Dislocation
I wish for a better connection.
In a society where each interraction is filtered through the lens of social media or digitalization of some kind, we have forgotten how to communicate. We live our lives seeking the best software, hardware, services, utilities, and devices that promise to give us the 'best connection.' We built our lives around this idea with constant innovation: 3G, 4G, LTE, 5G, Mbps. It never ends. When will we see the seemingly harmless oroborous of digital dedication as the self-destructive cycle it truly is? Families have increased trouble connecting with eachother, bourne of a lack of communication. We think that communication is the same thing as interraction, we send messages to our friends or family while in the same room.
When was the last time you spent a day without looking at a screen?
What is in your pantry?
Did you know that several of the foods we use every day are the product of selective breeding, and did not exist the way we know them as few as one hundred years ago? Take carrots, watermelons, and bananas for example.
When you think of a carrot, you may think of an animated bunny, or the rumors that they help with eyesight, but what do you truly know about them? Well, one hundred years ago the iconic orange carrot available in your local supermarket did not exist. Orange carrots are the result of selective breeding with the intent of producing a uniform product. Carrots were originally white or purple and often had more than one root.
Watermelons originated in Africa. They were named, and prized, for their high water content. They contain an enzyme which fortifies your body against heat stroke, and they used to taste horrible! The juicy and sweet watermelon flavor you have come to love is also the result of selective breeding.
Bananas are also a genetic variant of a recent ancestor plant. The strain that was commonly available sixty years ago went extinct, it was also the banana that was the basis for the artificial flavoring. Artificial banana flavoring still tastes like a banana, just not one you can buy today!
What food is next?