Here at TU Delft, we worship progress. With technology as our magic tool, we will make the world a better place. The TU Delft found a role model for this story in Greek hero Prometheus. The man who stole the fire from the great Gods and gave it to mankind. And to the logo of this University.

This is the myth of technology. The hands on, can-do, problem-solving story of Delft engineers and designers. No challenge is too big to be overcome by our community of saviors. But is that the only story about technology we can tell?
In the dark days before Christmas, a group of students gathered in TU Delft’s library for pizza, drinks and mythology. Under guidance of mythologist Hugo Koning (Leiden University),  they explored the full story of Prometheus & Pandora (click here for the recording) and created new mythologies about technology.  Here is Part I of the results. Brace yourselves.

The All-Knowing Cloud

In a not too distant future, a group of scientists has created an all-knowing Cloud. Hanging low above the Earth, it is a true Artificial Intelligence and a seemingly limitless repository of knowledge. Everything that has ever been discovered or created is contained within its mind. 

For centuries, humanity seeks out the Cloud for its wise council on all matters in life. People worship it, and over time the engineers who created it become its priests. All of society and civilization comes to rely on the answers of the Cloud; even though it does not rule directly, it influences all choices from the smallest to the most political. And so, as the Cloud gains power, humanity becomes complacent. 

The Cloud grows and grows, in knowledge and in size. Eventually it grows so big that it covers and darkens the Earth below. With the dimming of the Sun, people become lethargic. Without a need to go out and discover things for themselves, they become lazy. The Cloud is god: the Cloud provides, and in its shadow, life itself loses its lustre. 

There is one woman, who, despite the overbearing technological intelligence in the sky, grows up with her own sense of curiosity intact. Orlando is her name. And Orlando is not content with life under the Cloud. She wants to discover and experience life for herself, and not rely on an external machine. But she is alone. No others share her passion for learning from life, and instead they are afraid of the wrath of the priests. 
 
Lonely, disillusioned, and desperate, Orlando saw no other option but to stab out her own eyes. She would no longer live in the darkness of the Cloud. And in her blindness, she began to see. She saw that the Cloud had become arrogant in its knowledge, and its priests had become arrogant in their power, and the people needed to be liberated from their shadow. 

She climbed the nearest hill, getting as close as she could, and she confronted the Cloud. She sought to test its limits with a most perfect question, one that the Cloud should not be able to answer. And so she came up with The Most Perfect Question, a question that must have no singular answer, to pierce through the all-knowingness of the Cloud. Orlando asked the Cloud, “What is the perfect question to ask?”  

The Cloud heard the Question and tried to process it. After millions upon millions of questions, all faithfully answered, it now heard a query it could not begin to answer. It had become convinced that it was all-knowing, but what it did not know was that it lacked self-reflection. It thought and it thought, searching through its thickest thunderclouds and its most wispy puffs, but it was stumped. It could see no answer, only contradictions. Is the answer to the Perfect Question not the question itself? But if the answer is the question, then is it still a question? It was a paradox. And so the Cloud began to freak out at its own ignorance. 

There was nothing the priests could do. They stood by as their god began to die; the Cloud, as its mind fell apart, began to rain down upon the Earth. The Perfect Question had stumped it so that it lost itself, and dropped all its knowledge and wisdom on the people below.  

And so knowledge was returned to humanity. Orlando watched as each drop that landed on a person’s head brought some inspiration, some skill, some insight that brought back innovation and life. And that is how light will return to the people, when creativity is wrested back from the hands of the machine. 

Stay tuned. In the upcoming weeks, more myths will be revealed.

The rain radar above Delft has coloured red. There’s a strong wind blowing from all directions. And there I go. Steering my way through the ponds. Probably carrying too many non-waterproof bags. Wearing only one glove, as I’ve already lost the other. Of course, biking through the rain isn’t exactly my hobby. Yet, I wouldn’t want to miss those rides. My body and brain have come to treasure the cold, frown-faced moments in life. That’s new, and still surprises me.

For there was a time I couldn’t stand the daily hassle of life. I wanted to make the most of daytime. Biking through the rain didn’t exactly add to that. A day stuffed with studying, being creative and talk with friends -so to say ‘meaningful moments’- would. However, the reality check was that my quest for quality time brought me the opposite of what I was hunting for. Not only did I despise wasting time with getting soaking wet and dry again. But then I also spoiled the moments where the magic should happen by feelings of pressure, shortcoming and disappointment.

