Hello fellow out of the box thinkers, and others thinking poetically about life. Today I will be talking about:
#1 Crane Brinton’s theory of a revolution
#2 Rube Goldberg machines
#3 the Russian revolution
The Ultimate Metaphor
You have just witnessed the power of a metaphor, and an amazing machine (if I do say so myself), made by an amazing group! My group consisted of Aedan, Gabby, Luciano, and of course myself. With high hopes, dedication, and a few weeks in both scimatics, and English classes.
Steampunk
Before building, to expand our knowledge, worldviews, and skills, our teachers gave us the amazing opportunity to style our machine in a steampunk aesthetic. We also read a steampunk book “The Leviathan” that I 100% recommend! It is an intriguing story of two young people struggling through a steampunk take on the Great War. Check it out on Goodreads.
Crane Brinton’s Theory
Before trying to build a machine that metaphorically represents a revolution that we don’t know much about, reaserch was necessary! First, to understand revolutions in total, especially Crane Brinton’s clarifying take on revolutions.
Crane Brinton says that revolutions are a plague or a disease, they are mainly available, highly contagious, and wipe out vast populations. They both start small, like a spark, or a light flickering on, and they both grow without the vast majority really noticing, until it becomes everywhere you look, it grows out of hands, and carry’s people to do things that they wouldn’t usually, until it has been smothered or it runs out of victims.
Rube Goldberg Machines
Rube Goldberg Machines are a large chain reaction of simple machines triggering each other. In 2012 – 2014 these machines were very popular, and the web started to pour in videos and posts and blogs about their own machines. Now in 2017, these videos are less popular, and not many people know the name of the machine, but I must say… they are a blast to build and design!
The French Revolution in a Nutshell
The French Revolution started because the French royalty refused to disclose how much taxes they were receiving from all of the states, and the people started to realize what unfair lives they were living. The overview I got from it was that it was a bloody, brutal, rampaging, raging battle over bread that grew more and more ferocious over time. At first it was just asking the French royalty for fairer taxes, and by the end they were executing all French royalty, and supporters of royalty. It ended when the king and queen had tasted the guillotine, and the jacobins leader had also been executed, for executing too much. A single manned “democracy” took charge of France, lead by a very famous man named Napoleon…which led to many more wars.
The individual revolution
This project unfolded the true beauty of steampunk, and revealed itself to be a new favourite thing. This project showed me the force of strong leaders, and the importance of weak rulers. There is a part of me that believes in revolutions, and that they are necessary for a thriving country. Or at least I used to believe that, now I realize any of this could have easily been avoided, really really easily. However the outcomes of these battles cannot be forgotten, fought by good people, and if they end with good people, the lost lives would have been worth it. This project has opened myself up to an internal revolution, of my soul.
Maybe there is something in your live that is unfair, something that is oppressing you, your mind, your soul, your voice? Express in the comments what you think could cause a revolution within you.
Problems can always get better, we just have to work really hard for it. Nothing great in life comes easily and life is not fair, but I believe it is our job to make it as fair as we can!
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