lepus -- none has focused on the goldfish. However, the cute little fishies could be on the path to ruling the world after all, since they apparently are beating us with their superior attention spans.

According to a spring 2015 study from Microsoft, the average human attention span has fallen below that of goldfish -- and you can blame it on the gadgets we use to watch YouTube videos and play "Crossy Road." The researchers clocked the average human attention span at just 8 seconds in 2013, falling 4 seconds from the 12-second average in 2000, and putting humans just 1 second below goldfish.

Microsoft's study consisted of two parts. The first involved a survey in which 2,000 Canadians played attention retention games such as responding to patterns to determine their ability to maintain focus while completing repetitive tasks, spotting differences in pictures to gauge their ability to ignore distractions, and classifying letters and numbers (consonant or vowel, odd or even) to measure their ability to apply their cognitive skills to competing tasks.

The second part of the study looked at the attention levels of 112 Canadian participants by using portable machines that measured the electrical activity of the brain as participants interacted with different types of media while attempting other activities.

Microsoft's study found that people (or Canadians at least) are more easily distracted in the presence of devices with screens. "Digital lifestyles affect the ability to remain focused for extended periods of time. Canadians with more digital lifestyles (those who consume more media, are multi-screeners, social-media enthusiasts or earlier adopters of technology) struggle to focus in environments where prolonged attention is needed," the report said.

Since the study focused on determining effective marketing strategies, it doesn't list ways Canadians (or others) can improve their ability to concentrate. A study from the University of Granada in 2013 suggested that getting more physical activity could increase the length of a person's attention span. The Association for Psychological Science found in 2010 that people who meditate could improve their ability to concentrate.

If those suggestions don't seem to work, or you're just too lazy to try, there are apps that can cut off access to the usual distractions.

(http://99u.com/articles/6969/10-online-tools-for-better-attention-focus)


10 Online Tools for Better Attention & Focus

1 Self-Control – Block out distracting websites for a set amount of time. If you find yourself slipping into a Twitter sinkhole when you should be updating your business plan, Self-Control may be the app you need. Set it for 4 hours, for instance, and your browser will behave as if it’s offline for that period of time. No amount of browser restarts or computer reboots will stop it. Before you have heart palpitations, know that you can whitelist or blacklist certain sites. So, rather than completely disabling the entire Internet, you can selectively decide which sites are OK, or not OK, to visit during your focus period. For Macs only. PC users can try Freedom, a similar app. http://visitsteve.com/made/selfcontrol/

2 TrackTime – Audit how you’re spending your time on your computer. This good-looking app tracks everything you do on your computer, spitting back out a sort of “attention audit.” How much time are you spending in Firefox? How many hours a day in your email client? What are listening to on iTunes? If you let TrackTime run in the background, it builds these patterns into a lovely rainbow-colored timeline of your online life. Its most effective use is as a sort of wake-up call: If your daily timeline shows you shifting between apps and tasks every 2 minutes or less, you know there’s a problem. For Macs only. http://www.gettracktime.com/?url=/blog/a-new-website-for-tracktime

3 Concentrate – Maximize focus while shifting between different tasks. Concentrate is great for shifting between tasks that require different mindsets. I have a variety of recurring tasks that require different tools: 1) Writing, 2) Social Media Management, 3) Event Planning. Concentrate lets me configure a different set of tools for each task. When I activate “Writing,” the app automatically closes my email client and Internet Browser; blocks me from Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube; launches Microsoft Word; and sets my instant messaging status to “away”. Then, when I want to concentrate on “Social Media Management,” I can customize a completely different set of actions to happen relevant to that activity. There’s also a handy “concentration” timer. For Macs only. http://getconcentrating.com

