science

Not A Cornfield

Not A Cornfield is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Not A Cornfield rather than just read about it. In short: "Not A Cornfield" was a 2005 art project that transformed a 32-acre (130,000 m2) industrial brownfield (today part of Los Angeles State Historic Park in the historic center of Los Angeles) into a cornfield for one agricultural cycle. The project took place north of Chinatown.

Key takeaways

Not A Cornfield belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Not A Cornfield to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Not A Cornfield from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

"Not A Cornfield" was a 2005 art project that transformed a 32-acre (130,000 m2) industrial brownfield (today part of Los Angeles State Historic Park in the historic center of Los Angeles) into a cornfield for one agricultural cycle. The project took place north of Chinatown. Lauren Bon created this work with funds from the Annenberg Foundation and considered the piece to be a sculpture. The installation cost $3 million and took place at the proposed site of Los Angeles State Historic Park, which had been referred to as "The Cornfield", because of the crops growing there prior to its industrial development. Fifteen hundred truck loads of soil were transported to the site and one million seeds were planted. Some people complained that the project delayed the construction of the public park at that site, that the project was approved too quickly and that it was a waste of money. There was a small edible garden in the cornfield, and the site was used for film screenings and drum circles. Group and school tours were available. The corn was harvested in November and December 2005, allowed to dry and put on display in the nearby empty Capital Milling Co. building for six months. It was then used for the production of biodegradable containers. The project left behind fertile soil. "Not A Cornfield" was located at 1201 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, California, 90012.

See also Land art Installation art Corn construction Guerrilla gardening Downtown Los Angeles Chinatown, Los Angeles, California

References

External links Official site California State Parks' future use of the site 'Not a Cornfield' idea is food for thought by Daniel Hernandez 32 Acre Living Sculpture, Not a Cornfield, Rises in Los Angeles

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Not A Cornfield

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Not A Cornfield claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Not A Cornfield before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Not A Cornfield ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Not A Cornfield

In research: Not A Cornfield appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Not A Cornfield in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Not A Cornfield is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2005 sculptures, Installation art works, Land art, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Not A Cornfield outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Not A Cornfield in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Not A Cornfield means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Not A Cornfield out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Not A Cornfield in simple terms?

Why does Not A Cornfield matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Not A Cornfield?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Not A Cornfield.