Leandra Jacobson 3/14/09- pictures

Several photos we reviewed in class were brought to mind in a discussion I had with my friend David today. There was a picture of an agriculturalist with a hole in his stomach, possibly interpreted as a missing of something, a loss in humans. There was also another picture of a man with a technological umbilical cord. The combination of these pictures creates a collective idea of a metaphorical wall we have built between us and nature through gradually removing ourselves and advancing in technology. This pertains, as I will show in the conclusion, to David’s and my discussion in that we were trying to decide what the term of the world coming into “existence” actually meant.
I watched a couple minutes of the show “17 and counting” today on the Discovery channel. The show is about a very strict religious family with 17, yes, 17 children and one more baby girl on the way. I probably watch 30 minutes of television a month so this was quite the shocking show to me. In this episode, the family visited a creation museum featuring intelligent design exhibits. All the children, and the two parents, professed their true and strong belief in that the world is 6,000 years old. To each his own and I respect all beliefs but I was compelled to ask David on his thoughts since he is one of the most opinionated and intelligent people I know, as well as having strict traditional Catholic foundations in his upbringing. He of course said that no logical person would actually believe that the world is only 6,000 years old, yet wordplay does come into importance here. There is a difference between the beginnings of the world, whether it is big bang or God, or the beginning being human presence as being the classification of the world coming into existence. In this, the importance of words is vital. If you look at humans as being the beginning of the world, it’s a very species centered ideal but understandable in our human nature. Without our presence, our spoilage, and our advancement, the world would be a much different place. In this we see how important the earth is to us, but how important we are to the earth as well. Do we need the earth to exist? Or can we go on living without technology, eventually able to leave the earthly umbilical cord behind? Will we be forever empty, holes in our hearts, estranged from nature? By our tendency to try and impossibly “play God” are we further reaching away from nature or getting closer to it? These are some of the questions we discussed.