G. Myer-Kress - Physicist, Santa Fe Institute
Artist
Anna Christine Hansen
Date1988
Mediumchromogenic color print
Dimensions20 × 16 in. (50.8 × 40.6 cm)
ClassificationsPhotography
Credit LineAlbuquerque Museum, museum purchase, 1989 General Obligation Bonds
Object numberPC1990.69.41
DescriptionThis color photograph is of physicist G. Myer-Kress with a written inscription and signature by Myer-Kress underneath. Myer-Kress is posed in a chair in an office space.The inscription reads:
What is reality? I believe that there is something out there that we name "reality," then by already creating models, descriptions, images, caricatures of reality. In science we are rational, logical and mathematical models, which have been proven most successful in gaining power over the physical world around us. Scientific models have not been so helpful in wisely using these powers and especially with dealing with problems of aggression and our environment. Other models which represent more direct, immediate, and intuitive perceptions of reality are found in the fine arts, music, poetry, fairy tales etc. Modern computers together with powerful graphics and visualization tools are beginning to bridge between these two categories of models. We no longer have to analyze equations and mathematical symbols directly, when we want to work with scientific models. Instead, we can "see" and recognize patterns and features that a computer model creates about some aspect of reality. In a modern flight simulator, for example, computers create an artificial reality so perfectly well that pilots learn to fly their new plane long before it is actually built. I believe that advanced computer models will also become helpful with our problems of war, conflict, and survival of our planet. Those models will help to overcome the traditional, mechanical models of society based on concepts like "consumerism," "capitalism" ect. which stem from the paradigms of last century. New computer simulations will treat our whole planet as a complex, self-organizing, evolving dynamical system. They could help us on the way to a global, ecological, and sustainable society. We can no longer afford to learn through mistakes in the real world. We have to simulate consequences of our decisions in an artificial reality where we have a reset button when we crash a plane or destroy our planet.
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