Pointlessness
An exploration of Sisyphean tasks
An exploration of Sisyphean tasks
I find it fascinating when creatures exhibit behaviors that seem to have no success clause; tasks that are never really done; never-ending behavioral loops. Someone I know once complained to me that doing household tasks is never-ending: as soon as you're done sweeping the floor, dust will start to collect again. As soon as you've finished putting away your laundry, new dirty clothes start to fill up your hamper. The same goes for doing dishes, or clearing out your email inbox. These are little examples of Sisyphean tasks, named for Sisyphus, who was punished to an eternity of torture in Tartarus in Greek mythology. As soon as he had rolled the rock nearly to the top of his mountain, it would slip his grasp and roll back down, leaving him no choice but to start over.
Why even engage in such behaviors? As humans, we are capable of calculating far-reaching consequences of our actions: if I avoid doing the laundry for too long, I will run out of clean socks. If I do not sweep the floor every now and then, eventually my whole apartment will be dusty and unpleasant. That is the aspect of humanness that I want to focus on in this blog post: doing tasks that seem pointless at first glance and are never-ending. But are there robots that exhibit this kind of behavior? Yes!
"Can't Help Myself" is an art installation by Sun Yuan and Peng Yu. It consists of a robotic arm, which is tasked to keep the pool of blood-like fluid from expanding beyond a set radius. What fascinates me is the way that this machine examines the concept of futility. The way its task is never done and the near-anxious way it examines the slowly spreading circle of 'blood' inspire a feeling of sadness or pity in many of the viewers. This evocative nature fascinates me. Clearly, this work of art has touched on something very human, despite its obviously robotic nature.