Re: [Paddlewise] : RE: Skinboats of Greenland

Matt wrote;


> That all said, I think John is wrong when he implies that aesthetics may
have >been as important as function in determining the shape of an Eskimo
kayak."

I said " It seems reasonable that the Inuit  had  aesthetic values that they
expressed in the objects they made.  It would  seem likely that they might
have shaped their end profiles etc. with an eye  towards what "looked
attractive" just like  boat builders around the world  have done for
centuries."

This is a far cry from "...that aesthetics may have been as important as
function in determining the shape of an Eskimo kayak."

I "implied" nothing (imply - "To involve by logical necessity") and did not
and have not at any time said that aesthetics "...may have been as important
as function". In fact, I rarely use the verb "to be" at all any more. I do
not know to what degree aesthetics, function, experimentation, tradition, or
superstition played in the Inuit builder's design of a specific boat and I
rather doubt that Matt  knows either. Ship designers have, for centuries
melded their aesthetic values with functionality to varying degrees and I
speculated that the Inuit did the same. I made no reference to the degree to
which they applied either aspect.

To emphasize the speculative nature of my comments I used the words "seems"
and "might".  Looking up the words "Seem" and "May" in a dictionary may help
clarify this further.

I find it amusing that Matt has managed to segue this discussion about Inuit
boats into a commentary on his boats and his designs. One has to give credit
when appropriate. Matt rarely misses an opportunity to promote his boats.
What a persistent salesman!

I would dearly love to participate further in this delightful discussion but
regrettably duty calls. I leave on a week long trip this morning and will
not have access to a computer. If you carry on without me please try to read
the lines carefully, stay on topic and try to leave the self promotion to
your e-mail signature and your web sites. ;-)

Cheers,

John Winters
Redwing Designs
Web site address, http://home.ican.net/~735769





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