Deborah Wolf – Task #8 – The Golden Record 

“To the makers of music—all worlds, all times.” (Ferris, 2017)

For this task, Deborah and  I took completely different approaches to curating our selections for Voyager’s Golden Record. 

After listening to the Tim Ferris, podcast, Deborah attempts to match the music with the progression of man and civilization this is an interesting way to interpret the order of the music on the Voyager Golden Record. It is clear that she has put a lot of thought into her interpretation and has created an interesting and thought-provoking list of music that reflects the evolution of human culture and history. I, on the other hand, listen to all 27 tracks all the way through with no other purpose other than listening to music. Then I learned about all the math that went into curating the songs by Dr. Sagan and I was overwhelmed. In the end, I decided to simply choose what was appealing to my ear, I figured if I liked it, so would extraterrestrials.

It is important to note that the interpretation of the order of the music is subjective and can be influenced by cultural and historical perspectives. Imagine if John Lennon, of the Beatles, had indeed been recruited to be a part of the team to curate the songs, how different it may have been. Therefore, it is crucial to consider multiple interpretations of the music’s order and understand the different ways in which people can interpret the same information. This highlights the importance of having diverse perspectives and engaging in open dialogue to develop a deeper understanding of complex issues. 

Reference

Ferris, T. (2017, August 20). How the Voyager Golden Record Was Made. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/voyager-golden-record-40th-anniversary-timothy-ferris