The blog and human characteristics that I found surprising was that of Amini Hamuli. The example of the artwork Round table was moving. The mechanical movements that interact with something as simple but relatable as a ball is very intriguing. Amini states that persistence is an emotion and describes it as ‘trying hard… and figuring out’. Although this description relates well to the proposed artwork, I would argue that this description relates more to perseverance, instead of persistence. Persistence I would describe as a behavior that continues to occur, despite facing challenges like sad emotions or outside obstruction. Perseverance has a positive connotation, while I would argue persistence can also be quite negative. For instance, when you persist on a hurtful opinion or a harmful behavior.

The thing that interests me in persistence is that despite facing negative feedback, to persevere in a behavior. For example, people who go against the mainstream, be it a against a power at play or a broadly accepted consensus. For example, people who go against the dominant religion, who activate themselves for human rights or equality.

So what would this look like in a creature? I wonder what examples there are in the animal world, if there are examples where social animals that go against ‘the stream’. The first example that comes to mind is an animal that wanders off from the group, but usually that means he is outcast, sick or about to die or sadly lost. But there are also animals that sacrifice themselves to protect the group. In humans, being persistent can be experiences as annoying, and questioned by people why you are being ‘difficult’ or opinionated.

For persistence, I propose a creature that defies expected behavior: the No-trash Can. Unlike a regular trash can, it refuses to take your trash. At first, this might seem frustrating – after all, isn’t recycling a good behavior? However, the No-Trash Can resists and challenges the idea that your waste should exist in the first place. Like individuals who resist norms, the No-Trash Can refuses to comply with expectations, forcing us to rethink our habits. At the expense that it might be kicked over!