4 Notational Velocity – Centralize and sync all of your scattered notes. If you’re anything like me, one primarily challenge for focusing is getting all your notes in one place. Before Notational Velocity, I would write some notes on paper, some on text files on my desktop, some on my iPhone notes app when on the go. Notational Velocity organizes all of your notes on your desktop in a centralized, searchable location and syncs with Simplenote or WriteRoom on your iPhone. This seems like a little thing, but it really makes life so much easier. (More nerdy details here.) For Macs only. http://notational.net

5 FocusBooster – Focus on single tasks for 25 minutes apiece. This app is based on the principles of the Pomodoro Technique, a time management system that challenges you to focus on a single task for 25 minutes and then give yourself a 5-minute break. Combining the features of a to-do list and a time-management coach, FocusBooster allows you to list out your daily tasks, and then it tracks your time as you work through them. When 25 minutes are up, an alarm sounds and you get a break. It’s an easy way to practice expanding your attention span without going overboard. For Macs and PCs. https://www.focusboosterapp.com//

6 Think – Limit your attention to a single application at a time. This is an extremely simple app that’s akin to “Spaces” on a Mac. When activated, Think allows you to bring just one application into the foreground on your computer, while everything else is hidden underneath a nearly opaque backdrop. While you can easily shift between other applications when you need to, it creates a clean space for focusing on the task at hand. (It also works well in tandem with FocusBooster.) For Macs only.

7 FocusWriter – Create a distraction-free environment for writing. If writing is something that you do on a regular basis, it’s incredibly useful to have an easy way to create a distraction-free setting. FocusWriter re-creates a word processor-like environment, blocking out absolutely everything on your screen except for the words you type on a simple grey background – all menus (date, timer, dock, etc) are tucked away until rollover. Despite its pristine appearance, FocusWriter does have the usual rich text editor features, such as spellcheck and word count. Plus a few bonuses like a daily writing goal (word count or writing time) and very gratifying typewriter sounds for each keystroke. For Macs and PCs. http://gottcode.org/focuswriter/

8 Anti-Social – Block the social websites that are killing your focus. Anti-Social is like a light version of full-scale Internet-blocker Freedom. Rather than blocking the Internet in its entirety, Anti-Social automatically blocks all of the known timesinks for a set period of time. Sites that are off-limits include Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Digg, Reddit, YouTube, Hulu, Vimeo, and all standard web email programs. It’s not that different from Self-Control (see above), except that it comes pre-equipped with a blacklist (which you can add to, of course). If you can’t handle your Internet abstinence, you can turn Anti-Social off by rebooting your computer. For Macs and PCs. http://anti-social.cc

9 StayFocusd – Curb the time you spend browsing time-wasting sites. This extension, for users of Google’s Chrome browser, works in the reverse manner to Anti-Social or Self-Control. Rather than setting a period of time for which you CANNOT use the Internet, it allows you to set a period of time to indulge in time-wasting sites. Only want to give yourself 60 minutes a day for Twitter, vanity Googling, and updating your Netflix queue? This is your app. Rather like when you were a kid and only allowed to watch 2 hours of TV a day. For Firefox users, LeechBlock performs a similar function. For Macs and PCs. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stayfocusd/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji

10 Time Out – Take regular breaks to keep your focus sharp. For optimal focus, we need to take regular time-outs to relax and rebuild our energy. Time Out is a super-simple application that runs in the background while you work. At set intervals (say, every 90 minutes), it fades in and gently reminds you to take a 5-10 minute break. You can also use it to remind you to take 1-minute “micro-breaks” to avoid eye strain from staring at your computer like a zombie for hours on end. For Macs only. http://www.dejal.com/timeout/


The Goldfish

Different Fishes.jpg

After some research we found out that the concentration span of a human was two seconds less then the concentration span of a goldfish, ever since social media. People get distracted by different apps while in the middel of a conversation, on the internet people are distracted by pop ups, banners, advertisement and so on.

