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On the definition of Art

Submitted by JMB on Fri 18/Jan/2008

Over at the Bristol Graffiti Blog, there's a debate of sorts over "What is Art and all that?". No discussion as yet as to why people should assume they can legitimately treat someone else's property as a canvas without seeking permission, although the site author does seem to be working toward an aesthetic distinction between "tagging" and "graffiti".

Here's a picture of the Royal Mail wall box on Cotham Road. Every few months, I see Tony from the Redland and Cotham Amenities Society camped outside this box putting a fresh coat of paint on it and removing some juvenile tagging. Yet again, his restoration work has been ruined by - in this example - two passing Banksy-wannabes.

The Post Box in question, you may be interested to know, dates from between 1873-79. The "VR" cipher indicates is was cast in the reign of Queen Victoria, and a recent RCAS publication reports the foundry as "Bernard P Walker"

Here's a close up of the tag. Perhaps the local "graff" community could assist in identifying the perpetrator, or at least encourage him to buy his own canvas rather than use the nearest flat surface.

The Atlas of Creation

Submitted by JMB on Sat 21/Jul/2007

Harun Yahya, a prominent Turkish thinker and author, has recently published "The Atlas of Creation". Free printed copies of this book are being sent to many American scientists, but if you're interested a copy can be downloaded from the author's website:

The Atlas of Creation (vol 1)

According to the introduction "[s]ome 150 years ago, the British naturalist Charles Darwin proposed a theory based on various observations made during his travels, but which could not be supported by any subsequent scientific findings."

Apart, that is, from essentially every bit of research in Biology, Molecular Biology, Biochemisty & Genetics made in the last two hundred years. Darwin's theory is the unifying theme of modern biological sciences. For further reading, walk blindfolded into the science section of any book seller and randomly wave your hands about until you find a book. More than likely it will discuss, or rely upon, Natural Selection.

The introduction to the Atlas is further illustrated with a picture of a mid 19th-century microscope, captioned "[t]he single-lensed microscope that Darwin used reveals the limited and underdeveloped technological means of that era."

Here's a comparison of that early microscope with one of the latest pieces of British hardware - the Titan transmission electron microscope at Imperial College, London. They haven't refuted Darwin yet.

vs Titan microscope (LNC)

The wonderful thing about science is the more you learn, the less you know. Every new discovery pushes the boundaries of human knowledge; every piece of scientific research suggests a dozen new lines of enquiry.

Fancy a career in science? Well, if you're under sixteen and reading this in Britain then you've got a problem since the quality of scientific education in this country is rapidly diminishing. I suggest you hit the books, look out for extra curricular learning opportunities and save your pocket money for a private tutor.

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