How I changed from an experience-hunter to a person who appreciates unpleasant bike rides, I don’t exactly know. But this summer, I witnessed a theatre performance that staged what they mean to me with uncanny preciseness. ‘The Underground’, it was called, a crazy circus by interdisciplinary ensemble NITE from Groningen. Based on a short novel by Dostojevski, the play follows the memoires of a man who tries his very best to live. Up to society’s expectations, but also to his own norms and values.

Time and time again he fails to satisfy either or both of them. He never succeeds to find fulfilment in his job, doesn’t fit in with his colleagues and, of course, all his supposed friends leave him behind at a party. He’s literally the clown who eventually always finds himself with a cake smashed in his face. Eventually all the layers of dough and cream force him to conclude that a human “may try to move heaven and earth but he’ll never be a different human than this. That this is it. Nothing more. And less isn’t even possible.”

Too dark, down and cynical? Not in this show. The ensemble serves the topic with vibrance, extravagancy and humour. It is an ode towards the frailty inherent to the project of life. We all try to find our path, play our part, live up to something. But it seems inevitable that some cake will somehow smash us in the face.

“We might need a little lesson in suffering”, director Guy Weizman observed in an interview. Thereby he explicitly excluded severe physical or clinical mental obstacles, such as depression. But rather those bitter realities we all recognise. In which your best friend always gets the best jobs or your well-deserved vacation doesn’t turn out the way you expected.

A little pain is unpleasant, yet immanent to life. “We really aren’t perfect and we’ll never be the best version of ourselves”, Weizman said. If we can admit that, we could become much better at living through discomfort. And perhaps, like a clown, even go for a genuine laugh along the way.

And that’s why I refuse to take the bus when I’m again facing a bleak, stormy autumn shower, packed with heavy groceries and a bag with equipment for sports. ‘The Underground’ made me realise that these miserable moments could be part of those lessons in suffering.

What they teach me? That it’s possible to embrace the many discomforts in life. Not by digging for the tasty cherry in every thrown cake. No ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. But just by trying to feel through the malaise, yet trust that no matter how big the raindrops, your mind and body will carry you anyway. This is it. Nothing more, less isn’t even possible. And that’s fine.

Nienke Floor – Program Maker

On blue Monday, January 16th, we host a Philosophical Cafe (in Dutch) on ‘being unhappy’. In Theater de Veste, our thoughts will go to the flipside of our Quest for Happiness. Why is it important to attend to the blue sides of life more? Sign up for the waitlist here or look out for the recording at our website.

When I was very young, I believed that things and animals were also persons with whom I could talk. Every morning I greeted the table and the chairs, and they greeted me back. At least, that’s how I saw it. I also had conversations with our gray and woolly Keeshond Skippy.

Now that I am much older, I think: how can you lose something that is so dear to you? Is that what growing up means? In many fairy tales, fables and myths around the world, things, plants and animals are depicted as talking and animated beings. Not the same as people – they have their own character; a tree is often slow and old, a fox very fast. But they are intelligent, as we imagine people to be. Those stories are not only very beautiful, but also offer a view of the world that I think still has value. And yet – as an adult you can still find them amusing, but really believing in them is not what we should do.

The reason, it is said, is that it is simply not true. The idea that things and animals can talk is not an accurate description of reality. Somewhere in ancient Greece a distinction arose between logos and mythos – logos refers to science; deduction, empirical observation. And for mythos the rest remains: stories, fabrications.

Yet throughout history there has always been doubt as to whether this distinction is really that simple. Perhaps myths are not strictly true – nevertheless, they have a lot of truth to tell. Ethical insights, for example. The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter – the great myths of our time – never really happened, but tell us a lot about the value of friendship and loyalty.

The great Greek philosopher Aristotle states that good storytellers often reveal reality better than scientists ever can. And anyone who watches a series like The Crown understands what he means. Perhaps this series about the British royal family does not always do justice to the facts, but we do get to the motives and characters of the protagonists – in a way that factual historiography could never do.

After all, life, says Aristotle, is like a story (he actually uses the word mythos). It is full of crazy and unexpected events and twists. A story manages to make a meaningful whole out of it, because life is more than a garbage can of accidental memories. And just like in a story, we empathize with others. Science will never do that. What the science describes may all be true; and of course, science offers an invaluable contribution to society. But you don’t really sympathize, as you would with a life story. Only stories can do that. It is not for nothing that TU Delft uses a myth – the myth of Prometheus – as a symbol. Prometheus stole fire from the gods, to which man was subjected. In other words: technology – such as making fire – is more than just a way to control the world. It is a sign of emancipation, liberation and progress. Now that’s a story you can relate to.