We decided to make a interactive video (we don't really want to call it a game, because it doesn't really have a fun factor) that shows how quick people get distracted nowadays. By following the goldfish with the curser the player is given a dull task (for the fish only swims in the same pattern, the circle). In the meantime, you'll have bubbles, other fishes and sharks trying to distract you from your task. The fishes are each given a social media platform and the sound that go's with it. The shark symbolizes annoying banners and pop ups. The player might feel the urge to click it away with the close window cross in the top right corner of the shark. But if the player removes the cursor from the fish, it's game over and the game will tell you how long you lasted. The game automatically stops after 1 minute and tells you that you've won.

In the end the following of the fish got really challenging because you will have to do it with the laptops trackpad.

This game (or interactive video) is a symbolic representation of how our concentration works while on the internet. How many times I had to make homework but spend hours on Facebook and Youtube instead of making my work.

So let's find out if you too have the attention span of a goldfish or if you have evolved beyond and can finish the game!

UNRAVEL THE FUTURE MEMORY

First class Jon Stam for project Haptics in the project 'Crafting Future Memory'.


MUSCLE MEMORY // RESPONSIVENESS (LIFE THREATENING SITUATIONS)

  • How to fall
  • Diving
  • Playing Instrument
  • Biking
  • Horse Riding
  • Writing
  • Nascar Drivers


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgU0QeBYH68 - One Breath Diving

  • Ignoring Voice Warning in Brain
  • Shutting


HAPTIC

Haptics is Quite Literally The Science of Touch. The origin of the word haptics is the Greek haptikos, meaning able to grasp or perceive. Haptic sensations are created in consumer devices by actuators, or motors, which create a vibration.

Haptic or kinesthetic communication recreates the sense of touch by applying forces, vibrations, or motions to the user. This mechanical stimulation can be used to assist in the creation of virtual objects in a computer simulation, to control such virtual objects, and to enhance the remote control of machines and devices (telerobotics). Haptic devices may incorporate tactile sensors that measure forces exerted by the user on the interface.


Haptic communication refers to the ways in which people and other animals communicate and interact via the sense of touch. As well as providing information about surfaces and textures, touch, or the haptic sense, is a component of communication in interpersonal relationships that is nonverbal and nonvisual. Touch is extremely important for humans and is vital in conveying physical intimacy.

Touch can be categorized in terms of meaning as positive, playful, control, ritualistic, task-related or unintentional. It can be both sexual (kissing is one such example that is sometimes sexual) and platonic (such as hugging or tickling). Touch is the earliest sense to develop in the fetus. The development of an infant's haptic senses and how it relates to the development of the other senses such as vision has been the target of much research. Human babies have been observed to have enormous difficulty surviving if they do not possess a sense of touch, even if they retain sight and hearing. Babies who can perceive through touch, even without sight and hearing, tend to fare much better.

In chimpanzees the sense of touch is highly developed. As newborns they see and hear poorly but cling strongly to their mothers. Harry Harlow conducted a controversial study involving rhesus monkeys and observed that monkeys reared with a "terry cloth mother", a wire feeding apparatus wrapped in softer terry cloth which provided a level of tactile stimulation and comfort, were considerably more emotionally stable as adults than those with a mere wire mother.[1] Touching is treated differently from one country to another. Socially acceptable levels of touching varies from one culture to another. In the Thai culture, touching someone's head may be considered to be rude. Remland and Jones (1995) studied groups of people communicating and found that in England (8%), France (5%) and the Netherlands (4%), touching was rare compared to the Italian (14%) and Greek (12.5%) sample.[2]

Striking, pushing, pulling, pinching, kicking, strangling and hand-to-hand fighting are forms of touch in the context of physical abuse. In a sentence like "I never touched him/her" or "Don't you dare to touch him/her" the term touch may be meant as euphemism for either physical abuse or sexual touching. To 'touch oneself' is a euphemism for masturbation. The word touch has many other metaphorical uses. One can be emotionally touched, referring to an action or object that evokes an emotional response. To say "I was touched by your letter" implies the reader felt a strong emotion when reading it. It usually does not include anger, disgust or other forms of emotional rejection unless used in a sarcastic manner. Stoeltje (2003) wrote about how Americans are ‘losing touch’ with this important communication skill. During a study conducted by University of Miami School of Medicine, Touch Research Institutes, American children were said to be more aggressive than their French counterparts while playing at a playground. It was noted that French women touched their children more often than the American parents.


