Simulacrum Shimulacrum

Hey Everyone, I wanted to place a somewhat more explained version of my thoughts on Simulacrum. Read if you are interested. Post thoughts if you like. Print it out and draw pretty pictures on it and scan it then re-post it if you wish.

I have discussed simulacrum with members of the Intermedia department in the past and have read Baudrillard’s writings before in trying to get a sense of what they are. In speaking With Mr. Neucollins about simulated realities over a few weeks time, he explained his understanding of Baudrillard’s simulacrum intertwined with post-post modern evolution. I agreed with his interpretation that the final stage, the simulacrum, can and does exist self sufficient of any other reality and is defined by the truths that exist within it. The simulacrum is a concept philosophers have sought to define, or at least explain since the beginnings of philosophy itself. Plato and Nietzsche both spoke of separate realities: one true to human senses and another true to only itself. Plato applied the concept to imagery and art, and Nietzsche applied it to conversation and reason. Baudrillard was revolutionary in his interpretation of the simulated world by trying to define steps in the evolution to the simulacrum. Wikipedia actually provides links to the above philosopher’s writings in the second paragraph of this page:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simulacrum

What stands out in my mind as a missing element to this evolution is that the path is linear and it ends with the creation of a freestanding entity. This places a simulacrum in the timeline of its creation, but ignores its place in the cycle of all creation. There are many parallels that can be drawn to further illustrate this interpretation of the simulacrum here are two of the most compelling.

Dreams

Perhaps the first simulated reality that humanity comprehends.1 The mind takes a reflection of the world around the body in the form of sensory inputs 2 the nervous system distorts this information into signals the brain can read 3.this information is stored in the brain independent from the sensed world outside the body. 4 when asleep the brain tries to make sense of the information organizing it into patterns that it can use. We often interpret this organization as dreams. This organization is necessary for the mind to function correctly and the images and activities though not linked to the outside world are used as information that governs the person’s activities in the outside world. We all carry a simulacrum within us that is used to interpret information. This is not a perfect analogy, as inputs to the body’s senses during sleep can affect dreams, but it illustrates the cyclical nature of this simulacrum.

Dollhouse

Children often play to start to understand complex human interaction. Dolls often are used to mimic behaviors that they have seen at first, but as more of the children’s personality seeps into the play the dolls become an extension of the child’s creativity. The doll characters evolve to not mimic but to interact with other dolls in a simulacrum. This simulated social interaction is often basis for the child’s social interactions in later development.

With these interpretations of simulacrum in use in everyday life, it is difficult to envision simulacrum as destinations, and easier to see them as necessary tools for understanding. I agree with Baudrillard’s order of steps to the simulacrum. His observations may have been derived from paradigm shifts in media, but his steps to the simulacrum are accurate in a linear fashion. The issue I have with stopping the timeline at the creation of simulacrum is that most of the existence of phenomena is after their creation.