Thursday, October 17, 2013
Balloons and their impact on Society
This week's reading, "Aloft with Balloon and Camera" by Robert Doty was very interesting to me because I had never really thought of hot air balloons ever being such a great deal as they are portrayed here. When it comes to new technologies of the sky, I would always just think about the airplane. But thinking about the reading, it really must have been one incredibly journey. To be up there in a balloon when one has never seen from that perspective must have been awe-inspiring and terrifying at the same time. Just as bird's eye views became popular, I can very much understand why there was an obsession with ballooning. To the people of that time time period, it probably seemed almost futuristic and unbelievable. I can also imagine that when it came to considering the uses for being up in the air that way, the possibilities would have seemed endless; wars could be won with this contraption! Not only that, but why photography came into play, the images that were shown to the public must have been unlike anything they had ever seen. It's funny how sometimes in today's age we take for granted all of the technologies that we have available... but then again, who knows what inventions will be made to make space ships and airplanes look like a thing of the past?
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I totally agree with your idea.
ReplyDeleteNowadays, there are so many technologies to see the world above from the sky.
No one would be appreciate the map made with bird's eye view anymore.
I sometime wonder is it a good thing to just rely on these technologies.
I too had not realized that ballooning had such an intriguing history. I suppose the only thing that used to come to my mind when I heard “hot-air balloon” was Team Rocket’s one from Pokémon, but I otherwise never thought much about ballooning. I agree that the first balloonists must have been truly afraid, and I would add that they must have had the pioneering spirit of adventure. I think it was more than futuristic or unbelievable to people of that time era. As said in lecture, it was a terrifying sight on the battlefield. It would probably be akin to a government, armed drone descending from nowhere and buzz around someone while he is camping with his family, possibly on a reconnaissance mission…or on a kill mission. I would say that ballooning was definitely the blue jeans of its time and place. When people are wearing hot-air balloons, you know it’s a big deal. I agree that spaceships and airplanes will become a thing of the past once people can warp down to fit into stable, atomic-sized particles that can travel near the speed of light. However, I think it’s more likely that spaceships and planes will simply be continually augmented in the future until planes lose the competition to spaceships that will be used for all flight…but this is only in the near future that this much should at least happen.
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