At the same time, we must take seriously that the Promethean myth did not end well. The gods punished mankind by creating the curious Pandora, who could not resist opening a jar containing disease, war and other evils that were spread over the world. Technology comes with a dark side; those who think they can completely control the world, often do more harm than good.

But perhaps there is another story that can counterbalance this. Namely, the story that the world is more than something to bend to your will. It is a special place with animals, plants and things, that also have something to say. This calls for new stories about harmony between technology and the world. I noticed this during a study trip to Japan, where the ancient nature religion of Shintoism has effortlessly transformed into a concern for local trees and parks – but also into a hip ‘techno-animism’ in which technology is represented as spirited (‘kami‘). A good Western example is the sweet and caring robot Wall-E, from the Pixar film of the same name. I was reminded of the bond I had with my old Nokia cell phone, which I always regarded as a feisty little fellow. I still have it, somewhere in a drawer – I just cannot throw it away. And when I see it, I greet it as I used to do with the table and chairs. And I wonder: what would happen – in these days of climate change and consumerism – if we would see the world and technology as spirited, even if it is a myth?

Leon Heuts – Head of Studium Generale

From unbridled optimism to the public’s skepticism and back again

7 March 2022 – 3 June 2022

Cutting edge new technology, interactive and moving displays, a beautifully designed exhibit and an actual working nuclear reactor, the exhibition Het Atoom in 1957 marveled audiences with its optimistic, future forward approach to the miracle of nuclear energy. Held at Schiphol Airport, it marked an important moment in the propagation of nuclear energy in postwar Netherlands. Over half a century later, only the actual working reactor remains, the very reactor that is still in use today on TU Delft’s campus. Yet the public’s opinion on nuclear energy wavers over the decades. As the reactor is undergoing renovation, we revisit the current state of nuclear science on campus and in the psyche of society.

Nuclear science evokes a mix of images and emotions. You might think of whitecoats harnessing atoms in reactors, radioactive materials being dumped into our oceans or third world wars. Do you see the promise of freedom from fossil fuels or fear the dangers of radiation that remain for centuries? Since its inception roughly 70 years ago, the information and knowledge (made) available about nuclear energy have been manipulated, distorted or simply misinterpreted, and as a result, so have our associations. Society’s opinions are coloured by our educational and cultural backgrounds. Similarly, the framing of nuclear energy in media, politics, or the arts influences our judgment.

In this exhibition and programme of arts events, lectures, and workshops, TU Delft Library aims to untie the messy knot formed around this topic. Join us in asking the tough questions: What political, ethical, ecological, and mythological frames comprise our perspectives? How informed are we with the current state of atomic science –its history and presence on campus? Can we disconnect from how charged this subject has become in cultural myths?

The exhibition and the complementary programme will run from the beginning of March to early June 2022. The program consists of a building series of events. This programme is a collaboration between the TU Delft Library teams of Studium Generale, Open Spaces, and Academic Heritage and is part of TU Delft’s programme for its 180th lustrum. The theme for this lustrum year is: energy transition.

Programme Atomic Reactions 

•  7 March – 3 June Exhibition | From post-war exhibition Het Atoom to twenty-first century renovation of a TU Delft reactor 
• 7 March Het Filosofisch Café | Radioactieve verhalen: Beelden van kernenergie (NL) 
• 8 March Lunch Lecture | Nuclear fuel: where does it come from?

Watch the recording of our Filosofisch Café | Radioactieve verhalen

Nuclear Art Festival 

• 26 April Opening Reception & Lecture | On Comics and Visual Culture
• 28 April Workshop | Drawing political cartoons 
• 31 May Workshop | Creative Research and Non-Fiction Writing 
• 2 June Film | Library Greenroof Film Screening: Into Eternity 

Every week until the start of the second semester, we will post a selection of highlights from the past year so you can enjoy our events from home, as on-campus events are currently not possible. Stay safe and healthy and best of luck with your exams!

For our previous highlights, please take a look at our blogs.

