I would like to address the caveats which were passed on to me regarding my thesis proposal. The first thing I would like to do is to define a caveat. Merriam Webster returned:
“For us to use this in daily life there has to be enough radiation to sense, and a super super sensitive sensor, and it has to be something we could wear, not a haz mat suit obviously. Or is this for specialists, not ordinary folk? Seems really hard — the science is hard, the tech is hard, and the experimental bias is baked in (i.e. the assumption that there are dangerous levels of radiation, etc.) You need to discuss more about the research you’ve done and your tech abilities and, other than working with Eric, how you will get tech help if needed.”
– the first caveat
I need to break this “caveat” down to better interpret and to reply.
“there has to be enough radiation to sense.” The definition of radiation is the transmission of energy from some source in the form of particles or waves.
We are bombarded by and sense radiation from the moment we are born using our skin and the Human Vision System. What we detect is within the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum with a little infra-red and ultraviolet. High school science informs us that we are surrounded by every manner of radiation: AM-FM radio waves, EMF from lamp cord to subway car motors and everything in between. We are routinely exposed to nearly every portion of the electromagnetic spectrum at some point in our lives. My project addresses the sensing of ionizing radiation. Sometimes we see the color blue. Sometimes we do not. Sometimes there will be ionizing radiation to sense. Other times not.
“and a super super sensitive sensor,” This contradicts the preceding thought (“there has to be enough radiation to sense, and a super super sensitive sensor, “) and isn’t worth addressing. Given that the project is specifically sensing Alpha, Beta, and Gamma radiation, if there is detection, then there is radiation present to sense – within the project’s range. The device is not intended to replace an orbital platform or the hardware which is routinely used in screening border crossings. In other words, it will be sensitive enough and doesn’t “have” to be any more than what it is.
“and it has to be something we could wear, not a haz mat suit obviously.“
For a bastion of art and technology; an educational institution which brands itself as a “Center for the Recently Possible,” there are a heck of a lot of assumptions, conditions, limitations, and prejudicial thoughts promulgated by an anonymous individual who represents ITP, Tisch, and NYU. The entire first sentence of this “caveat” is ill-thought, juvenile and without merit.
“Or is this for specialists, not ordinary folk? “
As stated in my thesis description, I intend to create a piece of wearable jewelry. With that as a given, unless the writer is disabled in a truly unusual manner, even they should be able to attach it to a garment or a body part.
“Seems really hard — the science is hard, the tech is hard,”
This is true. I purposely chose a project which was at the periphery of my ability. That is how I have worked since the 1970s. If it is easy, it isn’t worth doing.
“and the experimental bias is baked in (i.e. the assumption that there are dangerous levels of radiation, etc.)”
I am perplexed by the apparent objection referencing “experimental bias” in this project.
Again, the reviewer/critic/”adviser” has created yet another in a chain of assumptive propositions. Not unlike Oscar Wilde’s discussion regarding the nature of books, the device is an indicator of the presence of ionizing radiation. It does not presume to label radiation levels as “dangerous” or acceptable. Those valuations traditionally fall within the provenance of scientific bodies and governments.
Should an individual choose to subscribe to recently revised standards for radiation exposure by Japan, Professor Allison’s AHARS (As High As Relatively Safe), those proposed by the military, nuclear power industry, or the linear no-threshold model to ionizing radiation, that final qualification of dangerous is ultimately a personal decision.
The fact that industry – and the governments which it influences – creates and promotes its own standards is beyond this discussion. However this is part of a body of questions which I intend this object to create.
“….the assumption that there are dangerous levels of radiation, etc.)”
This utterly specious comment is akin to saying that seventy years of internationally peer-reviewed data is somehow equal to that of an individual with a dissenting opinion.
I will take published peer-reviewed fact over opinion any time.
There are limits for exposure to radiation to bone, eye, organs, and skinx in most countries – even if these limits were raised after a nuclear event. If exposure to ionizing radiation wasn’t an issue, there wouldn’t be limits.
How exactly did the individual who voiced this “caveat” regarding my project enter the thesis review process anyway? The project’s stated purpose is to create a wearable radiation detector and to share that information with the greater community.