Haptic perception (Greek: haptόs „palpable“, haptikόs „suitable for touch“) literally denominates "to grasp something". Perception in this case is achieved through active exploration of surfaces and objects by a moving subject as opposed to passive contact of a static subject during tactile perception.[1] The term Haptik was coined by the German Psychologist Max Dessoir who suggested in 1892 to name the academic research about the sense of touch in the style of „acoustics“ and „optics“.[2][3]

Gibson (1966)[4] defined the haptic system as "The sensibility of the individual to the world adjacent to his body by use of his body". Gibson and others further emphasized what Weber had realized in 1851 - the close link between haptic perception and body movement: haptic perception is active exploration.

The concept of haptic perception is related to the concept of extended physiological proprioception according to which, when using a tool such as a stick, perceptual experience is transparently transferred to the end of the tool.

Haptic perception relies on the forces experienced during touch.[5] This research allows the creation of "virtual", illusory haptic shapes with different perceived qualities[6] which has clear application in haptic technology.[7]



DIFFICULT SPORTS

Cross-Country Running: Cross Country Running is a type of sport where individuals or teams run a race on open-air courses generally 4 – 12 kilometers long over natural terrain. The event is typically organized during autumn and winter but in some scenarios it may be organized in a wide range of temperatures to create maximum difficulty. Cross Country Running was started in the 19th century in England where the schools started participating in cross country races as early as in 1837. The first recorded national cross country championship was held on Wimbledon Common in south-west London on 7th December, 1867. The first international cross country race was organized on 28th March, 1903, at the Hamilton Park Racecourse in Scotland. The IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the elite competition of the modern days cross country race since it was established in 1973.

Freestyle Wrestling: Freestyle wrestling is a form of amateur wrestling that is practiced by many wrestling fanatics all over the world. It is one of two styles of wrestling besides the Greco-Roman Wrestling that is contested in the Olympic Games. The ultimate goal of these sports is to pin down the opponent to the mat which results in the victory. Freestyle wrestling is one of the four main styles of global wrestling according to the international governing body for the sport, United World Wrestling. The modern variant of freestyle wrestling is believed to be originated as the “catch-as-catch-can” wrestling in the United States and Great Britain. Interestingly, “catch-as-catch-can” wrestling was performed by several U.S. presidents such as Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Theodore Roosevelt and many more.

Horseback Riding: Horseback Riding or the Equestrianism involves steeple chasing or vaulting with horses and riding horses. The horses are trained to perform a set of skills on the course or to achieve great speed and the co-ordination between the horse and the jockey or the horse rider has a great impact on the event. Many historian claims that trained horses were first ridden in approximately 4500 BC, where numerous other historians doubted that horses were ridden long before this claim. Thoroughbred horse racing or flat racing is the most popular form of these sports and is governed by the Royal Charter Jockey Club in the UK and the Jockey Club in the USA. Steeplechasing or National Hunt racing is also a popular variant of the sport where the horses jump over obstacles while racing on a track. The international governing body of Horseback Riding is the International Federation for Equestrian Sports.

Bull Riding': Bull Riding is the most popular type of Rodeo sports where the rider attempts to stay mounted while the bull attempts to buck off the rider. The rider must stay for eight seconds atop the bucking bull and due to the risk it is often referred as “the most dangerous eight seconds in sports.” Bull riding was derived from the Mexican Charreada. One of the earliest variant of Bull Riding called Jaripeo, a hacienda contest, was developed during the 16th century where the riders rode the bull until it stopped bucking or till the rider dies. A Texas Ranger named H. L. Kinney staged the first Anglo-American organized bullfight in 1852 in the southwest. Both the rider and the bull are awarded from 0–50 points by two judges based on several fundamental aspects of the event. Cowboy boots and hats are the additional attractions of these sports besides the riding.

