Vintageness

From: Mark Tapley <mtapley_at_swri.edu>
Date: Mon May 14 13:35:09 2001

Iggy,
        You are in a rare and enviable position, if you really don't care
whether what you get is the original or a copy. To you, if I interpret what
you say correctly,

- A CD and Walkman is better than a night at the symphony (cheaper, can be
        replayed at will).
- Safeway (a chain of grocery stores in the US) generic root beer is better
        than A&W (cheaper, still floats ice cream)
- A Saturn (car) is better than a BMW M3. (cheaper, more dealers, still
        gets up to the speed limit)
- A print of the Mona Lisa is as good as the original (and can be rolled up
        and stuffed in a tube for transportation or mailing).
- This year's repro Mark-8 is as good as a 1970's one (and more reliable).
- Corner liquor-store champagne is as good as Dom Perignon (still bubbles, you
        still get tipsy when you drink enough).

        This is wonderful for you because you can afford all the ersatz
experiences a *lot* more easily than I could afford all the originals. It's
also slightly good for me, because it means you won't be competing with me
if I should ever have a chance to buy the Mona Lisa (or a BMW, ...).
        I *know* there are differences between the originals and the
copies, in all of the cases I listed above. In three out of six, I am well
enough equipped to appreciate them, and I would *really* want to see/use
the original at least once, even if budgetary constraints forced me to live
with the copy long-term. (ie: go to the symphony and then buy the CD,
hoping it would help me remember some of what the symphony was like).
        In the other three cases, I don't appreciate all of the
differences. But because they *are* copies, I *know* they are there, and if
I ever become better educated, I may regret owning a copy when I learn what
they are - or I may forever miss out on some subtle beauty of the original,
because I settled for a copy. Suppose I never drove a BMW - a Saturn always
got me where I was going. I could easily sneer at people who "wasted their
money on BMW's", out of ignorance. The fact that I really wouldn't be able
to tell the difference as I was learning to drive doesn't mean I'd never be
able to tell.
        The same applies to research on the history of the creation of the
original. Maybe the PC board was laid out a certain way to facilitate test
during assembly, or because the designer knew his PC etching technique
wouldn't support two vias too close together. If Speedy Circuits can now
put 10 vias in the same space, and the "copy" is laid out to take advantage
of that, some history is lost, whether original 1970's parts are used or
not - and if I am researching the copy, I'll never notice it.
        And I don't buy the argument that any copy will ever be the true
equal of the original - it may be pretty close, *in the characteristics
that the copiers care about*, but it won't be the same.
        Finally, and this may be the point that you and Sellam are most at
odds about, there is a component of emotional state that is important to
any experience. If you are able to put yourself into the same emotional
state before and during viewing a copy of the Mona Lisa as you would be
viewing the actual Mona Lisa - good for you. It'll save you the price of
admission to the Louvre (or where-ever the Mona Lisa is).
        I can't. I think, based on his arguments, Sellam can't (correct me
if I'm wrong here, Sellam). To us, the knowledge of what we are looking at
is a critical part of experiencing it. It's worth something (though it may
not be worth the cost of buying the thing, either), and it means we do not
regard people who value originalty (and pay a lot for the originals) as
"idiots" - we share some of their values. It doesn't mean we won't use
copies either. I've never seen the real Mona Lisa, but the copies I've seen
are good, and I've enjoyed them.
        But I want to see the real one, someday.

                                                                - Mark
Received on Mon May 14 2001 - 13:35:09 BST

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