 |
 |
Birger wrote > I think we need to look for relevance > with rigour! Fab, thanks Birger, that's almost as good as Vilma Suero's "we must be certain about our uncertainty"* (a practical response to Horst Rittel) > But as you can read from my former mail I would be willing > to trade off rigour for relevance as long as it generates new > perspectives on our way to make more of design expressions and practices > researchable. I don't think there is a trade off needed. Rigour is not a bogeyman in the corner frightening us off from doing interesting or creative work (maybe rigor does that but I wouldn't know :o) When looking at what my students say or write the one reliable question I have is "how do you know that?" Most times they panic and start looking for the exit but actually, when you unpick what they say and do, and look for the reasons, usually there is a valid argument and evidence. It's just that they are not skilled in working it out. Of course you cannot be constantly unpicking your creative process and ideas to expose rigorous arguments but Michael Polanyi pointed out that, while a pianist may temporarily lose the ability to play by starting to reflect on how they play, doing that sort of reflection from time to time can allow the pianist (or designer) to return to their performance with greater facility**. very best wishes on a chilly Friday night, but fortified by an almost adult discussion with my 14 year old son and one of his friends, a plate of Amori (spiral pasta, like a wound spring) with spring onions (Booker T Jones, 1962)***, bacon, mushrooms, fresh pesto, toasted pine kernels and sunflower seeds, parmesan, purple-sprouting broccoli and just a spoonful of Greek yogurt, plus a bottle of Lindemans Bin 65 reduced to below UKP5 which is a good price for a reliable factory wine. Chris *Suero (2000) Personal communication to me, standing by the Swiss Army Knife stand in Geneva Airport (innocent times), immediately after the La Clusaz Conference. **Polanyi - sorry no citation right now but I can find it if anybody would like it, thanks to Nicola Wood who has read Polanyi more closely and purposefully than me. ***Not only were Booker T and the MGs a terrific band in their own right who made an indelible culinary connection between UK and US English, but they backed Otis Redding on all his hits and one of their members co-wrote "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay", "In the Midnight Hour" and "Knock on Wood". Respect is due (just a little bit).