Desire Paths
One thing nice about freshly fallen snow is that people start to make paths where none exist below it. First footsteps naturally conjure spiritual aspects. This is where metaphors can become empowering, either for spiritual enlightenment or as inspiration for creative pursuits.
One would think that there would be no opposition to their creation, but in fact, barriers are constructed to prevent desire paths, and they are transgressed anyway. Illegal immigrants make desire paths (or tunnels) as an expression of the determination to escape or cross boundaries. Terrorists are determined to cunningly achieve their myriad objectives.
At the cultural level, attempts to control art and music can be subverted in ways that are just as creative as the art itself: Music banned in the Soviet Union was pressed on old X-Ray films.
Some Desire Path metaphors in other domains other than the more obvious manifestations:
The Chicago Area Transportation Study was done during the Eisenhower administration, yet seems contemporary. Now we use Big Data, but the same methods were used back then, or result in the same kind of infographic.)
The city limits almost appear to be carved organically by the terminus points of transportation desire paths.
Boundaries are a desire path as well. Here is a boundary between Yemen, Oman and Saudi Arabia:
Two contradicting desire paths: a political boundary overlaying complex fractal water flow patterns:
One would think that there would be no opposition to their creation, but in fact, barriers are constructed to prevent desire paths, and they are transgressed anyway. Illegal immigrants make desire paths (or tunnels) as an expression of the determination to escape or cross boundaries. Terrorists are determined to cunningly achieve their myriad objectives.
At the cultural level, attempts to control art and music can be subverted in ways that are just as creative as the art itself: Music banned in the Soviet Union was pressed on old X-Ray films.
Some Desire Path metaphors in other domains other than the more obvious manifestations:
- Algorithms on social networks (desire paths as shortcuts to apparent preferences for the purpose of monetizing user-generated information)
- Street art (desire path away from hegemonic constraints of museums and galleries)
- Free Jazz (attempt to carve a desire path across tonal music.) In this track by Ornette Coleman, tonality is still there at 90-degree angles in the funk groove, but Coleman melodically cuts across the corners of the composition.
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| The Crooked Path by Jeff Wall |
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The Chicago Area Transportation Study was done during the Eisenhower administration, yet seems contemporary. Now we use Big Data, but the same methods were used back then, or result in the same kind of infographic.)
The city limits almost appear to be carved organically by the terminus points of transportation desire paths.
Boundaries are a desire path as well. Here is a boundary between Yemen, Oman and Saudi Arabia:
Two contradicting desire paths: a political boundary overlaying complex fractal water flow patterns:
