Diffusion

I haven't been doing much in the way of interesting geography, except for preparation for some really awesome research and perfection of my poster for the California Geograhical Society's conference at the end of this month.

I've been ill over and over again this month with various viruses and considered blogging on the diffusion of viral infections. Diffusion in itself is an interesting concept to ponder. There are different types of diffusion. Hierarchical diffusion is where something spreads from the top down. If the emperor says his new clothes are the new fashion, then this fashion will spread downward from there. First those who can afford the faux clothes, then those who purchase the lower quality faux clothes at Walmart or used faux clothes at thrift stores. Or for a better example, If a president says that all t.v. stations must deliver their signal digitally, then everybody gets the new fashionable digital t.v.'s or one of those nifty digital converter boxes like I have.

Another form of diffusion occurs when one culture meets with another culture and the ideas spread throughout the population. There are numerous examples of this in American food and clothing. Further, diffusion can occur when a new innovation comes on the scene, such as tractors or electric cars. First people near the innovation get their hands on them, they are all excited about their new purchase and tell others, and others purchase them too. Of course the internet has changed how this diffusion works so it is not always spatially diffused but rather diffused over the internet.

And of course there is contagious diffusion such as I am experiencing right now. My husband has a fever, I spend a lot of time near him so I get a fever. Next thing I know my sister in Georgia and my daughter in Southern California have the same fever because it has diffused across the nation. That's contagious diffusion, and frankly I'm tired of it.

A project I worked on once for a geograpahy class dealt with music around the world. It was interesting to look at how music like jazz was influenced by people from around the world who were localized in the U.S. but then the music spread back outwards and people from around the world were bringing jazz home and adapting it to their local music. Now, with the internet, anybody can hear any kind of music any time and the spread is impressive. I can't get enough of it really.

Here, for your enjoyment is a great example of the internet's speedy diffusion of music. The first video is from Romanian Gypsies and has modern music mixed into traditional music. The second one, which is quite sad, is from Spanish Gypsies and much more traditional. Both are wonderful.