Driving
The author reflects on their journey with driving, from obtaining a license in New York to participating in the 24 Hours of Lemons race at Thunderhill. Initially drawn to the freedom of road trips, they gradually developed a deeper connection with driving through hands-on car repair and racing. The experience evolved into a pursuit of harmony between skill, action, and the demands of the environment.
- ▪The author learned to drive in New York and took a seven-minute test before receiving their license.
- ▪They participated in the 24 Hours of Lemons race after helping rebuild a '97 Toyota Avalon purchased for $800 and a six-pack of beer.
- ▪The author practiced on a driving simulator and studied racing techniques to prepare, despite having no prior racing experience.
- ▪Driving the car at Thunderhill, they began to feel the vehicle become an extension of themselves through repeated laps.
- ▪The narrative draws on C. Thi Nguyen’s concept of 'Games: Agency as Art' to frame driving as an aesthetic experience of harmony.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
Aesthetics of harmony: 3 levels Harmony of solution: strictly a harmony between the solution and the obstacle. Harmony of action: your agency and action fitting the demands of the environment. This is a strict superset of the harmony of solution. It concerns not only how the solution fits the problem, but how my decision making and action generation were just right to generate the harmony of solution Harmony of capacity: the experience of engaging your abilities to their fullest potential. Arises from a fit between one’s maximum skill level (their limit) and the demands of the task — from C. Thi Nguyen’s Games Agency as Art Harmony of Solution I learned to drive because I wanted to go on roadtrips.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at jzhao.xyz.
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