Between October of last year and February of this one, the curators of Significant Objects parsed the data from the project’s first, experimental phase in the following thirteen ways. We classified the 100 object-stories in our experiment as talismans, totems, … Continue reading
With three full volumes and a whopping 200 stories published, it’s time once again to revise and update the the list of the “Top 25” Significant Object auction prices paid to date. Actually, owing to a tie for the 25th … Continue reading
So far, we’ve published 200 stories here at Significant Objects — the batch of 100 that made up our original experimental inquiry into the nature of value and narrative, and two sequel batches of 50 stories each, benefiting 826 National … Continue reading
Years ago, when I was (briefly) a grad student in Sociology, at Boston University, I discovered that positivist science doesn’t offer satisfactory models for synthesizing a cluster of elements that resist reduction to a common denominator, generative first principle, or … Continue reading
Our data analysis to date has focused largely on Volume 1. But for fun, here’s an integrated top 25: The highest prices from the 150 (!) Significant Objects auctions that have closed to date. Questions? Comments? Let us know.
In Marshall McLuhan’s pioneering 1964 study, Understanding Media, the Canadian philosopher, literary critic, and communication theorist argued that “hot” media don’t require much work on our part when it comes to determining meaning; “cool” media, however, require us to participate … Continue reading
Our experiment has answered the question of whether narrative adds measurable value to near-worthless tchotchkes with an emphatic YES. But how does narrative do so? Is every form of narrative exposition, for example, equally effective in encouraging the reader to … Continue reading
Behind the scenes at Significant Objects, heated debates shaped the table recently presented here, sorting each object into a specific primary category, by function. Among the most controversial objects: nutcrackers. In the table, the two nutcrackers that were part of … Continue reading
What’s a scientific experiment without pie charts? It’s incomplete, that’s what. So: You’ve already been presented with this data in tabular form. But these, you see, are pie charts. First: Story categories. (Previous category analysis, with table, here.) Second, object-function … Continue reading
Is the Sanka Ashtray primarily an example of a promotional item, or tobaccania? Is the Elvis Chocolate Tin primarily a container, or a novelty item? Why did we name the Spotted Dogs Figurine and Mule Figurine the way we did … Continue reading
The holidays are over, and here at Significant Objects we’re back at work, assiduously analyzing the data from our project’s experimental phase. Last month, we finished up our quantitative analysis; in 2010, we’ll focus on a qualitative analysis of our … Continue reading
Probably you already know this, but it’s not a bad idea to remind everyone that proceeds from Significant Objects v2 will go to 826 National. We recently decided we need to add some kind of running total box to the … Continue reading
We’ve discussed the intrinsic appeal of some Significant Objects – but what about those objects that lacked such appeal? Things inexplicable, but not in a way that doesn’t necessarily make you want to know more. Sometimes objects like the now-notorious … Continue reading
According to our highly scientific Adjusted Sales Rank table, the following objects were the 25 most significant of our experiment. Let’s consider these significant objects visually — i.e., without mentioning which authors wrote which stories, and without reference to the … Continue reading
On Friday, I posted an Adjusted Final Price table, which allows us to compare our 100 objects’ final prices with their final prices adjusted for Duration Factor. It took a bit of doing, but — after the jump — please find … Continue reading
After several days of scrutinizing price data, it’s time to scrutinize the stories themselves. While Josh added “tags” in real time describing each object, lately we’ve decided it might be useful and interesting to add tags that describe narrative elements … Continue reading
In cleverly devising a way of dealing with the Duration Factor, Josh addressed the potential effect on prices of both increased demand (as more people learned about the project) and dwindling supply (as we ran out of objects). It’s assumed … Continue reading
Some of you have speculated that the Significant Object experiment’s duration affected sales prices — that is, you’ve speculated that objects auctioned off in the experiment’s first weeks no doubt sold for less, on average, than did objects auctioned off … Continue reading
