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Theory - unambiguous description of a method of prediction. The prediction doesn't have to be contiguous with current states. T -----Original Message----- From: [log in to unmask] [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Klaus Krippendorff Sent: Sunday, 21 February 2016 11:41 PM To: [log in to unmask] Cc: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design <[log in to unmask]> Subject: Re: Assume fixed number of colours in design? Terry Why don't you be clearer about what you mean by theory. In the sciences - natural and artificial - theories generalize available records of past observations to future observations either of the same kind like in prediction of voting outcomes or following existing patterns like in extrapolations of existing trends. design by my definition violates what occurs naturally, i.e. Without interventions by human agents (designers). For example, a theory that predicts the the outcome of elections assumes that a sample of voters are representative grows of trees or the movement of plants around the sun is based on the conviction that observed pattern continue to persist into the future - unless designers interfere with the underlying commonalities of present and future observations. You say that a predvyij Sent from my iPhone > On Feb 21, 2016, at 3:42 AM, Terence Love <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > > Dear Klaus, > > Thank you for your message. I appreciate you taking the trouble to comment. > > I understand your position and agree on the way culture and learning > shape the way our bodies shape what and how we self-reflectively > perceive things like colours. > > As I see it, there is no obvious reason why predicting the outcomes of > innovative designs using new forms of design theories/models will > necessarily reinforce the existing, unless on makes the models so > restrictive. > > I suggest that in fact such predictive design theories/models are > more likely to identify innovative possibilities that we cannot > because of the limitations of our innovative thinking that in us > humans naturally tends to be fixated and conservative. > > I agree with you about Google. > > By the way, it would be more accurate for yourself and David to > suggest my perspective is post-positivist/ post-empiricist (Popper, > Giddens) rather than positivist, with a perspective on > emotion/intuition shaped by Damasio, Darwin, Bastick and others, a > view of mind and self-perception as a secondary illusory construct of human animal behaviour. > > In contrast, Ken's position is positivist, as seen by his view on evidence. > > Oh, and it's not true that ' for a theory to be predictable requires > the pattern that the theory aims to describe to continues as observed > in the past.' At very least the introduction of a design will result > in change and predicting the consequences of that change is the > central challenge such design theory must address. A key decision will > of course be the level of abstraction at which it is addressed. > > Best wishes, > Terence > > --- > Dr Terence Love > PhD(UWA), BA(Hons) Engin. PGCEd, FDRS, PMACM, MISI Love Services Pty > Ltd PO Box 226, Quinns Rocks Western Australia 6030 > Tel: +61 (0)4 3497 5848 > [log in to unmask] > www.loveservices.com.au > -- > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [log in to unmask] > [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Klaus > Krippendorff > Sent: Sunday, 21 February 2016 3:01 PM > To: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and > related research in Design <[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Re: Assume fixed number of colours in design? > > Terry > I wanted to say something on color perception. I was taught by former > Bauhaus teachers but became exposed to experiments in social > perception which taught me the tremendous cultural differences in > perception, including of colors. I worked for a year in an institute > for visual perception and presented my views in writing, but recently > discovered evidence that color perception certainly is triggered by > physical stimuli but the do not explain our culturally coherent sense of colors. > > However, now that you clarified your aim of developing a predictive > design theory I need to respond differently. > > First I side with Davis sless who suggested that your aim is > thoroughly (not his word) positivist > > Second, for a theory to be predictable requires the pattern that the > theory aims to describe to continues as observed in the past. To me > design is by definition innovative, ideally transformative (ranging > from changing everyday practices to transforming social structures). A > design theory that predicts the consequences of a design contradicts > (my conception of) the mission of design to introduce unexpected > changes in the world. Such a predictive theory can only encourage > strengthening what is already know, not to change it. > > Third, I am of course cognizant if the need for designers to justify > their design to clients, all kinds of stakeholders, including users > and advocates for the environment. I my opinion, a predictive theory > would not be convincing. What could inspire the stakeholders of a > design to become enrolled In a project of realizing it are plausible > arguments. In the semantic turn I have explored several rhetorical > strategies They include experiments on sub-populations as well as self-fulfilling prophesies. > > Science fiction, futuristic novels, as well as ethnographic accounts > of how people are struggling in life may well inspire designers. But > Google searches provide mostly data of what their authors want you to know exists. > They rarely predict the innovations introduced that designers introduce. > > Klaus > > > Sent from my iPhone > >> On Feb 21, 2016, at 12:25 AM, Terence Love <[log in to unmask]> wrote: >> >> Hi Don and all, >> >> For design research, one of the biggest and most important >> challenges, is > developing a body of theory for predicting the outcomes in the world > of the effects of individual designs. >> >> It's in this context I raised a relatively abstract meta-analytical > question about design theory making, relating to decisions about the > character of variety in how we represent factors that are elements of > design theories. This is an issue important to both predictive design > theories themselves and the representation of concpets and factors > that we use as professional