Water Polo: Water polo is a team water sport consisting of four periods where two teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opponent’s net. Each team of this game consists of six field players and one goalkeeper in the water. Water Polo typically played in at least 1.8meters deep pools with a water polo ball that floats on the water. The game comprises swimming, catching and shooting the ball using a single hand. The game is considered to be originated as a sort of “water rugby” in the late 19th century in Scotland. William Wilson first organized a set of rules for a team water ball game called “aquatic football” in 1877. The first ever game of Aquatic Football or Water Polo was organized at the Bon Accord Festival between the banks of the River Dee in Aberdeen, Scotland in the late 19th century. Fédération Internationale de Natation is the governing body of this game on international level.

Figure Skating: Figure Skating is a type of sport where teams, duos or individual skaters perform on figure skates on ice. Men’s singles, ladies’ singles, ice dancing and pair skating are the four main Olympic disciplines of this game. Figure Skating was first introduced in the 1908 Summer Olympics in London as the first winter sports in Olympic. The International Skating Union is the governing body of international Figure Skating that includes the Winter Olympics, the World Championships, the Four Continents Championships, the European Championships and the Grand Prix of skating. Figure skating blades used in this sport is typically 4.7mm thick with a slight curve of an arc of a circle having a radius of 180-220cm. Figure skaters usually perform spins, lifts, jumps, throw jumps, moves in the field, death spirals and various other moves.

Motor Cross: Motorcross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing on enclosed off-road circuits. It is one of the most physically demanding sports and usually organized in all-weather conditions. Motocross is believed to be originated from motorcycle trials competitions in the United Kingdom. The earliest reference of the origination this sport can be found in the first quarterly trial of the Auto-Cycle Clubs in 1906 and the Scottish Six Days Trial in 1909. The word “Motocross” is a combination of Motocyclette, the French word for motorcycle, with “cross country”. The first ever scramble race or modern Motocross was held in 1924 at Camberley, Surrey. The FIM Motocross World Championship, the AMA Motocross Championship, British Motocross Championship and Motocross des Nations are the major event of the Motocross. This sport is internationally governed by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme.

Skiing: Skiing is a form of ice sports where contestants use skis to glide on snow. The word “Ski” derived from “skíð”, an Old Norse word that means “split piece of wood or firewood”. This sport is internationally governed by the International Olympic Committee and the International Ski Federation. The earliest reference of Skiing was found in a primitive carving located in Rødøy in the Nordland region of Norway depicting a skier with one pole from circa 5000 B.C. Skiing was first primarily used for transport and Military ski races were held during the 18th century in Norway. Two main genres of this sport, the Alpine Skiing and the Nordic Skiing were developed in the 1930s. Slalom, Giant Slalom, Super-G, Alpine skiing combined and Downhill are the main discipline of Alpine skiing. Cross-country, Telemark, Ski touring, Skijoring and Ski-flying are the main discipline of Nordic skiing.

Swimming: Swimming is a type of water sport where swimmers try to swim as fast as possible with various strokes such as Butterfly stroke, Backstroke, Breaststroke and Freestyle. It is internationally governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation. The earliest reference of swimming was found in paintings dates back to the Stone Age around 8000 B.C. The reference of swimming can also be traced in ancient books such as the Bible, the Quran, the Gilgamesh, the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Beowulf. The first swimming book called “Der Schwimmeroder ein Zweigesprächüber die Schwimmkunst” was written by a German professor of languages Nikolaus Wynmann in 1538. The first indoor swimming pool named St George’s Baths was opened in 1828 for the public. The National Swimming Society held swimming competitions in six artificial swimming pools in London in 1837.

