No Touching! (science and observation)

I thought the most interesting part of Baudrillard’s discussion of simulacra was in relation to how scientists conduct research and model simulations while trying not to disturb their subjects. It is strange to think that the instant the Tasaday people were discovered, they seemed to lose their authenticity, so the scientists had to abandon them to have any hope of keeping them a subject worthy of study (someday). The whole situation reminded me of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle- when trying to measure the position and momentum of a particle in space, you can really only compute one of these values to an appreciable degree of accuracy, while the other becomes more and more unreliable. The very act of trying to measure the velocity of an electron, for example, alters its velocity and makes the measurement untrue. Although I can’t say this directly relates to the Precession of Simulacra, that’s what it got me thinking about.

During Monday’s lecture, the example of the lab mouse was also strange to think about. An organic creature that had become completely man-made through its breeding. A “copy without an original” that is meant to simulate real mammalian reactions. I guess we have done this with all sorts of species – from super crops and prizewinning roses to purebred dogs and racing horses. If I’m understanding the concept correctly, we are surrounded by simulacra. The size and sweetness of my apple can be a representation of Upstate New York’s precipitation over the summer, and the sounds of geese migrating at a given time can be an indicator of our changing climate, while the recent increase in Bagel Gourmet’s prices is not saying good things about the cost of raw goods and transportation….