http://snarkmarket.com/2011/7470 The stomping grounds of Tim Carmody, Robin Sloan and Matt Thompson. It's a long-running conversation about media, journalism, technology, cities, culture, design, books, music, movies, the future and the past. Fri, 27 Apr 2012 18:20:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 http://snarkmarket.com/2011/7470/comment-page-1#comment-45691 Tim Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:27:23 +0000 http://snarkmarket.com/?p=7470#comment-45691 EXACTLY. It's <em>echt</em> Benjamin. EXACTLY. It’s echt Benjamin.

]]> http://snarkmarket.com/2011/7470/comment-page-1#comment-45588 Murat Gunes Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:10:03 +0000 http://snarkmarket.com/?p=7470#comment-45588 The bit about wanting to write reference books (fittingly mentioned next to The Arcades Project) reminded me of the following from Benjamin's One-Way Street: "The typical work of modern scolarship is intended to be read like a catalogue. But when shall we actually write books like catalogues? If the deficient content were thus to determine the outward form, an excellent piece of writing would result, in which the value of opinions would be marked without their being thereby put on sale." The bit about wanting to write reference books (fittingly mentioned next to The Arcades Project) reminded me of the following from Benjamin’s One-Way Street: “The typical work of modern scolarship is intended to be read like a catalogue. But when shall we actually write books like catalogues? If the deficient content were thus to determine the outward form, an excellent piece of writing would result, in which the value of opinions would be marked without their being thereby put on sale.”

]]> http://snarkmarket.com/2011/7470/comment-page-1#comment-45510 Sharat Buddhavarapu Sun, 09 Oct 2011 21:09:47 +0000 http://snarkmarket.com/?p=7470#comment-45510 While I applaud the critical eye pataphysics seems to provide, there seems to be a profound disregard for value. Despite the fact that most of the value we find in objects is socially constructed, these social constructions are sometimes useful. For instance, considering the value of resources vs. the value of the end product as an economic exercise also has ethical merits to it. I wonder what such an analysis might conclude about the production of books that cannot be comprehended or read as a way of life. While I applaud the critical eye pataphysics seems to provide, there seems to be a profound disregard for value. Despite the fact that most of the value we find in objects is socially constructed, these social constructions are sometimes useful. For instance, considering the value of resources vs. the value of the end product as an economic exercise also has ethical merits to it. I wonder what such an analysis might conclude about the production of books that cannot be comprehended or read as a way of life.

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