Gymnastics: Gymnastics is a complex sport that needs physical strength, flexibility, grace, agility, power, coordination, balance and control. The Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique founded in 1881 governs the competitive gymnastic events internationally, with each country having its own national governing body. Modern gymnastics was first developed by three pioneer physical educators in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century Germany, in the form of exercises for young men and boys, on apparatus. Of the gymnastic events, the competitive gymnastics is considered the best known. The men’s events include high bar, parallel bars, vault, still rings, pommel horse and floor exercise, while the women’s events include vault, floor exercise, balance beam, uneven bars. Exercises used by the ancient Greeks have been evolved in gymnastics. There are several other gymnastic disciplines.

OUR BODY

How Much Pain Can The Human Body Endure? Pain is both a universal truth and universal dread. It has driven some men to isolation, others to suicide. And though it may take various forms — emotional, psychological, even moral — most would agree physical pain is the kind we feel the greatest desire to immediately end. “We don’t even ask happiness, just a little less pain,” said poet Charles Bukowski. So what are the most physically painful experiences? We, being Medical Daily, will focus on health conditions though we add a grace note of other sorts of suffering. In no particular order, we believe the following conditions provide the most excruciating of physical agonies.

Cluster headaches, which affect less than one percent of people, are marked by unbearable stabbing and penetrating pain, usually centered around the eye. These severe headaches occur suddenly and peak within 15 minutes. They run in families, with mostly men suffering from this particular pain.

Childbirth is so piercing a pain, mothers' make a point of telling their children they 'forget' how bad it is… need we say more?

Shingles is a painful skin rash, the remnants of your childhood case of chickenpox. Generally it occurs among older adults, sometimes pregnant women, and usually affects just one side of the body, often the face or torso. Even wearing light clothes adds to the suffering.

Kidney stones are hard deposits that form inside your kidneys and then travels through your urinary tract. You ‘pass’ a kidney stone while urinating and generally the stones cause no permanent damage. However, those who've actually passed a kidney stone say you feel that hard little rock every millimeter of its journey through you.

Gallstones are another type of hard deposit, sometimes the size of a golf ball, that form inside your gallbladder — a small, pear-shaped organ just beneath your liver. On the same order as kidney stones, except these require surgery to be removed.

Tooth abscess, which causes a gnawing and shooting pain, is actually just a collection of infected pus, arising from a bacterial infection, in the center of your tooth. This worst of all dental pains requires, in many cases, root canal or wholesale removal of your tooth.

Trigeminal neuralgia, though rare, is a chronic condition affecting a nerve that runs along your face to your brain. The stabbing pain, which has been described as feeling an electric shock, becomes progressively worse over time for most sufferers.

Severe burns are painful, not only when they happen, but as they are healing. The most serious, a third degree burn, involves all layers of your skin along with fat, muscle, and in some cases bone affected as well. A second degree burn, though considered less severe, may be equally agonizing.

Fibromyalgia, which affects more women than men, is a widespread ache in the muscles that is accompanied by headaches and fatigue. It is debilitating in that it is chronic; a quarter of all people with this condition are unable to work.

A spinal tap, which involves the insertion of a needle between two vertebrae in order to remove a sample of cerebrospinal fluid, is notoriously one of the worst procedures you can endure at the hands of a doctor.

Torture is, by definition, pain: it is the act of causing pain as a form of punishment or as a way to force another person to do your will. The Latin base for this word means ‘to twist.’ Any form of torture, and please, please, please let's not go there, simply hurts. Bad.

Finally, we end with initiation rites, which may include anything from teeth chiseling to circumcision. The coming-of-age ritual experienced by Hamish Blake, one half of an Australian comedy duo, involved placing his hands inside gloves filled with biting bullet ants.


IDEAS

  • Going against Reflexes.
  • Tricking into mobile use
  • Everything the other way around.
  • Fighting habits


  • Changing eating habits.