The bias which is “baked in” would be that of the reviewer’s response.
| Public utility spokesperson Jennifer Manfre and Forbes contributor Tim Worstall) point out that there is already radiation in our bananas. Like the critic of my thesis project, they share the same line of reasoning which maintains that are safe levels for exposure to ionizing radiation. |  |
There is another concept known as the “linear no-threshold model to ionizing radiation,” which is based on the physics of what happens when ionizing radiation interacts with living tissue. This is a schema which is at odds with a heavily subsidized industry.
As with the petrochemical and mega-agriculture businesses, the energy industry has effective lobbyists as well.
“Congress told NRC to stop enforcing existing regulations or we’ll cut your budget 40%,” said David Lochbaum. June 4th, 1998. “That’s the day the NRC even stopped pretending to be an aggressive regulator.”
The video link below is of Thom Hartmann and David Lochbaum. Mr. Lochbaum is a Nuclear Engineer and the Director of the Nuclear Safety Project in the Union of Concerned Scientists (ucsusa) Global Security Program.
Center for Disease Control video series on scanning for radiation on people. Axiomatically if there wasn’t an issue with exposure to ionizing radiation, these videos wouldn’t exist.
” You need to discuss more about the research you’ve done”
The thesis section of my blog contains much of my research and includes the rationale for the project. While incomplete, the following table contains some research:
“and your tech abilities and, other than working with Eric, how you will get tech help if needed.”
I have been constructing objects possessing a distinct technological character since 1974. These have included interactive works of varying scale from the invention of electronic jewelry, wall-sized works, an interactive building, a flame which speaks the collected names of God, and the current series of monumental site specific installations and performances begun in 1996.
For years I worked alone, then eventually hired my first employee. We worked out of my NYC apartment until I had too many people to share one bathroom. My first studio space (apart from where I lived) was at 135 Fifth Avenue (20th St). When Mykro Dot and my studio was in full gear, I was selling to twenty-seven countries and represented by Alan Spiegelman who was headquartered at New York City’s Gift Center. By that time I had eleven full-time employees and was using a number of job-shops to help with assembly. My product line was represented in showrooms in Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and Dallas. During those years I did one and sometimes two trade shows every year (mostly the Fashion and Boutique shows in NY, San Francisco, and Houston). Robin Williams was my first collector of electronic jewelry. The countries I exported most to were Brazil, Iceland, Japan, Germany, and Great Britain. My designs made it into Warhol’s Interview Magazine, Mademoiselle, a number of catalogs, and a television commercial.
Beginning in 1993 I wrote and taught a series of courses at New York City’s School of Visual Arts within the MFA and BFA Computer Art programs. These courses included “History of Art and Technology of the Twentieth Century,” “Electrical Engineering for Artists,” “Digital Sculpture,” and “Advanced Computer Systems.”
Following my vision has created a career with a number of “firsts.” Psyche was the first interactive, computer-mediated sculptural volume (1994). It featured a helical electric arc which ran vertically through a three-foot long copper helix (which was constructed through electroforming over eight months in my studio). The sculpture was animated by one of the first Basic Stamps (buggy, btw) shipped by Parallax and programmed in Assembler.
I have exhibited work and had residencies in ten countries. My work is featured in Art of the Digital Age by Bruce Wands and most recently 3D Printing for Artists, Designers and Makers: Technology Crossing Art and Industry by Stephen Hoskins.
Before there was an internet, there was Thomas Register, trade shows, showrooms, manufacturing in the United States, and plenty of interesting technology for sale on Canal Street.
Within the polyglot which defines ITP, Professor Eric Rosenthal continues to be a source of information, support, and vision. I am fortunate to have access to physicists Francois Grey, Marco Kaltofen, Arnie Gundersen, and theoretical physicist and photographer, Manuel Rotenberg.
I should be able to figure the technical end of this project out.
(2) “Interesting idea. I actually am always curious how much daily radiation I am getting. It would be interesting if he could collect the readings and geo-tag the locations and allow people to add to a database of the radioactive areas around the globe. Kind of like openpaths.cc with radiation detection.”
Listed below are a number of sites which currently map radiation. Subsequent models may be bluetooth enabled (or hard-wired), talk to an application, and plot in real-time (or after uploading). That aspect of engagement is beyond the simple scope of my project: create a simple wearable detector of ionizing radiation and to create additional discussion, interest, and investigation into an otherwise unseen world.
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