Trope-a-Day: Omnidisciplinary Scientist / Renaissance Man

Omnidisciplinary Scientist / Renaissance Man: Yep, they have a lot of these.

(Well, maybe not quite omni.)

But consider, first, the incredibly broad-based education we discussed back in Education; then consider the effects of the mindpatchable-knowledge tools also discussed there; and bear in mind the effects of extremely long lifespans, regular changes of career, and a culture that lauds knowledge, exalts the notion of the polymath in its culture-heroes, and firmly believes that education never stops.

People young enough to not have had time to do the learnin’ aside, the modal Imperial-on-the-street has formal qualifications in several fields, informal qualifications in more, and is capable, if needed, of being scarily competent in an arbitrarily large number of others.

(Or, to put it another way, were I to game this out in GURPS, Science! and other exclamation-pointed skills would not be considered cinematic for this universe.)

As a side note: With reference to the way their university system works – well, their academic titles are based on that accumulation of total achievement, but scale up a lot further than ours do. Acquiring just one of their local doctorate-equivalents lets you call yourself Academician. The topmost academic title, Polygnostic, which comes complete with extreme respect, awe, membership in the Polygnostic Conclave and a really nice hat, requires the equivalent of twelve concurrent doctorates in disparate subjects!

Shiftsculpture

Opening today at the Anchalate is the final exhibition in the Empire-wide shiftsculpture competition sponsored by the Delphys Academy of the Shaping Arts and the Company of Assemblers and Free-Roaming Nanoengineers.  General admissions will begin at Waterclock-18, after the special exhibition for the Imperial Couple and the attendance of the Throne.

The focus of the exhibition are the five finalists in the competition, now acknowledged as among the best shiftsculptors in the Empire, whose entries will be judged by a panel drawn from the Academy of the Shaping Arts and aesthant members of the Polygnostic Conclave:

Anys Lién-ith-Liés offers us a vision of unity with her statue Everysoph, a marbled bust that shifts continuously and imperceptibly through a range of eigenfaces drawn from many of the species found in Imperial space, finding aesthetically pleasing transition states between them.

<Trenchant Cyan Leitmotif in E> veers into pure abstraction, with Interconnections.  An ever-changing mass of wheels, gears, motors, pistons, bearings, and other machine parts, Interconnections is forever changing its shape and make-up, while the machine entire continues to work in perfect order despite its continual change.  When questioned as to which set of interconnections his work represents – vital, ecological, financial, societal – <Trenchant Cyan Leitmotif in E> simply replies “Yes.”

Stone Garden, an unusual bionano work by the esseli artist GAAATTCCCTGTATATACGACCTT, brings a representation of evolution down to the sophont scale.  In the Stone Garden, individual bionano organisms form and discard different adaptive structures as conditions change, forming symbiotic alliances and engaging in bitter competition to best adapt to the challenges they meet and to produce the next generation best suited to continue.

Stormheight, by Samis Archés-ith-Archiel, shows us a dynamic picture of a realm similar to the battle-halls of Kalasané or Makrekken of the kaeth, depicting a battlefield upon which tiny warriors of liquid metal do battle, being struck down into the bloody morass only to rise again and fight once more, while arcs of lightning crash all about them; a searing depiction of both the horror and the glory of war.

The final piece, an ammonia-ice sculpture by the qucequql artist <ping>-cdeeca-<semiclick>, is titled Time and Chance; illustrating the flow of time and the spread of ripples from a single cause through an endlessly reshaped, endlessly reshaping tree of flowing rivulets within a pyramid of ice, sourced from a single stream falling from above onto the apex.

The ultimate winner, to be announced in one month, will receive the centurial title of Unparalleled Master from the Academy and recognition by the Conclave to the status of Aesthetic Paragon, as well as the generous patronage of the Court of Courts.

In addition to the five finalists’ entries, the top contending works from each of the regional finals will also be on display, making this an unforgettable display of the finest shiftsculpture in the Empire.

– from the Calmiríë Daily Journal