In the future not only we will have one universal language but also one universal eating habits with a new set of cutlery.


FUTURE FOOD

Insects, fake meat, seaweed and 3D-printed food all have the potential to address malnutrition.

  • No cutlery needed, only powers and drinks.
  • Mini-livestock (Insects)
  • Lab-grown Meat
  • Algae
  • Seaweed

Earlier this year, Dutch scientists successfully produced in-vitro meat, also known as cultured meat. They grew strips of muscle tissue using stem cells taken from cows, which were said to resemble calamari in appearance. They hope to create the world's first "test-tube burger" by the end of the year.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/aug/12/insects-algae-lab-meat-food http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18813075 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCNSst-_z5c https://youtu.be/hZ8an4GHEfo

Underused and Overlooked

About 2,500 plant species have been domesticated for food. But today, almost half our food calories come from just three grains: wheat, maize, and rice. What about the thousands of overlooked plant species—and an untapped diversity of animals? These resources could provide solutions to problems like the need for resilience in our food production systems and the need to meet growing demands without depleting natural resources. Here are a few promising examples:

Algae: Seaweed and other algae, already popular in Japan, are highly nutritious and can be grown in both fresh water and salt water. Insects: Over 2,000 species of insects are already eaten worldwide, including mopane worms (Gonimbrasia belina) in South Africa. Insects are high in protein and require much less land, water, and food than animals raised for meat Quinoa: This grain (Chenopodium quinoa) from the Andes contains all the essential amino acids the human body needs for protein and has no gluten. Emmer wheat: While millions are spent on high-tech hybrids, neglected crops like the grain emmer (Triticum dicoccum), which requires less fertilizer and fewer pesticides than currently used breeds, are already being grown in places like Turkey. Minor millets: These cereals have been grown in Asia for 6,500 years. Many farmers in India and Nepal are now switching from growing crops like maize and rice back to traditional varieties bred to grow on local mountainsides. Peach palm: The peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) grows well in Central and South America and produces a large, nutritious fruit. The tree’s spiny trunk makes the fruit hard to harvest—but breeders are now developing spineless varieties. Giant swamp taro: The giant swamp taro (Cyrtosperma chamissonis), which grows well in the salty, sandy soil of many Pacific islands, is rich in vitamins and minerals. Yellow varieties are high in beta carotene, which can help prevent blindness. Sea buckthorn: Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) uses nitrogen from the air as fertilizer, thanks to specialized bacteria in its roots. These dense roots are also used to prevent soil erosion in China. The berries are hard to pick, but new machines should help with the harvest. Foods of Tomorrow?

Many foods we’ll eat in the future don’t yet exist. Researchers constantly tinker with plant and animal ingredients, 
processed foods and even packaging, to improve flavor and nutrition. A few samples are below—but the biggest 
changes may come from ideas we cannot yet imagine.

Breathable Chocolate: Want the flavor of real chocolate, without the calories? You can now inhale tiny particles of chocolate, as a mist. Patch in a Pinch: Some essential nutrients could soon be given to soldiers and astronauts through a patch on the skin, for quick absorption in emergencies. "Smart Packaging": In the near future, food packaging could monitor foods to detect ripeness or spoiling—or even actively prevent foods from spoiling.

GOING FROM INDUSTRIAL MODEL TO ECOLOGICAL MODEL


CUTLERY / TABLEWEAR

Cutlery refers to any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. A "cutler" is a person who makes or sells cutlery. The city of Sheffield in England has been famous for the production of cutlery since the 17th century and a train - the Master Cutler - running from Sheffield to London was named after the industry.

Cutlery is more usually known as silverware or flatware in the United States, where cutlery usually means knives and related cutting instruments. Although the term silverware is used irrespective of the material composition of the utensils, the term tableware has come into use to avoid the implication that they are made of silver.

The major items of cutlery in the Western world are the knife, fork and spoon. In recent times, hybrid versions of cutlery have been made combining the functionality of different eating implements, including the spork (spoon / fork), spife (spoon / knife), and knork (knife / fork) or the sporf which is all three.

Tableware is the dishes or dishware used for setting a table, serving food and dining. It includes cutlery, glassware, serving dishes and other useful items for practical as well as decorative purposes. The quality, nature, variety and number of objects varies according to culture, religion, number of diners, cuisine and occasion. For example, Middle Eastern, Indian or Polynesian food culture and cuisine sometimes limits tableware to serving dishes, using bread or leaves as individual plates. Special occasions are usually reflected in higher quality tableware.

"Dinnerware" is another term used to refer to tableware and "crockery" refers to ceramic dishes in everyday use as differentiated them from the fine porcelain and bone china produced by makers such as Sèvres in France, Meissen in Germany, Royal Copenhagen in Denmark, Royal Doulton in England, or Belleek Pottery in Ireland.[4] Sets of dishes are referred to as a table service, dinner service or service set. Table settings or place settings are the dishes, cutlery and glassware used for formal and informal dining. In Ireland such items are normally referred to as delph, the word being an English language phonetic spelling of the word delft, the town from which so much delftware came. Silver service or butler service are methods for a butler or waiter to serve a meal.

Setting the table refers to arranging the tableware, including individual place settings for each diner at the table as well as decorating the table itself in a manner suitable for the occasion. Tableware and table decoration is typically more elaborate for special occasions. Unusual dining locations demand tableware be adapted.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tableware

History

The first documented use of the term "cutler" in Sheffield appeared in a 1297 tax return. A Sheffield knife was listed in the King's possession in the Tower of London fifty years later. Several knives dating from the 14th century are on display at the Cutlers' Hall in Sheffield.[2]

Cutlery has been made in many places. In Britain, the industry became concentrated by the late 16th century in and around Birmingham and Sheffield. However, the Birmingham industry increasingly concentrated on swords, made by "long cutlers", and on other edged tools, whereas the Sheffield industry concentrated on knives.

At Sheffield the trade of cutler became divided, with allied trades such as razormaker, awlbladesmith, shearsmith and forkmaker emerging and becoming distinct trades by the 18th century.

Before the mid 19th century when cheap mild steel became available due to new methods of steelmaking, knives (and other edged tools) were made by welding a strip of steel on to the piece of iron that was to be formed into a knife, or sandwiching a strip of steel between two pieces of iron. This was done because steel was then a much more expensive commodity than iron. Modern blades are sometimes laminated, but for a different reason. Since the hardest steel is brittle, a layer of hard steel may be laid between two layers of a milder, less brittle steel, for a blade that keeps a sharp edge well, and is less likely to break in service.

After fabrication, the knife had to be sharpened, originally on a grindstone, but from the late medieval period in a blade mill or (as they were known in the Sheffield region) a cutlers wheel.


TABLEWEAR AS MEMORY MAKING TOOLS

Each thing on the table will record a certain pitch (connected to an emotion). The whole set on the table will record the conversation but to play the memory you will need all the table wear to re-play the conversation.

Under Tableware we see:

  • Plate
  • Knife
  • Fork
  • Spoon
  • Tablemat
  • Drinking Glass / Karaf
  • Food Dish

What you need:

  • Table
  • 4 Chairs

Object Use:

  • Plate = Middle
  • Knife = High Pitch (sharp)
  • Fork = Middle//high
  • Spoon = Low/Middle
  • Tablemat = Low Pitch (bottom)
  • Drinking Glass / Karaf = Ultra High
  • Food Dish = background noises. Other.
  • Table = Speaker
  • 4 Chairs + Complete tableware set = record


INSTANT MOMENT RECORDER

As part of a dining experience we will design a cube that is always listening to your conversations. Once something memorable happens you can push over the cube and then it will play the last 15 secs. If you want to save it you can do so with a single tap.

Link Lasercut

Possible parts for the recording cube:


The Box

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