avant-garde
The concept of avant-garde is inherently subjective, as what may be seen as radical or groundbreaking to one person might be viewed differently by another. However, if we consider avant-garde back to its military roots we can explore historical evolution in that context.
Literal Meaning: In French, "Avant-garde" directly translates to "vanguard" or "advance guard." In military strategy, the vanguard typically refers to the forward-most troops or units in an advancing army. Their primary role was to lead the march, scout ahead, clear obstacles, and engage with the enemy first.
During medieval times, when armies relied on formations of foot soldiers, cavalry, and archers, the vanguard would often be composed of the most elite or specialized troops. They would march ahead of the main force, ensuring the path was clear and safe. During the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between England and France, the English longbowmen, known for their exceptional skill and range, were often positioned in the vanguard. Their role was to disrupt and weaken enemy formations before the main body of troops engaged in combat.
As military tactics evolved with the advent of gunpowder and more advanced weaponry, the role of the vanguard became even more vital. They were responsible for setting up the first line of artillery or engaging in skirmishes to gauge the enemy's strength.
Gunpowder, comprised of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), charcoal, and sulfur, was invented in China. The earliest references to gunpowder date back to the 9th century during the Tang Dynasty. Initially, it was used for medicinal and mystical purposes, but its explosive properties were soon recognized. By the 10th and 11th centuries, the Chinese had developed rudimentary firearms and flamethrowers using gunpowder. The earliest recorded use of a gunpowder weapon in battle was by the Song Dynasty in the late 11th century.
Gunpowder technology traveled along the Silk Road, reaching the Middle East by the 13th century. The Islamic world adapted and improved upon the technology, incorporating gunpowder into their military arsenals. Gunpowder made its way to Europe by the mid-13th century. The earliest European reference to gunpowder appears in Roger Bacon's writings around 1267. By the 14th century, European militaries were using crude cannons and firearms in warfare. The English used rudimentary cannons during the Hundred Years' War in the mid-14th century. Though it wasn't until the 15th century that they started to have a significant impact on military tactics.
Consider the battle of Pavia (1525) fought on February 24, 1525, between the troops of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the forces of King Francis I of France. It took place near the town of Pavia, in the Duchy of Milan, which was a contested territory.
The French army, led by King Francis I, laid siege to Pavia for several months. During the actual battle, the French vanguard was primarily composed of Landsknechts, Swiss pikemen, and heavy cavalry. They were placed forward to engage and disrupt the Imperial troops. The Imperial forces, under Charles V, had a mixed composition of Spanish and German infantry, with a notable contingent being the famous Spanish tercios, renowned for their disciplined pikemen and arquebusiers. The Imperial vanguard, along with the main force, was positioned behind a network of fortifications and marshy grounds, effectively using the terrain to their advantage.
The vanguard's role was crucial. Early in the battle, the French heavy cavalry made advances, but the Imperial forces, recognizing the emerging threat, dispatched their arquebusiers, early gunpowder infantrymen. The use of these firearms to target the French cavalry disrupted the French vanguard's momentum. In fact, the battle is notable for the effective use of firearms by the Spanish tercios, which combined pikemen and arquebusiers in a cohesive formation. This combination of pikes and firearms proved devastatingly effective and marked a shift in infantry tactics for the coming decades. A crucial moment in the battle was when a detachment of Spanish infantry, moving stealthily, managed to find a weak point in the French lines, attacking them from the rear. This unexpected assault caused panic and confusion among the French troops. Despite a fierce fight, the French forces were encircled and suffered a crushing defeat. King Francis I himself was captured, marking a pivotal moment in the Italian Wars.
Under the leadership of Napoleon Bonaparte, military strategy underwent significant transformation. The use of columns, swift movements, and coordinated assaults became prominent. In this context, the vanguard was essential in scouting and engaging the enemy quickly. Napoleon Bonaparte is often credited with revolutionizing military strategy and tactics during the early 19th century. His approach to warfare was both innovative and highly effective, leading to a series of impressive victories that expanded the French Empire across much of Europe.
Napoleon's infantry was the backbone of his army. He often employed them in column formations, which allowed for rapid movement and quick assaults, especially against line formations. The columns could quickly switch to line formations when needed, providing flexibility in response to battlefield developments.
The cavalry was used for a variety of roles, including scouting, flanking, and pursuing retreating enemies. Napoleon had several types of cavalry, including heavy cuirassiers, dragoons (who could fight both mounted and dismounted), light cavalry like hussars and chasseurs, and lancers.
Napoleon is often credited with making artillery an independent, mobile arm of his army. He understood the value of massed artillery fire and often used "grand batteries" to concentrate firepower and break enemy lines. The artillery was also spread out among the divisions to provide direct support. Each Corps was a mini-army, complete with its own infantry, cavalry, and artillery. This allowed for independent operations, increased maneuverability, and the ability to concentrate forces quickly at decisive points. Napoleon always kept a reserve force, especially his elite Imperial Guard, which he used as a decisive force at the critical moment of battle.
