THE ELECTROMAGNET AND THE GREEK REVIVAL

Think of a Greek Revival house as a scientific experiment.  Difficult if next to impossible?  Then let’s compare a Greek Revival to an electromagnet to see if this becomes clearer.

ELECTROMAGNET AS PARADIGM

As we saw, the result of scientific experiments is fully expected.  The reason that scientific experiments are conducted is to confirm shared paradigms.  An example of a shared scientific paradigm the electromagnet;  a coil of wire wrapped around a nail and connected to a battery.  I would lay odds that you conducted this experiment in grade school science class.  You expected the electromagnet to work.  You assembled the electromagnet.  It worked.

A rule of the electromagnet paradigm is that the more coils you add to the nail, the more powerful the magnet is.  And it was called science.

GREEK REVIVAL AS PARADIGM

A Greek Revival house is a similar experiment.  When you build a Greek Revival house, you forecast the result.  The construction of a Greek Revival house serves to confirm this paradigm.  After it is built, the expected sensations of historical, comfort, beauty and timelessness are confirmed.

Two rules of the Greek Revival paradigm is that the gable roof should be 8/12, and that the corners of the building need to represent columns.  And this is called design.

The electromagnet and the Greek Revival have the same cultural weight.

So in each of these cases, the electromagnet and the Greek Revival, there are great similarities.  Both of them are paradigms.  Rules aid the confirmation of the paradigm.  The effect or result is known.

So why is there such a cultural disparity between the two?  Why is the electromagnet taught as a fundamental cultural element, whereas the Greek Revival is bypassed wholesale in our cultural priorities?

Given the similarities that we just proved, why is science the cultural heavy and design the cultural lightweight?

BACKGROUND

Three of these pages in which the scientific method is addressed are:
–PUZZLES AND PROBLEMS
–PARADIGM,
–INCOMPLETE PARADIGM,