Wooden Wonders

This is an extract from my latest book,?Wooden Wonders: Traditional Malaysian Fishing Boats

One quickly becomes defined by one’s discipline as we witness the academic, professional, and even legal walls constructed around disciplines. However, these walls can create an insidious environment where the physical sciences are honored while everything else becomes noise. I have a deep affection for the mysteries revealed by science, but I recognize the physical and life sciences have waded into matters that require involvement beyond science.

Science can also give an incomplete picture of truth. Philosophers have investigated the limits of the scientific method, but science can be blind to the broad swath of culture and therefore fails to provide all data and guidance for culturally appropriate designs. For me to make sense of the value of non-mechanistic design elements I needed to recognize the intangible, scientifically unapproachable aspects of these design elements. Not all questions are scientifically answerable and some can only be judged based on their value to the individual.

Fishing boats are an important part of the cultural heritage of Malaysia. Their role in commerce will necessarily change in response to the dynamic forces applied to the Malaysian society. These boats provide food and livelihood for many. They are designed with care, built with integrity, and reflect the pride and dignity of their builders. This consideration of traditional Malaysian fishing boats was not intended as a nostalgic reflection but rather an investigation of the gritty, every day issues of boat builders and fishermen. These men were motivated by market forces even if they did sense the twilight years of their work. The builders and fishermen I visited were not striving to be curators of old technology, they were living their lives with the mixture of dreams and practical resolve that motivates us all in our labors.