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by crazygringo 942 days ago

I can see how they have a kind of beauty in a laboratory or industrial plant or something.

But as part of nature? Set across an landscape otherwise made of plants and trees and hills?

For me, that's a million times no. I can't think of anything uglier or more jarring. The cold gray angular lattice skeleton feels like it couldn't be more opposite to all of the positive aesthetic qualities of nature.

5 comments

fluoridation 942 days ago

>I can't think of anything uglier or more jarring.

Speaking for myself, I like it because it's jarring. It's a juxtaposition of geometric against organic. Pure function against purposelessness.

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haltist 942 days ago

I highly recommend a tour of your local electricity distribution substation, you will learn a lot about how the modern world operates. If you can visit one of the main power plants then that's even better.

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OJFord 942 days ago

I think they're ugly and unfortunate in the UK; in the parts of North America I've seen there's so much large visible infrastructure that they blend right in, it's a kind of 'where do you start' situation if you want to prettify them. I think there should just be some sensitivity to context, i.e. what we've already done to nature.

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klyrs 942 days ago

They really don't blend in. The ground around them is cleared of trees (of which there are many, everywhere in NA that I've lived) which makes them stick out like a sore thumb. For a time, I lived near the top of a hill, and the nearest pylon to my house has a honkin' bright flasher at the top. Usually, this wasn't an issue, but the park nearby would often get thick fog at night. Nothing like walking through a lovely foggy wooded park, pulsating with a bright omnipresent flash every 10 seconds.

Of course, it's better than a plane hitting the house in the fog.

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reportgunner 942 days ago

> The cold gray angular lattice skeleton feels like it couldn't be more opposite to all of the positive aesthetic qualities of nature.

That's the beauty of it. Same like a hiker wearing synthetic material clothes in a pristine nature range.

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crazygringo 941 days ago

> wearing synthetic material clothes

Funny you mention it -- I hate the neon day-glo colors of so much hiking and active outerwear as well.

For God's sake, try to blend in a little, you know? Earth tones, people. (Except in safety situations like hunting, obviously.)

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fluoridation 941 days ago

The point of the colors is precisely to be highly visible. If you become incapacitated the last thing you want is to blend in with the surroundings. You might also notice that there's very few skiing outfits that are mostly white, or swimming suits that are mostly blue. To only reason someone would want to be more difficult to see is if they're trying to sneak up on someone.

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actionfromafar 942 days ago

It can have its own kind of sci-fi esque beauty, I think.

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crazygringo 942 days ago

I think the key word is "fi" there, for "fiction".

I love it in a movie or an evocative painting or a comic.

I don't want it in real life, though.

Kind of like, I love watching Blade Runner. I don't want to live there.

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Dylan16807 942 days ago

The reason I don't want to live there is societal. I welcome many of the aesthetics.