人算不如天算
I was asked to make a blog for the NYU IMA Low Res graduate program. (I started with no tangible experience in interaction design.) Math is nature’s poetry, and these are just diary entries.
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I was asked to make a blog for the NYU IMA Low Res graduate program. (I started with no tangible experience in interaction design.) Math is nature’s poetry, and these are just diary entries.
Alter-Instagram
Reel
IMALR-GT-201-07
WHAT: IMALR-GT-201
A Guide to Understanding the Undefinable Tao in Practice
How do you define something inherently undefinable?
Well, you don't.
You just have to experience it.
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*WARNING* During the process of this book, you will be asked to think about blood. You may be asked to rip things. You may or may not find yourself grieving the originally perfect state of the pages. You may be asked to commit. You may be asked to let go. You may come to embrace the preciousness of the intangible.
The Tao of Blood is a guide that takes you on a journey towards understanding the undefinable tao (道/way) of the universe. It asks you to consider harmony from a cellular level, social level, medical level, alcoholic level, meditative level, and even a magickal level.
Blood is harmony. It teaches connection with the energy of everything around and within us. Yin and yang. Yes, it supplies the heart that we so closely associate with intense feelings of deep bonding, but there's more to it. Blood is both a tissue and a liquid. It is independent when it needs to be and collective when others need it to be. It is both a social construct and a scientific discovery.
Unlike the rest of the cells in our body, red blood cells lack nuclei. Nuclei take up quite a bit of space, and our red blood cells need that space to fit in more hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein. Because of this, red blood cells cannot reproduce and live finite lifespans of around 120 days. Plus, once a stem cell decides to become a red blood cell, they must commit until death.
As such, this book requires commitment. To access its content, you must rip the folded pages. A pen with disappearing ink is offered as well. After all, nothing we know is permanent.
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The research process itself was the most inspiring for me. Questions led to answers led to more questions, which made the inner nerd in me giddy with joy. I started with cells, altruism, and the inherent equity (not equality) present in the circulatory system.
Then, I moved towards the weird & wonderful world of culture, blood magic, rituals, religion, and bloodbending. Finally, an interview with a couple dads took me on a journey of social constructs and hypothetical scenarios where I considered the bonds between given family (blood) vs. chosen family (partner/adopted children).
After this exploration of blood, I wanted to create a guide that would encapsulate that childlike wonder I found- A mix between philosophy and science, and yet another example of how the universe wishes to experience itself on all levels.
Ding ding ding.
Isn't that what the Tao is? Harmony of everything on all scales? If this is true, then each passage can relate to anything observable or not in this reality. And so, I embarked on a rather arduous trek to uncover the Tao of blood.
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I intended for my guide to be geared towards young adults+ with a desire to explore the ways of energy around us. I wanted it to be a little quirky, a little light, a little serious, a little this, a little that- a little of everything, yet balanced. If I were to restart this project, I would spend more time designing each page. (I'd also like it to be bound in hardcover, but $.) Each page within the folded ones is intended to be unique, but maybe there could've been a bit more visual cohesion. Also, with more time, I could've delved deeper into the original Chinese text and incorporated that as well. Overall, I think there was a good balance of research and experimentation, but I tend to have difficulty finishing projects. I’m definitely more of an idea person, so the hump always comes during execution. However, the most difficult part was committing to a form.
(I also found it vaguely ironic that I was talking about commitment, yet so nervous about committing.)
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Prototype:
A couple things to note. The inside pages were supposed to be printed on thinner paper (easier to bind), while the outer folded pages would be printed on thicker paper (harder to rip). The print came back to me with everything printed on thicker paper, and they also forgot my cover page. *facepalm* Unfortunately, I flew out that day. Womp womp.
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Let's talk about the critique. Through the process of making this book, I realized that the 2,500-year-old Tao Te Ching claims the Tao is undefinable for a reason. Cross-referencing multiple English translations with the original Chinese made me understand how much weight each character actually held and how difficult it is to carry that across.
So, when I was done presenting and read the chat group comments, the positivity genuinely surprised me. It surprised me so much so that my brain mini short-circuited. I had let myself believe that I did not do the ancient text or assignment justice. I had let myself call my attempt "cute" in a derogatory sense. (Marina, thank you for picking up on that and calling it out.) That particular piece of critique stuck with me over the next few days.
I'm painfully aware that I have a fear of getting too close to anything potentially "harmful," which includes my craft. It's some irrational shadow armor I've developed over the years to combat the feeling of "not enough." The "cute" was a four-letter scapegoat for similar feelings. It allowed me to push away responsibility and not be held accountable. (And I love talking about accountability, so...)
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On the flip side, I found empathy for my red blood cells, and maybe that type of simple awareness and harmony within oneself is how the Tao intends for us to find the same in the universe around us?
I've never quite connected with my blood on that level before, and understanding the finitude of its lifespan was a strange experience. And so, I come back to my question. How can the cells in my body constantly be dying when my consciousness is only capable of experiencing living? What does this say about anything? Everything?
Sources:
The Song of the Cell: An Exploration of Medicine and the New Human
Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations
How Does the Circulatory System Work
Bloodbending - Avatar
Metaphorical and Metonymic Conceptualization of Blood
How Blood Is Used in Magic and Medicine in Ch'inghai Province
The Black Magic in China Known as ku
The social contagion of prosocial behaviour: How neighbourhood blood donations influence individual donation behaviour
Adoption, Blood Kinship, Stigma, and the Adoption Reform Movement: A Historical Perspective
Tao Te Ching - Lao Tzu (English)
Tao Te Ching- Lao Tzu (Chinese)
ok so, what the heck is blood magic? - Reddit
Blood and blood-associated symbols beyond medicine and transfusion: far more complex than first appears
Blood and Belief: The Circulation of a Symbol between Jews and Christians
Blood Offerings - Britannica
The Honest Drink Podcast
People: Isaac Li, Henry Chen, Teresa Daley, Dongwei Su