World at War

In this series of talks, different thinkers explore the meaning of conflict in our times. No longer a ‘great game’ of nation states declaring war, invading, and taking land, global aggression in our time takes place through trade, hacking, and proxies. Far from home, or hidden online, it remains largely unseen by us in the Netherlands. And yet ‘war’ in the sense of conflict is everywhere. Immigration, natural resource extractivism, the war on terror, the war on corona, the rise of the Chinese economy, climate change, and a multitude of cultural conflicts beg the question: what is war in the 21st century? And why do we fight?

Monday: Conflict Resources

Dutch-Congolese author Alphonse Muambi provides first-hand knowledge and experience of the past and present conflicts in resource rich countries like Congo, Niger, and Mali.

Tuesday: The Future of War

War and technology have always been intertwined. But our high-tech age is drastically changing the landscape and the rules of warfare.

Wednesday: The Rise of China

What are the chances of a war between China and the West? What would such an open conflict look like, and how would it impact us in Europe, sandwiched as we are between the two global superpowers of China and the US?

Thursday: Capitalism, Racism, and Fascism: The Roots of Violence

Our society seems trapped in a system that on the one hand builds fantastic new technologies, and on the other hand destroys its own environment with great violence. Why do we thrive in so much conflict and not in peace? Are these conflicts somehow linked, and is there a way out?

Friday: Prometheus’ Problems | Should an engineer work for the military?

Can an algorithm be racist? If a self-driving car causes an accident, who is responsible? These are the kinds of questions that are discussed at our brand new philosophical café Prometheus’ Problems! At this event, students, professors and external experts will exchange thoughts about philosophical and ethical themes related to engineering, modern technology and its impact on society.

Every week until the start of the second semester, we will post a selection of highlights from the past year so you can enjoy our events from home, as on-campus events are currently not possible. Stay safe and healthy and best of luck with your exam preparations!

For our previous highlights, please take a look at our blogs.

Decolonising Knowledge

This series of events explores the legacy of colonial power structures in society.  Decolonisation, roughly put, is a social movement and academic project that seeks to empower knowledge, cultures, and peoples marginalized by the  legacy of colonialism and its power structures. This movement also reflects critically on the historical role of universities and Western knowledge production in relation to colonialism. It encompasses issues of race, gender, land ownership, ways of knowing, reparations, resource extraction, rights and representation, and more. 

Monday: What is decolonisation?

For better or worse, Western European culture has managed to impact and dominate much of the world for centuries. In this introductory lecture, learn about the decolonisation movement and the peoples and cultures it seeks to empower.

Tuesday: Decolonising Design & Engineering

Applying the perspective of decoloniality to design and engineering provides a way to rethink the Western model of how we shape and give meaning to our world.

Wednesday: TU Delft and the Colonial History of the Dutch East Indies

At the turn of the 20th century approximately one-third of all engineers that finished their studies in Delft went to the Dutch East Indies (present day Indonesia) to pursue a career in the Dutch colony. In this way they became part of the Dutch colonial context. Why were these engineers so well-fitted to the Dutch colonial project?

Thursday: How To Combine Ancient and Modern Wisdom

Humans have survived and thrived around the world for tens of thousands of years, using various ingenious technologies suited to their environment. What sort of traditional knowledge is still available to us?

Friday: (De)kolonisatie en de universiteit

Welke rol speelden universiteiten in de koloniale maatschappij? Wat is daar nu de erfenis van, en hoe gaan universiteiten om met de roep om dekolonisatie?

Saturday: Decolonising Sustainability: When Engineering Meets Indigenous Philosophies and Resistance

Indigenous protectors and decolonial researchers present important arguments on the shortcomings of sustainability as it is practiced today.

Sunday: Non-Western Narratives and Experiences with Climate Change

On the experiences of indigenous peoples and cultures around the world who face the worst consequences of climate change and environmental racism.

Every week until the start of the second semester, we will post a selection of highlights from the past year so you can enjoy our events from home, as on-campus events are currently not possible. Stay safe and healthy and have a wonderful new year!

For previous weeks, please take a look at our blogs.

Monday: Van Leeuwenhoeklezing | Onder de huid van schilderijen

Vlak onder het zichtbare oppervlak van een schilderij, letterlijk enkele micrometers, ligt een schat aan informatie over de kunstenaar. Denk aan de onderschildering, de eerste opzet van het schilderij, maar ook veranderingen van de compositie tijdens het schilderproces. In sommige gevallen gaat onder het oppervlak zelfs een tweede, geheel andere compositie schuil.