designers >> >> There are advantages and disadvantages of 'fixed and known' variety > versus 'infinite variety in representing the factors used in creating > predictive theory about the consequences of designs in the world. I've > copied the original post below. >> >> I used colour as an example of such a factor. First, because it is >> well > understood phenomenon on this list (or so I thought), and hence > wouldn't need to be explained. Second, colour is clearly a phenomenon > that, like any phenomenon, we can represent as an approximation via > either a continuous function or discrete stepped function. Also, I > thought that double aspect of the representation of colour wouldn't > need to be explained as we clearly use both in design. >> >> None of the above, I suggest, is contentious. It is taken for granted >> and > straightforward in much of the discourse. >> >> The real challenge is to look at possible approaches to creating >> design > theories that predict design outcomes as the consequences of design > in the world. >> >> These kinds of design theories are difficult predictive models. The >> most > immediate ambition is to make useful projections into the future of > the consequences of individual designs. It is not expected that these > theories will provide definitive predictions, rather that they will be > usefully correct, at a level sufficient to aid with design decision > making. Some simplified predictive design theory models are already > possible and in use, for example in the realm of environmental and life cycle costs. >> >> It requires new sorts of design theories, however, to extend the >> ability > to predict the consequences of individual designs more fully into > other realms such as social analysis, lifestyle change, future > innovation, politics, planning, economics, security and geopolitics. >> >> The variety characteristics of factors used in constructing and >> describing > designs is obviously a key issue (e.g. in the manner Purma described > about colour). >> >> We have a choice to include any design-related factor in predictive >> design theories via either continuous or discrete representations or >> some combination. In the case of colour we have a choice of either >> >> In the post, I asked for comments about which people felt was going >> to > work better in the development of new predictive design theories that > identified the consequences of designs. >> >> If we choose to represent design factors and their variety as >> continuous > functions, then the predictive structures embodied in design theories > will need to accommodate this. It drives representation of the design > theories into, for example, the realms of non-linear n-order > calculus, which on one hand offers potential benefits in identifying > optimal positions in m-dimensional design space. On the other hand it > presents significant challenges to solve the functions in creating > such theories in which n and m are large. >> >> In contrast, if we choose to represent design factors and their >> variety as > discrete functions (identified via just noticeable difference or the > several other measures of limits of discrimination (which as far as I > can see combine vectorially)), then the predictive structures embodied > in the design theories can be chosen to accommodate this in a > different manner to addressing continuous functions. Rather > differently to the above, it enables the structure of design theories > to move, for example, into vector space with predictive projection > based on matrix-based analyses, and time projections based on finite > difference or time step methods. The predictive processing is easier > to compute, but identifying optimal directions and points in the > design space is less easy. The challenges are in creating such predictive design theories in which n and m are large are less. >> >> I'm aware many will regard these as relatively new areas of design > research. In fact, they originated in the earlier parts of the last > century and were the foundational issues on which design research was developed. > They can be seen as the central concerns of Rittel, Zwicky, Jones, > Bertalanffy, systems research, behavioural science, operational > research and many others. I would tentatively suggest that the > underlying aim of most research in areas such as the perception of > colour is to contribute to this larger and as yet not well addressed > aim of developing theory to be better able to predict the outcomes of designs in the world. >> >> Again, I hope that clarifies my original post... but I'm aware people > might be much more interested in colour theory! >> >> Warm regards, >> Terry >> >> --- >> Dr Terence Love >> PhD(UWA), BA(Hons) Engin. PGCEd, FDRS, PMACM, MISI Love Services Pty >> Ltd PO Box 226, Quinns Rocks Western Australia 6030 >> Tel: +61 (0)4 3497 5848 >> [log in to unmask] >> www.loveservices.com.au >> -- >> >> Original post >> >> 'Is it better to assume as an axiom in making design theory that >> colour > always comprises a set of fixed colours rather than assuming colour as > being a continuous spectrum? There seem to be strong reasons in theory > and practice to make this assumption, and that it is possible > calculate exactly how big the set is (i.e exactly how many different > colours) for each design scenario. The advantage in design theory and > research is between fixed and known variety and 'infinite' variety. >> >> >> ----------------------------------------------------------------- >> PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]> Discussion of >> PhD studies and related research in Design Subscribe or Unsubscribe >> at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design >> ----------------------------------------------------------------- > > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]> Discussion of PhD > studies and related research in Design Subscribe or Unsubscribe at > https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > ----------------------------------------------------------------- PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]> Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design ----------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------------- PhD-Design mailing list <[log in to unmask]> Discussion of PhD studies and related research in Design Subscribe or Unsubscribe at https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/phd-design -----------------------------------------------------------------