The value we assign to a place is based on our memory of that place. A space has no inherent value. Humans must use consciousness to assign a history to a space in order for that place to become valuable. If the history of a place is forgotten, then that place reverts back into a space until (if ever) the history is recovered.
Just because we have not been to a place or even thought about it does not mean it doesn't exist. It still does, it is outside our realm of knowledge. It is in someone else's realm.
There are many places I have yet to go, but that doesn't mean they are just a space to me. I've never been to the Sistine Chapel, but I yearn to experience that place. Of course, I have seen images of the chapel to which I have scaffolded meaning - personal and otherwise. Seeing the place in person will enrich my existing web of knowledge.
What of a place I have yet to visit? I see those as ripe for discovery.
"A space has no inherent value. Humans must use consciousness to assign a history...." I think of space in this context as a void. Places are full of earth, rocks, plants, animals, microorganisms, and the like. There is inherent value in that whether I choose to recognize it or not. Humanity (particularly in the Western world) is not always good at accepting intrinsic value.
I don't feel you can have a real connection to a place unless you have physically been there. All the senses are apart of our connection to a place. When I think of the places I am connected to they are places I have spent time with. Its interesting to think about homes I have moved away from that I really don't have a connection to anymore. I have memories but I don't have a yearning to return to them. The places I yearn to go to are more than a place I spent time in. They have a very special feel and engage me in memories that bring me to a place of contentment.
The value that we assign to a place is very personal. For example, I hold dearly an imaginary place in my mind. This place is somewhere I envision when I need to calm down when frustrated or to relax and go to sleep. It would hold no value for anyone else, but the place I created holds great value to me.
We assign a value to the world around us based on our beliefs and egos. If the place falls into a category that we value, it is valuable. If it falls in a place we want to avoid it is devalued. Sometimes we do not value a place because we lack knowledge that would make the place valuable. A picture can be so-so until we learn of the artists view point, method of creation, or some other information that gives it a value to us. If that information is not available that picture is overlooked.
Valuable to whom? And who gets to say? Sometimes places become "valuable" when something with an economic value is found -- think gold rush to places wild and far away. Some places are seen as valuable because of great beauty or unique features. But many places are valuable to those who live there because of the personal connections, family interactions, or it's all that the residents have even known. In some cases, those residents have come to know it well, to understand the seasons, the flow of the rivers, the animals that make their home there -- they feel at home and they know themselves better in this place they call home than in any other place because it is familiar, probably even comfortable even though it may not be beautiful or have great weather or be in an ideal location. When we simply travel through a place, we may not understand the scale of the place or how to see it (tiny plants survive above timberline and are beautiful but you have to get down on your knees to see them). Some places have been defined by society or pop culture or some "others" as undesirable -- think of inner city Detroit, but there are people who live there and love it and feel at home there even if there are few jobs and lots of crime. But as Wes Jackson from the Land Institute in Kansas said, either all places have value or no place has value. Places are valuable to the people, to the plants and animals, to the geology and the ecology whether we go by and groan that this place is no where and nothing is here.
I wonder about the value of the "toxic" places...Fukushima, mine tailings, retaining ponds in the oil patch. We have been talking about imaginary places and I have been thinking about the toxic places that draw people in on-line. there are toxic places in our minds that ca lead to self-destructive actions. Where's the value in that? Do we appreciate Yellowstone more when we've driven through the Red Desert? Can we appreciate our own art-enriched life when we see the shallow self-absorbed lives around us?
Spaces that are important to me tend to be places I have a connection to based on my emotion or sensory association. Places I seem to overlook don't draw me in because I don't feel the connection to it.
I love to question my own values and views of place. For example, the Sierra Madre Chokecherry Windfarm-- while I like the idea of renewable resources in a place, I struggle with this particular site for many reasons. The impact and scale of this project will forever change the place. In my mind it's the viewshed that I will miss the most. Yes, roads will change the place; yes, it will bring economic value to the valley and region beyond, but it will forever change my home. I, too, think that all places have value. Even the I-80 corridor, where some consider desolate and "god-forsaken", but to me it's full of life and wind and history and love.
From the haiku today (I'm stealing...er appropriating from someone's group): Peaceful yearning place Ancient volcanic structures What does it all mean?
I overheard a conversation the other day about how "ugly" the turbines are and wondered how someone could see something rhythmic, gracefully tapered and smooth edged could be interpreted as ugly... any thoughts?
Every pace has value, it is up to us to appreciate its value. Our own values play a major role in how we assign value to a place. We may value the beauty or harshness of a place, we may value the resources of the place or the memories we have of a place. If our values are dominated by wealth or status we will have a hard time understanding why someone would value a a place that is not rich in minerals or located in an area that has agricultural resources. If we value other people's company or a stimulating night life we might find it hard to see how someone might value a place that offers solitude or easy access to the wilderness.
The natural beauty of an area is often what places it high on the special scale. An indicator of its perceived specialness is often reflected in the price of land and housing. The type and quality of house you can get in Burns verses Jackson is a world apart. That said, I'm sure there are people in Burns that love where they live and wouldn't have any interest in Jackson.
The value we assign to a place is based on our memory of that place. A space has no inherent value. Humans must use consciousness to assign a history to a space in order for that place to become valuable. If the history of a place is forgotten, then that place reverts back into a space until (if ever) the history is recovered.
