dear terry, jerry, and others.
when terry speaks of "gathering information," his choice of words implies that there exist some entities in the world outside, called information, that the researcher needs to pick up and use. this is a popular conception that many people live by. from my perspective, "information" has quite different qualities, for example, it reduces some uncertainty, it is always relative to what you know, especially in the dimensions of interest (outside of which it is irrelevant), it is always an issue of timing (what is information today may not be tomorrow), etc.
within relevant dimensions of uncertainty, something can provide information only if it is true or believable. this ties information to the world that exists, not the world that designers are thinking to bring forth. hence, information gathering keeps designers stuck in what is known, true, already existing.
the point of design -- at least from my perspective -- is to get out of what exists, to conceive and realize what others are not able to perceive as possible, to render uncertain what everyone else considers settled, to make the unpredictable real.
in information theoretical terms, this means to undo available information. i would not discourage designers to explore what others consider information -- gathering information if you insist on that phrase -- but designers thrive on not taking information too seriously. think about it
klaus
-----Original Message-----
From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Jerry Diethelm
Sent: Monday, April 09, 2007 8:53 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Defining Design (Re: Evidence and ethics)
Dear Terry,
In my experience, information must be chosen because no one can ever really afford to just gather. One tries to distinguish between useful and relevant kinds of information related to the effort at hand.
And so information is "gathered" purposefully toward some end and where possible in a form related to the nature and scale of the questions driving the process. Call it wisely selected, chosen, or whatever, it is an inescapably judgmental, modeling and sorting process.
Putting evaluation in a box at the far end of things is for me to miss the central role that evaluation plays in all phases of designing.
Best,
Jerry
On 4/9/07 5:24 PM, "Terence Love" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Hi Jerry,
> I referred to 'gathering information' rather than 'choosing information'.
> 'Gathering' doesn't necessarily require 'choosing'. The point (and
> benefit) of many design methods is that they gather information that
> one wouldn't otherwise choose.
>
> Choosing a design method? That's a different question!
>
> Warm regards,
>
> Terry
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and
> related research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
> Behalf Of Jerry Diethelm
> Sent: Tuesday, 10 April 2007 8:17 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Defining Design (Re: Evidence and ethics)
>
> Dear Terry,
>
> You are mistaken. Choosing information is an evaluation.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Jerry
>
>
> On 4/9/07 5:01 PM, "Terence Love" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> Dear Jerry,
>>
>> You are mistaken. Information gathering means exactly that.
>>
>> Analysis is a form of information gathering. The central role of all
>> design methods is to provide information to the designer. This even
>> includes creative thought producing techniques.
>>
>> Evaluation is a later stage covering only a small part of the game.
>> It depends on having information to work on. Design can occur without
>> evaluation - unless you extend the meaning of evaluation to include
>> anything that results in a decision. I think that takes it to too
>> broad a role that reduces the value of evaluation as a concept.
>>
>> Best wishes,
>>
>> Terry
>>
>> ===
>> Dr. Terence Love
>> Tel/Fax: +61 (0)8 9305 7629
>> Mobile: 0434975 848
>> [log in to unmask]
>> ===
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and
>> related research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
>> Behalf Of Jerry Diethelm
>> Sent: Tuesday, 10 April 2007 4:24 AM
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>> Subject: Re: Defining Design (Re: Evidence and ethics)
>>
>> On 4/9/07 7:35 AM, "Terence Love" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>>> 1: The central purpose of ALL design methods is information gathering.
>>> Period. (Its because of the definition of design as a human activity).
>>
>> As I read further in the post, it becomes clearer that "information
>> gathering" is intended here to mean ANALYSIS.
>>
>> I'd assert that EVALUATION is a larger and better concept for
>> designing, yielding a broader cultural conversation about what matters.
>>
>>
>> Regards to all,
>>
>> Jerry
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> -
>> ------
>> Jerry Diethelm
>> Architect - Landscape Architect
>> Planning & Urban Design Consultant
>>
>> Prof. Emeritus of Landscape Architecture
>> and Community Service ? University of Oregon
>> 2652 Agate St., Eugene, OR 97403
>> ? e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>> ? web: http://www.uoregon.edu/~diethelm
>>
>> ? 541-686-0585 home/work 541-346-1441 UO
>> ? 541-206-2947 work/cell
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ------
> Jerry Diethelm
> Architect - Landscape Architect
> Planning & Urban Design Consultant
>
> Prof. Emeritus of Landscape Architecture
> and Community Service ? University of Oregon
> 2652 Agate St., Eugene, OR 97403
> ? e-mail: [log in to unmask]
> ? web: http://www.uoregon.edu/~diethelm
>
> ? 541-686-0585 home/work 541-346-1441 UO
> ? 541-206-2947 work/cell
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Jerry Diethelm
Architect - Landscape Architect
Planning & Urban Design Consultant
Prof. Emeritus of Landscape Architecture
and Community Service € University of Oregon
2652 Agate St., Eugene, OR 97403
€ e-mail: [log in to unmask]
€ web: http://www.uoregon.edu/~diethelm
€ 541-686-0585 home/work 541-346-1441 UO
€ 541-206-2947 work/cell
