355 Affordances in the Texas and New York Environments and Apocalypto

Message no. 355[Branch from no. 351] Posted by Thomas Culhane (1311520071) on Tuesday, February 13, 2007 3:26pm Subject: Affordances in the Texas and New York Environments

Good comments you guys; what you are seeing is that naturally each environment has different affordances (see chapter 1) and these affordances create a gestalt impression about how it is appropriate to behave. Guns are available affordances in Texas and public transit available affordances in New York and they affect the way we SEE and experience where we live.

Have you seen the new film "APOCALYPTO", directed by Mel Gibson? It is a fascinating portrayal of pre-columbian Guatemala, when the Maya civilization was falling into decadence, on the eve of the arrival of the Spaniards. It shows how, to maintain their power at Tikal, the priests sent war parties into the rain forests to capture the more peaceful hunters and gatherers from their idyllic villages and drag them as slaves and sacrifice captives. They dragged them into the city and then cut out their hearts to "appease the gods" (and to demonstrate their mathematical powers in predicting solar eclipses to make themselves seem closer to the gods.)

The Maya were well aware of the astronomical motion of bodies in space and used the moon and the sun and the stars as affordances to get power over their own people. By keeping their knowledge of math and science secret from the general population, the priests were able to make it look as though they had special gifts.

In the city the rain forest tribespeople felt as lost and bewildered as Pat's husband feels in New York, or as Daniela's Mom felt leaving Italy (hope I got that right!); but when they escape from the city and are pursued into the forest, they know that their Maya captors will face the same confusion. There is a great scene in the movie when the hero finally reaches the edge of the jungle and heaves a sigh of relief. He says, "ah, I am home, home in the forest of my ancestors, and the forest will protect me!"

Indeed, when pursued, the hero uses everything from poisonous frogs and thorns to bee hives and jaguars to get rid of his pursuers. What seems like a threatening environment to us is the most wonderful and comfortable place for him, because he grew up in it and knows how to take advantage of all the affordances, which are written in his cognitive map.

You may also know the Disney movie "The Song of the South" in which Bre'er Rabbit outwits Bre'er Bear and Bre'er Fox by appealing to their fear of the briar patch. He says, "you can do anything to me you want, but PLEASE don't throw me in that Briar patch!" Of course the Fox and the Bear are sadistic, so they throw him in. But the rabbit grew up in the Briar Patch, so while it is a scary place to his enemies, he laughs and says, "fooled you -- this thorny place is my home, and you can't get me here."

The big question, though, and the one you must medidate on and study and try to answer is: What is the natural environment that is most comfortable for ALL of us, regardless of where or how we grew up? " ARE THERE COMMONALITIES in environments that APPEAL to ALL of us? Are there environments that THREATEN ALL of us?

What do you guys make of the BIOPHILIA hypothesis? What about the BIOPHOBIA hypothesis (see chapter 2). Do they make sense to you?

HOW MIGHT YOU USE THESE HYPOTHESES TO EXPLAIN WHY RICH PEOPLE SEEM TO ENJOY BEING ON GOLF COURSES? WHY DO RICH PEOPLE TEND TO BUILD HOUSES WITH VIEWS OF WATER? WHY ARE SOME TREES IN A NEIGHBORHOOD RELAXING AND LOTS AND LOTS SCARY?

This gets us into the "nature" vs. "nurture" debate!

Think and discuss!

T