ReplyDeleteWhat if we've never personally been to a place before? Is it just a space?
ReplyDeleteIt is a place to someone, I believe.
DeleteJust because we have not been to a place or even thought about it does not mean it doesn't exist. It still does, it is outside our realm of knowledge. It is in someone else's realm.
DeleteThere are many places I have yet to go, but that doesn't mean they are just a space to me. I've never been to the Sistine Chapel, but I yearn to experience that place. Of course, I have seen images of the chapel to which I have scaffolded meaning - personal and otherwise. Seeing the place in person will enrich my existing web of knowledge.
DeleteWhat of a place I have yet to visit? I see those as ripe for discovery.
"A space has no inherent value. Humans must use consciousness to assign a history...." I think of space in this context as a void. Places are full of earth, rocks, plants, animals, microorganisms, and the like. There is inherent value in that whether I choose to recognize it or not. Humanity (particularly in the Western world) is not always good at accepting intrinsic value.
I don't feel you can have a real connection to a place unless you have physically been there. All the senses are apart of our connection to a place. When I think of the places I am connected to they are places I have spent time with. Its interesting to think about homes I have moved away from that I really don't have a connection to anymore. I have memories but I don't have a yearning to return to them. The places I yearn to go to are more than a place I spent time in. They have a very special feel and engage me in memories that bring me to a place of contentment.
DeleteThe value that we assign to a place is very personal. For example, I hold dearly an imaginary place in my mind. This place is somewhere I envision when I need to calm down when frustrated or to relax and go to sleep. It would hold no value for anyone else, but the place I created holds great value to me.
ReplyDeleteWe assign a value to the world around us based on our beliefs and egos. If the place falls into a category that we value, it is valuable. If it falls in a place we want to avoid it is devalued. Sometimes we do not value a place because we lack knowledge that would make the place valuable. A picture can be so-so until we learn of the artists view point, method of creation, or some other information that gives it a value to us. If that information is not available that picture is overlooked.
ReplyDeleteValuable to whom? And who gets to say? Sometimes places become "valuable" when something with an economic value is found -- think gold rush to places wild and far away. Some places are seen as valuable because of great beauty or unique features. But many places are valuable to those who live there because of the personal connections, family interactions, or it's all that the residents have even known. In some cases, those residents have come to know it well, to understand the seasons, the flow of the rivers, the animals that make their home there -- they feel at home and they know themselves better in this place they call home than in any other place because it is familiar, probably even comfortable even though it may not be beautiful or have great weather or be in an ideal location. When we simply travel through a place, we may not understand the scale of the place or how to see it (tiny plants survive above timberline and are beautiful but you have to get down on your knees to see them). Some places have been defined by society or pop culture or some "others" as undesirable -- think of inner city Detroit, but there are people who live there and love it and feel at home there even if there are few jobs and lots of crime. But as Wes Jackson from the Land Institute in Kansas said, either all places have value or no place has value. Places are valuable to the people, to the plants and animals, to the geology and the ecology whether we go by and groan that this place is no where and nothing is here.
ReplyDeleteI wonder about the value of the "toxic" places...Fukushima, mine tailings, retaining ponds in the oil patch. We have been talking about imaginary places and I have been thinking about the toxic places that draw people in on-line. there are toxic places in our minds that ca lead to self-destructive actions. Where's the value in that? Do we appreciate Yellowstone more when we've driven through the Red Desert? Can we appreciate our own art-enriched life when we see the shallow self-absorbed lives around us?
DeleteSpaces that are important to me tend to be places I have a connection to based on my emotion or sensory association. Places I seem to overlook don't draw me in because I don't feel the connection to it.
ReplyDeleteI love to question my own values and views of place. For example, the Sierra Madre Chokecherry Windfarm-- while I like the idea of renewable resources in a place, I struggle with this particular site for many reasons. The impact and scale of this project will forever change the place. In my mind it's the viewshed that I will miss the most. Yes, roads will change the place; yes, it will bring economic value to the valley and region beyond, but it will forever change my home. I, too, think that all places have value. Even the I-80 corridor, where some consider desolate and "god-forsaken", but to me it's full of life and wind and history and love.
ReplyDeleteFrom the haiku today (I'm stealing...er appropriating from someone's group):
Peaceful yearning place
Ancient volcanic structures
What does it all mean?
I overheard a conversation the other day about how "ugly" the turbines are and wondered how someone could see something rhythmic, gracefully tapered and smooth edged could be interpreted as ugly... any thoughts?
DeleteEvery pace has value, it is up to us to appreciate its value. Our own values play a major role in how we assign value to a place. We may value the beauty or harshness of a place, we may value the resources of the place or the memories we have of a place. If our values are dominated by wealth or status we will have a hard time understanding why someone would value a a place that is not rich in minerals or located in an area that has agricultural resources. If we value other people's company or a stimulating night life we might find it hard to see how someone might value a place that offers solitude or easy access to the wilderness.
ReplyDeleteThe natural beauty of an area is often what places it high on the special scale. An indicator of its perceived specialness is often reflected in the price of land and housing. The type and quality of house you can get in Burns verses Jackson is a world apart. That said, I'm sure there are people in Burns that love where they live and wouldn't have any interest in Jackson.
ReplyDelete