Dear Ken,
I embrace everything that you wrote and I agree that our central agony here is the variety of forms of research that pertain to PhDs in design and the various research narratives that sustain this research.
At the end of the day we must all respect the business of research as our business and hence the tension I described is useful so long as we acknowledge the priority of this business.
And so, I align myself with your account as a true tonic.
Cheers
Keith
> On 3 Oct 2014, at 7:20 pm, Ken Friedman <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> This is a useful and valid perception, but the problem we face on the list involves different issues.
>
> The first of these issues is that this is a discussion list. Our medium of communication is words sent by email and reproduced in on-screen text. In this context, we can neither make nor demonstrate a concrete cup. We can only talk. In some formats, of course, we could demonstrate a representation of the cup or a video of making a cup. That would raise other issues. Here, our only medium is words.
>
> The second issue is that this is a research list. Its purpose is “discussion of PhD studies and related research in design.” While >some< research involves physical activities and concrete material apparatus, >all< research involves words. Research is a thought process internal to the mind of a researcher. Individual researchers may share their thoughts with other researchers in a group, a laboratory, or a larger community. Sharing the research act requires words or symbols in some kind of language, as, for example, mathematics, chemical notation, etc.
>
> These words and forms of language are part of the description or narration of the content of any research act.
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