Log 8: The Urban Centre
Like Descartes meditating on the nature of consciousness in
his Dutch oven, I intend to arrive at a place of profound certainty through
observance of methodical skepticism. By
placing each instinctive and impulsive instructional thought process under the
scrutiny of doubt, by annexing them to a place where they can be controlled and
manipulated, I believe I will, with intense effort and concentration, be able
to yield to the mechanical whims of the physical and eschew the constraints of
consciousness that shape our behaviour.
The first experiment site was to be the urban centre, a
bustling pedestrian zone on a Thursday afternoon, roughly 3.45pm. This posed significant practical problems and
gave rise to issues regarding the constructs of social etiquette and
behavioural norms.
I began my walk with few problems, finding the way free of
obstacles, e.g. street furniture, walls, roadways. I encountered difficulty with a bench
occupied by two old women but I was swiftly able to mount said obstacle with
only mild opprobrium and continue unhindered.
One of the major psychological inhibitors to master is that
of adjusting speed according to the dynamics of the situation. The natural impulse to which we are
conditioned is to monitor speed to adhere to pedestrian traffic, altering
direction if necessary.
The first significant impediment arose when I encountered a
collective of young males (approx. 6-7, white, late-teens) who were enjoying
some kind of assembly with cigarettes outside a branch of McDonalds (as per the
prescribed codes of their demographic).
They responded unfavourably to the persistency of my course and this manifested
itself in violent affray. Abrasions to my
face and torso were sustained (full details in Appendix B.1).
Unfortunate though this incident was, it was nothing if not
to be expected given the territory in which the experiment was being performed,
and has given me cause to consider that until I begin to master the discipline,
subsequent experiments should take place in a wholly more amenable landscape.
It has done little to deter my motivation for
this discipline. If anything, it has
calcified in me the surety that, if only I persist with the method, I will
begin to succumb to the faculties of the body over the mind and learn to
command them at my own will.
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