Old School Spam

Open the first book you see in sight

     flip the page eight times to the right

Find the first word that comes to sight

     that’s the word you’re going to write

Now open another book and follow the same steps

Also open a browser and search for the two words you found in the books

Write the url of the page down on a piece of paper and fly it as a paper airplane across the room.

Sing:

Sing a song of your choice everywhere you walk.

Results:

Literally no one took note whatsoever (to my knowledge). I went to various locations, mainly around campus. The general “control” factor throughout this was the volume which I would describe as a moderate speaking level. This due to both the limitations of my voice, and my comfort levels. I tried singing various songs from various genres including nearly the entirety of Les Miserables to selections from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. I assumed part of the unnoticeability of my actions may be due to people not recognizing the songs — Adele’s “Hello” disproved that. Overall I find it interesting as obviously a lot of this had to be due to the daily distractions while walking of texting, or listening to music to block out the world around you, but also factoring in that this is college, where that sort of activity is honestly seen as normal.

Instructions:

1. Enter dense forest, alone.

2. Don Bose QC-15 noise-cancelling headphones.

3. Proceed to cut down nearest tree.

4. Look around to ensure that nobody saw.

5. Forget.

6. Repeat.

Didactic Statement:

For this project I chose to focus my score more on the idea of using instructions to embody a metaphor rather than creating a set of actionable instructions for one to follow. During the process of coming up with an idea that I wanted to work with and expand upon, I jumped around between topics, but one thought resonated with me more than the rest. I wanted to create a piece that would reflect on the internal dialog that people have regarding their core values and integrity, while at the same time illuminating the inherent greed that is within everyone.

My score is a representation of the popular question/phrase that I feel embodies this principle, which is, “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” The idea that something only “happens” when it is observed and otherwise has not yet “happened” in an observable sense is a not only a mind blowing concept with roots as deep as quantum mechanics, but its also the driving force behind how people justify doing something alone that they would otherwise not do while in the presence of others. The universal expectation that one should treat others as they wish to be treated, themselves, is usually enough to discourage someone from advancing their own agenda at the expense of someone else’s, so long as both people simultaneously understand what is happening. However, if that same person has the ability to advance their own agenda at the expense of someone else’s, but this time WITHOUT the other person immediately knowing, then the original person will not factor immediate shame into the cost of their action and will be more likely to justify a greedy action.

In summary, I initially decided to write my score not only as an attempt to embody the popular hypothetical question that seems to confuse everyone, but also to show the aspects of human personality that usually remain unseen. While I believe that I accomplished this task with relative success, I am much more satisfied with the personal gain that I received from this project and the newfound interest I have discovered.