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I think he means postmodern in the common sense of the postmodern movement. Modernism was a architectural and philosophical trend that peaked in the 50s. It re

I think he means postmodern in the common sense of the postmodern movement. Modernism was a architectural and philosophical trend that peaked in the 50s. It really got started a few decades earlier than that. Think of uniform apartment blocks: modernist architecture in action. It was a sense that we were finding the universal laws of everything and we could make things equal and fair via uniform architecture for example. Postmodernism was a critique of that and a deconstruction. Modernist ideas didn’t work all the time and for everyone. If you’re referring to “now” the word you can use is contemporary. Meaning “along side”. This works for more things eg: “Albert Einstein corresponded extensively with his contemporaries.” Or “I dislike contemporary architecture”.

friendlybus 6y ago
Modernism was also an art movement rhat favoured idealism over realism and produced a variety of new styles. Pointillism used tiny dots of paint to generate different colours when viewed from a far. Similar to a pixel, and more beautiful. There was a move to abstractions like cubism and modrian went out of his way to show off the most basic components of a cow in the abstract. It spanned from the 1860s to the 1970s. OP's use of the word postmodernism doesn't really make sense, as a general rule. Many people get to the end of a topic and don't fall into questioning and desconstructing our modern and historical narratives. Many people can see an end to a topic and seek to add onto it or move on without destruction, a natural completion. Being done with the topic for life. Maybe OP is showing an affinity for stepping outside our normal social bounds for a new perspective via pomo and I don't think he meant that.
ericmcer 6y ago
I was trying to be generous because if we use the literal interpretation of postmodernism what he is saying makes no sense. Or if you can explain how the modernist/postmodernist movements relate in the context of his post I would be glad to hear your interpretation. And my favorite simple way to define it is: modernism - post industrial revolution enthusiasm about humanity postmodernism - post ww2 depression about humanity
- ivalm 6y ago
  Postmodernism in philosophy is associated with rejection/skepticism of common narrative (eg reject absolutism in Marxism/capitalism/etc). He claims he understands the common trends (in “infoops”) and goes beyond them, which I guess is his justification for the word choice. I agree it feels more of a flex than an actual precise use of language.
DanielBMarkham 6y ago
>> It was a sense that we were finding the universal laws of everything and we could make things equal and fair via uniform architecture for example. Sorry guys. No flex intended. It was only a metaphor. Modernism is the idea that we've discovered all of the ways of doing things from nature and now we're just honing in on doing those better. My subject was "How people interact with the technology they create". In this sense, whether it's process, coding, UI or whatnot, most everything you read is just another example of old standards we've had for decades: structured code, CMMI, RUP, XP, FP, and so on. Whatever you pick, the idea is that there are already pre-discovered and well-trodden paths ahead of you. The message from modernism is "Don't worry; we've figured it all out. This is the way it should be." Continuing the metaphor, postmodernism is a critique of each of these from a standpoint of tearing them apart by way of understanding what's good and what's bad about each. It's certainly not a rejection of modernism by any means. It's simply an understanding of the various modern paths and what's wrong with each of them. In its classic sense, postmodernism is a way of deeply understanding and critiquing, many times by creating new works to contrast with the old methods, in order that the overall field can move forward. It's not a path of its own Maybe this is where we ventured off-course. The word "postmodernism" has come to mean the universal tearing apart of anything that is traditional, ie deconstructionism. That was not my intent at all. In my mind, postmodernism at its best is a severe recognition of the flaws of various modern techniques as a way of honestly dealing with them, the challenging of the idea that everything important has all figured out from nature, not the tearing apart of western civilization. It's an analytical technique, which can involve creating new works of its own to show contrast. In its purest form it shouldn't be a movement, fetish, fad, or any of the things many of the practitioners and detractors squabble about. Agreed that it could be a trigger word for many, especially how it's used today. That was not my intent. I'm just used to the deeper and more traditional use of the word. It honestly didn't occur to me what all that it's evolved into. I knew better and just wasn't thinking. Apologies for the confusion.

friendlybus 6y ago

Modernism was also an art movement rhat favoured idealism over realism and produced a variety of new styles. Pointillism used tiny dots of paint to generate different colours when viewed from a far. Similar to a pixel, and more beautiful. There was a move to abstractions like cubism and modrian went out of his way to show off the most basic components of a cow in the abstract. It spanned from the 1860s to the 1970s. OP's use of the word postmodernism doesn't really make sense, as a general rule. Many people get to the end of a topic and don't fall into questioning and desconstructing our modern and historical narratives. Many people can see an end to a topic and seek to add onto it or move on without destruction, a natural completion. Being done with the topic for life. Maybe OP is showing an affinity for stepping outside our normal social bounds for a new perspective via pomo and I don't think he meant that.

ericmcer 6y ago

I was trying to be generous because if we use the literal interpretation of postmodernism what he is saying makes no sense. Or if you can explain how the modernist/postmodernist movements relate in the context of his post I would be glad to hear your interpretation. And my favorite simple way to define it is: modernism - post industrial revolution enthusiasm about humanity postmodernism - post ww2 depression about humanity

ivalm 6y ago
Postmodernism in philosophy is associated with rejection/skepticism of common narrative (eg reject absolutism in Marxism/capitalism/etc). He claims he understands the common trends (in “infoops”) and goes beyond them, which I guess is his justification for the word choice. I agree it feels more of a flex than an actual precise use of language.

DanielBMarkham 6y ago

>> It was a sense that we were finding the universal laws of everything and we could make things equal and fair via uniform architecture for example. Sorry guys. No flex intended. It was only a metaphor. Modernism is the idea that we've discovered all of the ways of doing things from nature and now we're just honing in on doing those better. My subject was "How people interact with the technology they create". In this sense, whether it's process, coding, UI or whatnot, most everything you read is just another example of old standards we've had for decades: structured code, CMMI, RUP, XP, FP, and so on. Whatever you pick, the idea is that there are already pre-discovered and well-trodden paths ahead of you. The message from modernism is "Don't worry; we've figured it all out. This is the way it should be." Continuing the metaphor, postmodernism is a critique of each of these from a standpoint of tearing them apart by way of understanding what's good and what's bad about each. It's certainly not a rejection of modernism by any means. It's simply an understanding of the various modern paths and what's wrong with each of them. In its classic sense, postmodernism is a way of deeply understanding and critiquing, many times by creating new works to contrast with the old methods, in order that the overall field can move forward. It's not a path of its own Maybe this is where we ventured off-course. The word "postmodernism" has come to mean the universal tearing apart of anything that is traditional, ie deconstructionism. That was not my intent at all. In my mind, postmodernism at its best is a severe recognition of the flaws of various modern techniques as a way of honestly dealing with them, the challenging of the idea that everything important has all figured out from nature, not the tearing apart of western civilization. It's an analytical technique, which can involve creating new works of its own to show contrast. In its purest form it shouldn't be a movement, fetish, fad, or any of the things many of the practitioners and detractors squabble about. Agreed that it could be a trigger word for many, especially how it's used today. That was not my intent. I'm just used to the deeper and more traditional use of the word. It honestly didn't occur to me what all that it's evolved into. I knew better and just wasn't thinking. Apologies for the confusion.