Antoine-Henri Jomini was a Swiss officer who served under Napoleon and later wrote extensively about warfare. His writings have had a lasting impact on military theory. Jomini believed in concentrating superior forces at the decisive point on the battlefield. He noted how Napoleon would often mass his troops to achieve local superiority, even if outnumbered overall. Jomini stressed the importance of choosing the correct line of operation, which would allow an army to threaten multiple enemy objectives simultaneously.
Having a clear objective was crucial. Jomini observed that Napoleon always had a clear goal in mind, whether it was the destruction of an enemy army or the capture of a key city. He felt that taking the initiative allowed one to dictate the terms of battle. While concentrating forces at the decisive point, it was also essential to use minimal forces elsewhere to hold or delay the enemy.
In the early 19th century, the Prussian military was still highly regarded, but by 1806, it had not modernized to the same extent as the French army under Napoleon. The Prussian leadership, feeling the pressure of the expanding French Empire, decided to challenge Napoleon. On October 14, 1806, two significant engagements took place almost simultaneously: the Battle of Jena and the Battle of Auerstedt. While Napoleon himself commanded at Jena, Marshal Louis-Nicolas Davout led a separate French force at Auerstedt.
Davout's III Corps, consisting of about 27,000 men, faced off against a Prussian force of more than 60,000 troops led by the Duke of Brunswick and King Frederick William III. Davout's vanguard, led by General Étienne Gudin, clashed with Prussian troops in the early morning fog. Recognizing the threat, Davout quickly brought up more of his forces to support the vanguard. The Prussians, confident in their numerical superiority, launched a series of frontal assaults. However, the disciplined French lines, combined with effective artillery support, repelled the Prussian charges. Despite being significantly outnumbered, Davout's troops held their ground. The French flanks launched counter-attacks, causing chaos in the Prussian ranks.
The Duke of Brunswick, a key Prussian leader, was mortally wounded early in the battle. This loss significantly impacted Prussian morale and command cohesion. By the afternoon, the Prussian army was in retreat. Davout's corps had achieved one of the most impressive feats of the Napoleonic Wars, defeating an enemy force more than twice its size.
Simultaneously, Napoleon was engaging another Prussian force at Jena. With superior numbers and tactics, the French quickly overwhelmed the Prussians, leading to another decisive victory.
The twin victories at Jena and Auerstedt effectively crippled the Prussian military and paved the way for Napoleon's occupation of Berlin. These battles showcased the effectiveness of Napoleon's military reforms, the skill of his marshals, and the discipline of the French army. Marshal Davout, in particular, received immense praise for his leadership at Auerstedt, cementing his reputation as one of Napoleon's most capable commanders.
We see the historical importance of the avant-garde….but i am falling down a rabbit hole here…lets shift the conversation in the direction I was initially heading.
While the term maintained its military connotation, its metaphorical use in cultural and artistic spheres began to emerge in post-revolutionary France. Societal upheavals like the French Revolution, created an atmosphere where artists and thinkers began to see themselves as the "vanguard" of new societal and cultural movements, leading the charge against outdated traditions and norms. Following the French Revolution, there was a surge of idealism and a desire for progress in European society. The term evolved during the Romantic era, making it synonymous with progressive thought and artistic innovation.
This transformation was not the work of a single individual or event. Instead, it was the culmination of a series of shifts in societal thinking, combined with the evolving nature of art and culture during the 19th century. Over time, as the idea of being at the forefront of change and innovation became more closely associated with art and intellect, the term "Avant-garde" found its home in the realm of the arts.
As the 19th century progressed, various art movements emerged that challenged traditional aesthetics and thought. Artists like Gustave Courbet sought to depict the everyday lives of ordinary people, breaking away from the idealized and often elitist subjects of academic art. Pioneers like Claude Monet rejected the conventions of the established art community in Paris, choosing to paint "impressions" of moments, often outdoors, emphasizing light and colour over detail.
The early 20th century saw an explosion of radical artistic movements. Futurist movements led by figures like Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, embraced technology and modernity. The Futurists wanted to destroy older forms of culture and celebrate change, speed, and industrialization. Dadaism emerged as a response to the horrors of World War I, artists like Tristan Tzara used absurdity and randomness to challenge the established norms of art and society. Cubism, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, saw a movement that fragmented and abstracted subjects, viewing them from multiple perspectives simultaneously.
