Dear Terry,
Thanks for your note. I understand what you can do with the example you gave of linear programming and the related skills. I also see how engineers can use this for problems like traffic flow, logistics, operations management, and the like.
What I still don’t see is why ALL designers need to know this.
There are many examples of successful design projects that do not rely on mathematics for effective solutions. IDEO, Helsinki Design Lab, Aalto Design Factory, MindLab, DesignGov, and many others work in a completely different way. These groups of designers do well without mathematics. When they need advanced mathematical skills, they put the appropriate specialist on a team.
Nearly no fashion designer, textile designer, shoe designer, glass designer, or book illustrator needs abstraction, and certainly not the second-order abstraction of abstractions – they work in the world of material and form. Graphic designers may use computers, but they generally don’t need to model solution spaces. The same is true for those who work in advertising
This brings me back to my original question.
I understand what kinds of problems call for these different kinds of mathematical skills. I don’t why ALL designers need these skills.
I keep asking a question that you say is misguided. You believe that the very question predicates a specific answer. It seems to me that there is a satisfactory answer that would suit you, but you’ve got to give it. The answer would state: “All designers must learn mathematics [specify kind] to [specify skills] for [specify reason]”. This would obviously have to involve coverage of all design disciplines. I do not see why answering this question predicates an answer that suits me and not you. I would have been quite satisfied with a reasonable answer to the question that is without exception among all design fields. If you provide an answer that requires assent on logic and empirical data, I will assent.
As it is, there seems to be no way for me to ask the question in a way that you find satisfactory. Therefore, there is no way for me to address this problem.
It seems to me best to withdraw from the conversation on mathematics for designers. I will put my notes on this thread and the related threads aside. I’ll leave this to Martin, Gunnar, Lubomir, Eduardo and the others.
Yours,
Ken
Ken Friedman, PhD, DSc (hc), FDRS | University Distinguished Professor | Swinburne University of Technology | Melbourne, Australia | University email [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> | Private email [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> | Mobile +61 404 830 462 | Academia Page http://swinburne.academia.edu/KenFriedman
Guest Professor | College of Design and Innovation | Tongji University | Shanghai, China ||| Adjunct Professor | School of Creative Arts | James Cook University | Townsville, Australia
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