Authenticity

Authenticity

Gould: For some reason I don’t understand, it’s deep in our psychology, We crave communion with authentic objects, places and times.

Authenticity was the subject of an interview I did some years back with the late Stephan Jay Gould, a world famous evolutionary biologist. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.

Gould: It has to be a conceptual matter, because when presented with a very good replica, most people can’t tell the difference. Most dinosaur skeletons throughout the world are fiberglass these days and 99% of the people can’t tell because fiberglass replicas are very good these days. And yet tell people that it’s fiberglass and you have a very different feeling about it than if you’re in the presence of the bones itself. No what can that be except conceptual? They don’t look any different. And yet the simple knowledge that we’re in the presence of the actual object itself has great satisfaction for most of us. I don’t claim to totally understand it. I just move with it because I feel it myself.

An example of something authentic in our culture?

Ambience: Cable Car

Gould: 4:17 San Francisco’s cable cars are the best form of public transformation I’ve ever seen in the entire world… They’re amusement park rides that are actually functioning public transportation, and they take routes through the most beautiful city right over its hills. Cable cars are a true nineteenth century technology, a unique one. It’s been maintained. It’s still the same. They aren’t even reconstructed cars. They’re running over the same hills and the same routes that they took after the earthquake in 1906. And what’s more if they were merely for the delectation of tourists it would be phony, but they’re not. A lot of tourists ride them because they’re wonderful, but they’re standard public transportation. I like to ride them at 6:30 in the morning when people go to work on them.

Remembering Stephen Jay Gould, a truly authentic thinker. I’m Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.

Authenticity

What might a dinosaur skeleton and a cable car have in common?
Air Date:04/14/2022
Scientist:
Transcript:

Authenticity Gould: For some reason I don't understand, it's deep in our psychology, We crave communion with authentic objects, places and times. Authenticity was the subject of an interview I did some years back with the late Stephan Jay Gould, a world famous evolutionary biologist. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet. Gould: It has to be a conceptual matter, because when presented with a very good replica, most people can't tell the difference. Most dinosaur skeletons throughout the world are fiberglass these days and 99% of the people can't tell because fiberglass replicas are very good these days. And yet tell people that it's fiberglass and you have a very different feeling about it than if you're in the presence of the bones itself. No what can that be except conceptual? They don't look any different. And yet the simple knowledge that we're in the presence of the actual object itself has great satisfaction for most of us. I don't claim to totally understand it. I just move with it because I feel it myself. An example of something authentic in our culture? Ambience: Cable Car Gould: 4:17 San Francisco's cable cars are the best form of public transformation I've ever seen in the entire world… They're amusement park rides that are actually functioning public transportation, and they take routes through the most beautiful city right over its hills. Cable cars are a true nineteenth century technology, a unique one. It's been maintained. It's still the same. They aren't even reconstructed cars. They're running over the same hills and the same routes that they took after the earthquake in 1906. And what's more if they were merely for the delectation of tourists it would be phony, but they're not. A lot of tourists ride them because they're wonderful, but they're standard public transportation. I like to ride them at 6:30 in the morning when people go to work on them. Remembering Stephen Jay Gould, a truly authentic thinker. I'm Jim Metzner and this is the Pulse of the Planet.