Amin Doosti - DESMA9

For the first event of this course, I had the opportunity to participate in Professor Landecker’s presentation for the LASER event. As someone with almost no biology and food science background, I learned quite a lot from this event. Professor Landecker’s presentation explained the usage and definition of emulsifiers, gums, and clouding agents and shed more light on different food classes. Figure 1: Beginning of the presentation by Professor Landecker. Credit: Professor Hannah Landecker One thing from the event that stood out to me and enabled my brain to connect the dots between the event and our course was the discussion on the NOVA food classification system. The NOVA system “assumes that the extent and purpose of processing to which food is subjected determines its nutrient content and other attributes” ( Nupens, 2023 ). This classification consists of four groups: unprocessed or minimally processed foods, processed culinary ingredients, processed foods, and ultra-processed foo...

Undoubtedly, technology has helped humans overcome many previously impossible things. The ability to alter our bodies is one of the many things technology has improved. While watching the videos presented this week, the topic of body modifications caught my attention and interest. After some research, I found many fascinating results worth sharing. First, let’s turn our attention to Viktoria Modesta, a bionic artist and futurist, who underwent a voluntary leg amputation at the age of 20. During the process, Modesta explains that her doctors were hesitant and unaccepting of her decision to amputate her leg even though it meant she would be free of pain. She thought the process “highlighted an unhealthy obsession with how we value the biological body” (Modesta, 2020) and has since changed her views on the value of the biological human body. Figure 1: Image of Viktoria Modesta wearing "The Spike". Credit: Boston Magazine Next, we should take a look at Neil Harbisson’s stor...

This week’s reading and lecture videos, along with some personal research, allowed me to think more deeply about the impact of mechanization on art. With the recent advancements in AI technology and its accessibility to the general public, many questions have been raised about its impact on art and artists. Tyler Cowen puts the rate of AI advancements in perspective by simply stating: “For a long time, nothing happens, and then all of a sudden something does” (Cowen, 2023). This rapid advancement is a welcome change for some, but others deem it terrifying. Figure 1: Global investment (in billions of $) in AI over the past decade. AI is one of the fastest-growing industries and is not expected to slow down anytime soon. Credit: Eliza Strickland via IEEE While reading Walter Benjamin’s piece “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”, one quote stood out to me: “Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its...

As a STEM student, I have been exposed to almost all the topics discussed this week. After watching Professor Vesna’s lecture on mathematics, the discussion of the golden ratio caught my attention. It is astonishing to see such a simple concept as the golden ratio have such significant historical importance. Figure 1: The golden ratio. The golden ratio is mathematically described as the ratio 1:1.618. After doing some research on the golden ratio, I found that this ratio not only plays a significant historical role but also appears in nature; and nature is, in itself, full of art. The editorial team at The Artist describes this ratio as “a proportion that is aesthetically pleasing to the human eye” (The Artist). A great example of the golden ratio's significance in art is Leonardo Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” painting. The importance of the golden ratio is underscored by the fact that during the Renaissance, “artists even believed it had spiritual, Biblical significance” (Lesso). T...

Through Professor Vesna’s "Toward a Third Culture: Being in Between" and C.P. Snow’s lecture on “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution”, I encountered a transformative perspective. Both Vesna and C.P. Snow showcase a concept where art and science exist on opposite ends of a spectrum, thus birthing a third, in-between, culture: Technology. Vesna explains, "Artists using technology are uniquely positioned in the middle of the scientific and literary/philosophical communities," (Vesna) exemplifying individuals who fall between the art and science spectrum. Kevin Kelly, in his article "The Third Culture", articulates this intersectionality further by stating, "While science and art generate truth and beauty, technology generates opportunities," (Kelly) highlighting technology's role as a mediatory third culture as a mixture of both art and science. Figure 1: A Ven diagram showcasing the overlap of art and science. Credit: PSU Vanguard As...