Hi Everybody,
I wonder if anybody can point us to research that explores or uses the
idea of passion in designing and making or any other field of activity?
We have been discussing this is a number of contexts, but particularly
learning, and it seems self-evident that something that we might
recognise as passion informs people who are prepared to commit
themselves to difficult work and arduous tasks. We have also been
speculating that this quality might be more easily seen in more mature
people. Perhaps teenagers generally seem to be more concerned about
conformity whereas passion seems to imply a degree of individualism, a
willingness to go further than others in pursuit of an individual goal.
If so that might have some implications for how we support young people
entering university education. (As the father of a teenager I find this
a particularly pointed question)
Our debate is prompted by a colleague, Bernd Ploderer visiting us from
Melbourne University, whose research explores body builders as an
interesting online community. He has concluded that "passion" is the
best way to describe the motivation that brings somebody to engage in
all-consuming training and undertake activities that risk their health
in order to achieve a particular kind of competitive perfection. We also
felt that a similar (maybe less extreme) passion distinguishes learners
who will keep experimenting and perfecting their work as a way of
refining their skills and knowledge. Ironically young children have a
natural talent for great concentration, repeating tasks endlessly to
master them but we seem to lose that focus as we get into our later
childhood.
I'm not sure that passion has figured so much in concepts of designing,
which we often discuss in quite functional ways, but I'd be glad to be
proved wrong.
So any sources out there that might show us a way in to this subject?
thanks very much
Chris Rust
(with Nicola Wood and Bernd Ploderer)
...............................................................o^o
Professor Chris Rust FDRS
Head of Art and Design Research Centre
Sheffield Hallam University, S1 2NU, UK
+44 114 225 6772
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www.chrisrust.net
Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the
future of the human race. - H. G. Wells
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