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Keith & All: Yes that¹s us. We yanks are over here using slang terms, rushing around to ³be where we are not² while plotting the overthrow of western thought. Heck, that¹s just what we do on weekends! With the jokes and jabs aside it strikes me that it would be most constructive to seek the common ground between us. I am sure there is much that we can agree on and do together. At NextD all of our models are constructed to make the most of diversity of thought. What we most object to is the macho bullying and intimidation that is built into some of the dynamics embedded in our old style ³western thought². When questioned, defenders often recite ³the wisdom of the ancients² without understanding that game is up. As designers move from operating within adopted conditions defined by others to being responsible for the creation of the conditions, we naturally want to think differently about the possibilities and our own responsibilities. Some of us are not aware that such opportunities are now open to us. We have a chance to play a role in the design and creation of new conditions around thinking, idea creation and problem solving. To do so we have to do some serious unlearning ourselves. No offence to our ancient friends intended. Today we seek to make a finer connection between our activities and our tools. We seek to make a finer distinction between the activity of judging truths and that of growing ideas. We simply suggest that we learn how to stop using the same tools for both. You can open a bottle of wine with a hammer but that is not the tool that I would recommend. You can plant a garden with a steam-roller but there are likely better options. We may be masters of the hammer and the steam-roller, we may have heavy emotional investments in both, we may truly believe that use of such tools adds huge value in all instances but that does not make them ideal tools for opening and planting. If we are here to close a case, nail the guilty, unearth untruths, establish hierarchies and play judge then we are likely all set. If we are here on the planet to help maximize our collective brainpower, grow ideas from seeds, innovate and solve complex problems then we will likely need a more diverse set of tools today. In other disciplines and fields they are already on to this. At this late date design is playing catch up so we are hardly rushing ahead at this point. There is a sense of moving to ³where we are not² but it is not somewhere we should not be or can not be. I believe this particular ³where we are not² represents a significant piece of the future for the next generation of design leaders. This is a subject that has been raised in various forms previously on this list. For those who might not know I have already made related comments so I will be brief here (see reference to the archives below). This subject represents a very difficult corner for design to turn and not all of us will want to make that journey. GK VanPatter NextDesign Leadership Institute New York NextD Who will lead design in the 21st century? http://nextd.org Previous comments on this subject: Monday, August 25, 2003 http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0308&L=phd-design&P=R19760&D= 0&H=0&I=-1&O=T&T=0 <http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0308&L=phd-design&P= R19760&D=0&H=0&I=-1&O=T&T=0> Wed, 9 Apr 2003 http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa.exe?A2=ind0304&L=phd-design&P=R1638&D=0 &H=0&I=-1&O=T&T=0 > From: Keith Russell <[log in to unmask]> > Reply-To: Keith Russell <[log in to unmask]> > Date: Tue, 7 Oct 2003 20:11:59 +1000 > To: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Re: Beyond False Consciousness, etc. > > Dear GK > > I'm not sure I understand all the USA slang terms like "do a build on that"? > I'm also not sure that I'd rush to an intervention that thought it had > transcended Western thought? > > I'd be happy, on your invitation and funding to come across and "do a build" > and run an intervention (finding/come-upon between) on the basis that > understanding is a personal achievement and doesn't have much to do with > Sociology 101 or Design 101 or group speak/think. Plato allows that some > people might be able to use the written word to understand that which requires > face-to-face and prolonged engagement. I think it is possible, if not common. > The rigour of the ancients is not to be missed in our rush to be where we are > not. > > all the best > keith russell > OZ newcastle