The Avant-garde wasn't just about art; it was deeply intertwined with political and social activism. Many Avant-garde artists were also political radicals, seeing their artistic endeavours as part of a broader push for societal change. the theorist and poet Guillaume Apollinaire commented on the desire of artists to push boundaries, describing them as the "vanguard" of artistic innovation, having organically transitioned from its military origins to represent those at the forefront of cultural and artistic revolutions. Over time, as artists, writers, and thinkers increasingly saw themselves as agents of change, challenging societal norms and conventions, the term became synonymous with radical innovation and pioneering spirit in the realm of culture and art.
Terms like "radical," "innovative," "non-conformist," and "experimental" capture the essence of Avant-garde in technology. These innovations don't just offer incremental improvements; they redefine how we perceive and interact with technology. They're not always immediately successful or widely accepted, but their impact is often profound and long-lasting.
The introduction and development of quantum mechanics in the early 20th century was, in many ways, an Avant-garde movement in physics. It challenged established norms, overturned classical intuition, and provided a radically new framework to understand the universe at its most fundamental levels.
Imagine standing before a wall, knowing you cannot cross it. Yet, in the quantum realm, particles dance to a different beat. They might just tunnel through barriers, seemingly defying the impenetrable nature of obstacles. This isn't about smashing through barriers with brute force; it's about the probabilistic nature of quantum states. Such phenomena underscore the limitations of classical analogies and mathematics in capturing the essence of quantum behaviours. Or consider the entwined fate of particles in an entangled state is nothing short of mystical. This "spooky action at a distance," as Einstein called it, we see two entangled particles, light-years apart, remain mysteriously connected. Change the state of one, and its partner responds instantaneously. This defies the classical understanding of information transmission, challenging the very fabric of space and time.
We see the challenges our language creates for our classical intuition…it starts to blur. Quantum tunneling, as mentioned, is a phenomenon where particles can pass through barriers they classically shouldn't be able to. Here, it's not about a particle "pushing" its way through a barrier and the barrier pushing back, as Newton's third law might suggest. Instead, it's about the wave nature of particles and the probabilistic essence of quantum mechanics…ask a professional and they will discuss allowing particles to exist in a superposition of states and hence have a non-zero probability of being on the other side of the barrier. When professionals discuss these topics, they often resort to mathematical formulations because our everyday language falls short. Phrases like "particles exist in a superposition of states" or "wave function collapse" are attempts to describe mathematically rigorous concepts in words. To those not steeped in the subject, it can indeed sound like "bullshit math talk," but these terms are shorthand for more complex mathematical descriptions.
Just as one might use the analogy of "waves on a string" to describe sound to a child, professionals use analogies and simplifications to describe quantum mechanics. But just as the "waves on a string" analogy doesn't capture the full complexity of sound, our verbal descriptions of quantum phenomena are approximations.
Our everyday experiences are governed by classical physics. When we talk about objects pushing against each other or the cause-and-effect relationships we observe, we're drawing from this classical intuition. Our language has evolved around these experiences, making it challenging to describe quantum phenomena accurately.
When we learn or research, it's often easier to begin with compartmentalized, modular concepts. These "building blocks" provide a foundation, making complex ideas more digestible. For instance, before diving into the intricacies of quantum mechanics, one might first understand classical mechanics, electromagnetism, and wave-particle duality.
While modularity helps in understanding, the ultimate goal in physics has been to find a unified theory that seamlessly merges these domains. The Theory of Everything, for instance, seeks to unify general relativity (which describes gravity) with quantum mechanics.
Even as we study different modules, it's essential to recognize that they're interconnected pieces of a larger puzzle. Electromagnetism and quantum mechanics, for example, come together in quantum electrodynamics (QED), which describes the interactions of light with matter.
As our knowledge progresses, what was once seen as separate modules can merge. For example, electricity and magnetism were once thought to be distinct phenomena, but they're now understood as two aspects of a unified electromagnetic force. James Clerk Maxwell, a Scottish physicist, made this monumental leap. Through a set of equations now known as Maxwell's Equations, he unified the laws of electricity and magnetism into a single coherent theory in the mid-19th century. These equations described how electric and magnetic fields were generated and altered by each other and by charges and currents.
Perhaps Maxwell's most profound realization was that electromagnetic waves could propagate through space. This led to the prediction (and eventual discovery) of electromagnetic radiation, a spectrum that includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays, and gamma rays.
The unification of electricity and magnetism into electromagnetism is a prime example of the power of synthesis in science. What were once seen as distinct phenomena were brought together into a broader, more encompassing framework. This not only enhanced our understanding but also led to technological revolutions, including the development of radio, television, and many other electromagnetic technologies.
While I began wiht a clear intent this exploration took me down unexpected paths. I contemplated removing it all, but there’s value in the journey of thought. Originally, I wanted to delve into our avant-garde designs, like the dragonfly. Yet, predicting market success is a complex task, and as I ponder, time slips away. Nevertheless, here's to embracing the journey, detours and all.
Thanks for reading!
