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MACHINE DREAMS

Alexei Taylor, Author

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Feelings on Inflation

Watch these two videos before reading:


How did you feel while watching the video of the man blowing up the balloon? How about during the video of the pump inflating the balloon? Did you feel the same, or different while watching the two videos?

The air in the first video came from the lungs, straight from the body of a human. The body exerted effort to inflate the balloon. Sentimentality is instantly attached to the balloon blown up in the first frame, as it features a human, a doer with whom one can identify. The video may recall memories of blowing up balloons as a child – a very innocent connotation of the behavior shown.

Why may the emotions experienced differ when viewing the machine's inflation versus the human's? Your mind wanders, consciously or unconsciously, trying to understand what is facilitating the action happening in front of you.The pump is not a full body, it has a single function; it has no hidden depths or connections. The human, however, one can identify with, as he has lungs and muscles and blood, which work together to blow air and make the inflation possible. When viewing the video of the man blowing up the balloon, this knowledge is drawn upon. The pump, however, remains one-dimensional.
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