Jonathan Harris is a remarkable thinker and has wide variety of interests that range from scientist to artist, which is perhaps an uncommon talent, to be able to use both sides of the brain. So with that said, the article is focused on understanding the digital realm and trying to gain a feel for where it is going, something that is not easy being how unpredictable technology and culture can be.
Jonathan Harris talks about going from the written word and sketches to the more liquid form of the Intenet becaue of a loss of his sketches at gunpoint. It is interesting to think how that even impacted his life, say, if it had not happened, would he be making this lecture today.
He also talks about having an education and then beginning to implement his knowledge. The issue being that the cold hard rationality of his field of interest made it difficult to make things human. The art that he does is very technically based, using computers to compile words of the English language, and using the computer's ability to select random items.
Also, as a designer knows, he has fought against strenouous deadlines and dealing with unexpected problems in his work, like his idea for a dating website being used already. So through these experiences he is sort of defining his humanity, finding it, losing it and all the while this is being played out in his work.
The challenge of creating an original and working idea is also a key theme in his talk. So creating something that is interesting and something that works at the same time is obviously important. The benefit of living an interesting life is that it can make finding better ideas more easy, or at least your ideas won't be as boring. Also being bold is important. And other things.
How does the technology we have define our humanity? He brings up a point from a friend that a lot of our tech development lacks focus beyond getting people to buy stuff and that as a society, younger people just don't talk to each other or interact in person any more. It is a sort of compulsion, a going to far with something because you aren't thinking enough.
So, the talk in essence is how it is important for us to maintain our identities as we engulf ourselves in the flame of technology, because as things are now, it is too easy to become "dehumanized" and become just another "user." So this is the challenge for the new generation of thinkers and makers: How are we going to let people be themselves, how can our design influence this, so that we don't impede our customers and clients.
No comments:
Post a Comment