Clouds (Bonus Blog)

So, just over a month ago, I attended a talk by Dr. John Peters. He talked about clouds. A topic so simple but yet so elaborated as he went on. He started the talk by explaining how he first came about the topic. He was gazing out his car window on his way to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He notice the huge array of clouds right above him. They were all different in shape and sizes.

"Clouds are examples of things we take for granted, just like the sky and stars," Dr. Peters said. He continued his speech by connecting clouds to communications. Clouds, just like communications, are untrustworthy. For example, when looking up into a cloud in the sky, some people might say it looks like a rabbit but some might think differently. Therefore, just like the clouds, communications is also different across different cultures. Different people see and think of different things. Just like what Professor Pfister onced brought up in class about how some cultures, people would preserve the deceased. Some other cultures would find that obscured.

He continued on by describing clouds as something majestic. A huge mushroom cloud can make one feel so small. Despite the fact that it comes from something destructive like a bomb, it looks majestic and pleasing to the eyes. I guess what he meant was that communication is also something majestic. Words in communication can be structured in a way that's pleasing to the ear but it can hold a destructive agenda, just like the mushroom cloud.

During the Resonance era, clouds were drawn the most in art. Friedrich Kittler once said that, “We can never separate weather and the Gods.” The weather is both a blessing and a curse from the Gods. Here's a more insight on Kittler and his theories: https://books.google.com/books?id=4YVoCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA244&lpg=PA244&dq=friedrich+kittler+weather+and+gods&source=bl&ots=3EcvCJKu9O&sig=9mFN38tCzdJPcoYHqxXMAEMqGEs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwir_NDs56rMAhXqnYMKHW2LAroQ6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=friedrich%20kittler%20weather%20and%20gods&f=false .

So, after sitting through the talk, it really gave me a whole new light on clouds and communications. I have to be honest, when I first found out that the topic was on clouds, the first thought that came to my mind was, "How does that relate to communications?" Now, I know how.