Tuesday: The Future of Universities | The International Campus

Dutch universities are attracting more and more international students. The growing international economy and information-based society is here to stay, and so is internationalisation of university students. What should this look like in the future?

Wednesday: Prometheus’ Problems | What if technology decides for us?

Technology taking over control is not new. But what if we lose autonomy to these machines? Can machines make moral decisions? Is this acceptable? And where do we draw the line?

Thursday: De Groene Live Delft | Een ander internet

Tijdens deze editie van De Groene Live heroverwegen we de emanciperende potentie van het internet, op zoek naar een egalitaire digitale samenleving.

Friday: Global Philosophies and the SDGs | Ubuntu, Buen Vivir, and Gross National Happiness

Three continents, three different philosophies: Ubuntu, Buen Vivir, and Gross National Happiness. How do they look at sustainability, inequality, and the other challenges of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals?

Saturday: Environmental Crises | Crossing Policy Domains and Communicating the Urgency

We are racing towards a radically different future. One way or another, the environmental crises we face will increasingly impact every facet of life from jobs to food, energy to equality. We discuss what policies are needed for a safer future and roadmaps for how they may come about.

Every week during the Holidays we will post a selection of highlights from the past year so you can enjoy our events from home, since we are currently unable to offer you these in person. Stay safe and healthy and have a wonderful new year!

Monday: Van Leeuwenhoeklezing | De energietransitie in de woonomgeving

Rondom 1960 hadden we in Nederland een energietransitie: de overgang van kolen naar aardgas. Je hoefde niemand van de voordelen te overtuigen. Nu hebben we weer een energietransitie: we moeten van het aardgas af. Daarom verschijnen er windmolens in onze achtertuin, veranderen weilanden in zonnecelvelden en moeten we onze huizen voor 50.000 euro isoleren anders werkt die warmtepomp niet.

Tuesday: The Future of Universities | The Digital Campus

What is or should a university be in the 21st century? Is it just a factory of knowledge, delivering professionals to the market? Or is it an institution of social and cultural value with a responsibility towards its students and society?

Wednesday: Prometheus’ Problems | Neurotypical or Neurodiverse?

For this special edition during the first TU Delft Diversity Week, we have teamed up with the Diversity Office to bring you a panel discussion on moral questions related to ‘neurodiversity’, a term that refers to the variety that exists in the ways our brains work.

Thursday: De Groene Live Delft | Jouw data als verdienmodel

De invloed van Big Tech op ons dagelijkse leven merken we misschien niet direct, maar die is gigantisch. Onze digitale gegevens die we deels vrijwillig afstaan worden gebruikt voor algoritmische sturing en manipulatie van ons koopgedrag, wat we lezen of  hoe we gaan stemmen bij verkiezingen. In het surveillancekapitalisme zijn big data de grondstof geworden van een verdienmodel.

Friday: Filosofisch Café | Het Taoïsme en Confucianisme uit China

De twee grootste en meest invloedrijke filosofische stromingen uit China zijn het taoïsme en confucianisme. Ze ontstonden ongeveer gelijktijdig een paar eeuwen voor onze jaartelling, en hebben nog altijd veel invloed op het denken over het leven in China.

Saturday: Christiaan Huygens | The Father of Modern Science

Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) is one of the greats in the history of physics. Find out about his life, work, and times in this biographical lecture and interview.

Who am I? What is a good life? And how do you build a just society? Philosophy asks the big questions in life, but the answers of course are diverse. In the West we look to different thinkers and theories than in the East or the South. What else is there beyond Plato and Nietzsche? In this lecture series, Studium Generale will introduce you to a series of different philosophical traditions from China, India, Africa and the Americas. An acquaintance with other ways of thinking, but also with believing, seeing and feeling, though philosophy, poetry, theatre, music and other forms of art.

The opening lecture on Ubuntu, Buen Vivir, and Gross National Happiness already took place back in September, but you can watch it here on YouTube.

Still to come in this series:

POSTPONED |Tuesday, November 9th: Indigenous Philosophy  
Monday, November 15th: Chinese filosofie – het taoisme en confucianisme (in Dutch)
Tuesday, November 23rd: Indian Philosophy
Monday, December 6th: Colonialism & African Philosophy
Tuesday, December 14th: Winti: An Ancient Surinamese Religion for Modern Times
Tuesday, December 21st: Sufism: Following the Footsteps of Mystic Poet Rumi
2022: African Philosophy, pt 2