Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Science!

James Howard Kunstler on the social sciences, more or less:
"Thus, a Jacksonian student of landscape can observe a Red Barn hamburger joint, he can remark on its architectural resemblance to certain farm structures of the past, measure its dimesnions, figure out the materials that went into building it, record the square footage of its parking lot, count the number of cars that come and go, the length of timethat each customer lingers inside, the average sum spent on a meal, the temperature of the iceberg lettuce in its bin in the salad bar--all down to the last infinitesimal detail--and never arrive at the conclusion that the Red Barn is an ignoble piece of shit that degrades the community." The Geography of Nowhere, p.124.