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Aug. 23rd, 2008
"Visual gravitational field"
"Visual gravitational field"
At Pi-Con there was a panel on Steampunk, and some of it irritated me. Herewith, a response:( We cut ranty stuff because we care )
By sheer coincidence I happen to be reading Sterling's Shaping Things. This book-essay discusses different types of created items and the social systems that support them. It uses a language of Artifacts, Machines, Products, and Gizmos. Relevant to this posting, Artifacts are hand-crafted things supported by an artisan culture. Gizmos are feature-laden, highly customized manipulable objects. Artifacts are used by hunter-farmers; people with an infrastructure of gizmos are "end users."
It occurs to me that steampunks are end users rejecting gizmo culture and reaching back for the artifact notions of creation, while retaining the "kit bashing" customization sensibilities of the gizmo culture they're rejecting.
And now I have more of Pi-con to enjoy...
At Pi-Con there was a panel on Steampunk, and some of it irritated me. Herewith, a response:( We cut ranty stuff because we care )
By sheer coincidence I happen to be reading Sterling's Shaping Things. This book-essay discusses different types of created items and the social systems that support them. It uses a language of Artifacts, Machines, Products, and Gizmos. Relevant to this posting, Artifacts are hand-crafted things supported by an artisan culture. Gizmos are feature-laden, highly customized manipulable objects. Artifacts are used by hunter-farmers; people with an infrastructure of gizmos are "end users."
It occurs to me that steampunks are end users rejecting gizmo culture and reaching back for the artifact notions of creation, while retaining the "kit bashing" customization sensibilities of the gizmo culture they're rejecting.
And now I have more of Pi-con to enjoy...