Form following function

[Steven Schaufele]

Steve Long (<X99Lynx at aol.com>) writes:

> Function has a broader meaning here.  It's not 'practicality.'
> Function refers to a consequence, an effect on the environment.
>
> A rock has form.  When a human picks one up to throw it, function is
> added.
>
> A square wheel has form.  The problem is that it does not satisfy the
> functionality requirement.

Excuse me, a `square wheel' has a perfectly good function -- especially
if it's attached via an axle to another wheel, whether square or not.
Makes a great table.

I've seen it done.  I've even come across a suggestion (admittedly
speculative) that the original wheel may have been intended as a table.

And what about all those Central American wheels that never got attached
to carts, because they were too busy keeping time?  Just because a wheel
is shaped like a wheel doesn't mean its function is necessarily to
`allow an object to move with less resistance'.

To generalize:  You say `function' has a `broader meaning' here, but
you're not looking broadly enough.  You say `A rock has form.  When a
human picks one up to throw it, function is added.'  But the same is
true when a human picks one up to add to a dike, or to carve into a tool
or a statue.  There's a wide range of possible functions.  We got bones
in our ears that help us hear better; doesn't have anything to do with
the fact that for our reptilian ancestors those were jawbones.  They may
have made damn good jawbones, for all i know.  The functions are
different, but i don't know if one is in any objective sense `better'
than the other -- e.g., better suited to the nature/form of the bones
themselves.

Best,
Steven
--
Steven Schaufele, Ph.D., Asst. Prof. of Linguistics, English Department
Soochow University, Waishuanghsi Campus, Taipei 11102, Taiwan, ROC
(886)(02)2881-9471 ext. 6504     fcosw5 at mail.scu.edu.tw
Fax: (886)(02)2881-7609
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