Dorkbots and acts of creation

[patoadam]

I thought that this article about Dorkbot meetings, an unusual format for creative ideas, might be of interest to my friends who feel that every act of creation is an act of faith, joy, hope, and love.

By the way, when Cat Faber wrote that "every act of creation is an act of faith," I thought that she meant that a creative act is a mitzvah (I hope I am using the word right), a worthy deed pleasing to God. When I asked Cat about it, she told me that that wasn't what she meant at all. I still like the phrase.

Comments

[zanda-myrande.livejournal.com]

Do you mean that the article shows that every act of creation is not an act of faith, hope, joy and love?

I don't get that from it at all...

[patoadam]

No, I mean that my freinds who feel that every act of creation is an act of faith might enjoy reading about an unusual forum for creativity.

[madfilkentist]

When I talked with her about it a few years ago, she said that she was presenting the song from the viewpoint of a religious person, which wasn't necessarily her own viewpoint. But obviously the idea means a lot to her, even if she was stepping outside herself to express it.

Rather than second-guessing Cat, though, I'd do better to say why the song speaks to me, even though I don't believe in a god, and don't think that faith in the sense of belief for its own sake is a good thing. Another important meaning of faith is confidence in something or someone. In this sense, it meshes with hope, love, and (the addition to St. Paul's triad) joy. For me it's saying that the creative act is an affirmation of life, an active recognition of hopeful possibilities, a refusal to give in to despair and cynicism.

[mdlbear]

My inclination would be to interpret "faith" in the usual way, as unprovable but deeply-held belief. Why complicate things?

A mitzvah is something quite difference -- it's an act that you're supposed to do no matter what you believe, just because G_d wants you to. A good translation would be "duty".