Comments on: To be small, and to not be small http://williamtozier.com/slurry/2005/07/24/to-be-small-and-to-not-be-small Pontification without all the gritty gravitas Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:27:27 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Bill http://williamtozier.com/slurry/2005/07/24/to-be-small-and-to-not-be-small/comment-page-1#comment-11 Bill Wed, 03 Aug 2005 02:21:43 +0000 http://williamtozier.com/slurry/?p=15#comment-11 And it's good. On the one hand, surely this isn't a new phenomenon. Kids these days have always been kids these days, using words and concepts in new and wrong ways. On the other hand, I always find myself reaching for a biological analogy when I think about cultural dynamics, and I'm thinking right now about Zebra mussels, and garlic mustard, and Chinese snakeheads in Virginia, and West Nile Virus in Cleveland, Ohio. In some sense, here <i>might</i> be a reason to believe that the same sort of thing -- mixing across what were clearly demarcated boundaries until recently -- is speeding up. Culturally as well as biologically. But you know... I don't think anybody's ever actually considered what happens when you take really <i>blend up</i> ecosystems or cultures. And it’s good.

On the one hand, surely this isn’t a new phenomenon. Kids these days have always been kids these days, using words and concepts in new and wrong ways.

On the other hand, I always find myself reaching for a biological analogy when I think about cultural dynamics, and I’m thinking right now about Zebra mussels, and garlic mustard, and Chinese snakeheads in Virginia, and West Nile Virus in Cleveland, Ohio. In some sense, here might be a reason to believe that the same sort of thing — mixing across what were clearly demarcated boundaries until recently — is speeding up.

Culturally as well as biologically.

But you know… I don’t think anybody’s ever actually considered what happens when you take really blend up ecosystems or cultures.

]]> By: PJ de Barros http://williamtozier.com/slurry/2005/07/24/to-be-small-and-to-not-be-small/comment-page-1#comment-10 PJ de Barros Fri, 29 Jul 2005 12:11:45 +0000 http://williamtozier.com/slurry/?p=15#comment-10 Not that I am an expert in any topic I discuss, but I do sympathize to a certain extent with the corruption of understanding that occurs in popular culture. You referenced something I sent in once, so I thought you might like to read something I wrote on a related topic to this entry. http://www.livejournal.com/users/crownofspoons/34183.html Not that I am an expert in any topic I discuss, but I do sympathize to a certain extent with the corruption of understanding that occurs in popular culture. You referenced something I sent in once, so I thought you might like to read something I wrote on a related topic to this entry.

http://www.livejournal.com/users/crownofspoons/34183.html

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