Wow, so many responses in so short a time! To save people's "inbox",
I'll address all in one response.
Francois: What I'm hoping is to incorporate these things into the
analogy. For example, many people have hit on pattern languages, which I
would hope to use to 'describe' each of the genes in the analogy; with
codes, customs, etc also making some of the genes. As you see in my
example in my first post, some of the genes would be a resultant from
looking at building codes and such. So, what I'm hoping for is different
in a way, but made up of these customs and codes.
Ken: Thanks for the idea of splitting this into the "who" and "what". I
think I might try to study also the "how", as in how can we make a set
of working artificial DNA for a certain artifact type. While both the
ideas of pattern languages and also collaborative learning have been
quite extensively covered in the design world, I believe work in the
specifics of a DNA analogy are sparse, which is why I bring in the "how"
of the idea.
Terry: Thanks for those journals; I'll have a peruse through some back
issues to see what I can find. As I said in my first post to the list, I
have thus far had no luck finding any research which directly links the
two ideas, so is there any specific papers you know of that could be of
use?
Ellen: Thanks for the references. Wikipedia was a 'friend' when I was
first putting together this idea in a short proposal to my supervisor
and I managed to find a fair amount of information on the genetics side
of things from there.
Luckily, I have both "A Pattern Language" and "Notes on the Synthesis of
Form" from Alexander. Both are great and hit on the pattern language
idea that he came to. If you haven't read "Notes on the Synthesis of
Form", I recommend it highly. Much shorter than the pattern language
text, but equally if not more useful. Alexander wrote the notes
afterwards, but as a precursor to the pattern language book.
Damian
Damian Rogers, B.Eng, M.A.Sc
PhD Candidate, Ryerson University
-----Original Message-----
From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf
Of Shari Cheves
Sent: December 1, 2008 8:40 PM
To: Damian Rogers
Cc: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Using DNA Structure as an Analogy for Design
Hi Damian,
Likewise, I am a closet subscriber, but you may find my college research
paper and bibliography on "Presenting the Immune System as a Model for
Design" somewhat useful. Here is the link:
http://www.healthypixels.com/designimmunology.html
-Shari Cheves
Design, Integrative Health, and Immunology
On Mon, Dec 1, 2008 at 7:52 AM, Damian Rogers <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
Hi all,
I have been subscribed to the list for a fairly long time now and really
like reading contributions from all of you. Though I read it every day,
this will be my first post to the list since I subscribed. What I am
writing about is a question about whether any of you know of any
references to my topic. I have done the traditional "google" searches
for keywords I think my topic entails, but haven't found any reference
to work in progress or already completed that relates to my thesis
topic. So, if any of you have heard of something similar or have any
suggestions for books/papers I could read, it would be greatly
appreciated. I'll give a brief explanation of what I'm doing below.
I am currently conducting research in the area of using DNA structure in
living organisms as an analogy to design theory. Since DNA is viewed as
a set of instructions for life, we can do the same with design and
create an artificial set of instructions for any artifact we wish to
create. By using best practices, commonality, regulations, etc and by
examining current successful designs, we can form a set of artificial
instructions for nearly any artifact we design and thus help to decrease
time at or around the concept stage in design.
To use an example as explanation, say we are designing a house in a
known community. We could start from scratch and look up things like
building codes, regulations, weather patterns for the area, etc. or
these things could be somewhat pre-determined via picking certain
favourable "genes" from the artificial DNA method. So, by examining
current housing stock, it is possible to come up with the genes that
give certain characteristics and performance levels. We then create a
list of genes, taken from currently existing designs, from which we can
create a newly designed artifact with less effort. So, picking a certain
"insulation level gene" say from our list, then we are assured a typical
performance level for that house. This way we didn't have to look up all
the primary information in order to decide what insulation level we
need, we just pick it from the list of available genes in the inventory.
The same can be done for choosing exterior cladding, window to wall
ratios, flooring, power generation methods, etc. While this method
doesn't pick the interior wall colour, or layout or other such aspect of
the house, the designer still has complete freedom of form.
I hope this has given everyone a good enough picture of what we are
currently researching and I hope to hear from any of you on suggestions
for readings that could be applicable, or research that is currently
being done in the same area.
Cheers,
Damian
Damian Rogers, B.Eng, M.A.Sc
PhD Candidate, Ryerson University
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