Dear Ksenija

The needed perspectives you mention are ones that frequently get raised in the group.

Sadly, I fear, they are part of a very large mob of elephants that mostly go unrecognised.

Which then illustrates your comments about power and metaphysics.

Within communities there are always some who gain/maintain/seek power by announcing/denying/feeding elephants.

Poor old elephants don't even understand they are ghosts/shadows/hidden - they are just what they are.

Power over objects/materials/laws-of-physics can seem to be a form of transparent power. That is: a posi-driver will or will not remove a screw;  aluminium can or cannot be bent, spun or whatever; honey is either too sticky to flow readily or it is just sticky enough to flow steadily.

Power over symbols is entirely different. Within a community of concern, the exchange of symbolic values is inherently open to political valorisation. For example, why does the intervention/provocation of one person in the group elicit detailed and studied responses while a similar gesture by another member of the group gets treated like a cracked bell. This is not metaphysical, merely political.

Those who love ideas keep entering the exchange regardless of the value of their shares at any one time in the market.  

PS - I particularly agree about the need for a psychology of design and I have raised this issue frequently.

cheers

keith


>>> Ksenija Berk  wrote - in part -

<[log in to unmask]> 17/10/09 7:18 PM >>>
Dear Ken, colleagues,

I must admit Clive’s post has surprised me in a positive way to hope, naively as it may be, that a critical perspective could help push some issues forward. I can share some sympathies with Ken for nobody is particularly keen to participate in grim discussions. The positive effect of that downsized conversation was the realization that we need to recognize those kinds of Gordian knots of thought sooner; all too often, they become lost in space, which is a pity. We should apply more design-thinking perspective to design thinking. Sometimes the best solution is focusing on projects and ideas that call for positive change and especially on the people behind them. Strong minds and great personalities who could bring changes from theory into practice on all levels (research, education, practice, critique) and also have a power/position to make things happen is what we need right now.