DIY science is probably the oldest Science. Indeed, I see alchemists as being the DIY scientists of the enlightenment. In more recent times, I recognise people like Darwin and Mendel as being the curiosity driven DIY scientists of the day. For me, the rise of the current DIY Science is being facilitated by the prosaic reason of a surplus of materials, information, education, networks. My motivation in being part of this is the idea that science should not be left to just academic and industrial institutions but should be democratised.
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01 Jun, 2012
Posted by: Brian In: science
Transplantation of a dog-head in the GDR by Vladimir Demichow in 13. January 1959 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Paula Stradina was a prominent physician in Riga, Latvia, and bequeathed the private collection of artefacts that started the city’s History of Medicine museum. The exhibition starts with prehistoric times, through dioramas demonstrating the state of medicine in those days. This includes skulls with reconstructions of arrow wounds, and the first operations in trepanning. The museum’s exhibition then goes through traditional and tribal medicine, the start of pharmacy, and up to modern times.
About the strangest thing at the museum is the panel on Vladimir Petrovich Demikhov and his experiments with dogs. In order to investigate heart and lung transplantation, the head of a small dog was grafted into the circulation of a larger dog. This showed that an organism could be supported by a circulation not its own.
What I like (a no means exhaustive list that excludes the ever-present friendships and families and networks that sustain me ) :
- slow science, preservation techniques in times of excess for times of little, systems, and systems analysis, using appropriate technologies, not just the ones that are being sold to us.
- To learn from other cultures
- gambiarra/makeshift/makedo/kludge techniques.
- this time of surplus where the dollar/pound/euro shops are selling us amazing technologies for a pittance. I buy the cool solar powered light for a £1, because, chances are, it will retain its use till I die or cannibalise it for parts
- personal fabrication: of personalised designs designed using open source toolchains and equipment.
- smart design (like the spork, or sofie the giraffe), that embody a lot of thoughtfulness in it design
- the pseudo-sciences of recipeology and workshopology where knowledge(such as how to etc) is packaged in a format for ‘consumption’ [also something I love to do]
- the promise of DIYbo and personalised SynthBio
DIYBio summit at Manchester http://madlab.org.uk/content/diybio-uk-summit/ this Weekend
So what is this DIYBio movement? It sits at the confluence of democratizing bioscience and the need to have the tools of science under our control or knowledge. Who are we? Artists, scientists, amateurs{in the best meaning of that word}, but primarily citizens. We have different motivations, skill sets, tool sets, but we share that need to understand, to know, to tinker, to share, to dream, of better futures. To re-examine the ‘old’ technologies and the ‘new’ technologies of biotechnology and to reintroduce them to each other, to de-commodify what we can, and to appropriate what we can’t.
Makerspace
Hackable Devices
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