The Softness of Things: Technology in Space and Form  

“between beginning and end stands a middle that we feel to be necessary . . . but whose processes, of transformation and working-through, remain obscure”, Peter Brook

"If a lion could talk, we could not understand him.", Ludwig Wittgenstein

“The limits of my language mean the limits of my world.” Ludwig Wittgenstein

"When technology extends one of our senses, a new translation of culture occurs as swiftly as the new technology is interiorized.", Marshall McLuhan

Week 11: Meaning / Narrative, Presence / Awareness
With technology the possible is ever expanding. We can measure, track, quantify, visualize, sense (and so on), a vast number of data – but to what end?
What role does meaning and narrative play in this process? How can objects become part of narrative, what is the “middle” of narrative?
And what about notions of presence and awareness in a techno-efficient environment?

 

[n] a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; “his narrative was interesting”; “his stories entertained the children”
[adj] consisting of or characterized by the telling of a story; “narrative poetry”
Synonyms: communicative, communicatory, narration, story, tale

[n] the idea that is intended; “What is the meaning of this proverb?”
[n] the message that is intended or expressed or signified; “what is the meaning of this sentence”; “the significance of a red traffic light”; “the signification of Chinese characters”; “the import of his announcement was ambigtuous”

Synonyms: import, significance, signification, substance
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Present Moment, Wonderful Moment, by Thich Nhat Hanh

Breathing in, I calm my body. Calm
Breathing out, I smile. Smile
Breathing in, I dwell in the present Present moment
moment.
Breathing out, I know it is a Wonderful moment
wonderful moment.
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Links:

Cultivating Mindfulness in the Context of a Sangha by Thich Nhat Hanh
Bonsai & storytelling
Telling Stories: flowcharts, user analysis
Meaningfull Experiences by Nathan Shedroff

Digital Story Telling

 

“The narratives of the world are numberless. Narrative is first and foremost a prodigious variety of genres, themselves distributed amongst different substances – as though any material were fit to receive man’s stories. Able to be carried by articulated language, spoken or written, fixed or moving images, gestures, and the ordered mixture of all these substances; narrative is present in myth, legend, fable, tale, novella, epic, history, tragedy, drama, comedy, mime, painting (think of Carpaccio’s Saint Ursula), stained glass windows, cinema, comics, news item, conversation.

“Moreover, under this almost infinite diversity of forms, narrative is present in every age, in every place, in every society; it begins with the very history of mankind and there nowhere is nor has been a people without narrative. All classes, all human groups, have their narratives, enjoyment of which is very often shared by men with different, even opposing, cultural backgrounds. Caring nothing for the division between good and bad literature, narrative is international, transhistorical, transcultural: it is simply there, like life itself.”

– Roland Barthes
Structural Analysis of Narratives, 1977

 

Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play, and Meaning:

"...an age animated by a different form of thinking and a new approach to life — one that prizes aptitudes that I call 'high concept' and 'high touch.' High concept involves the capacity to detect patterns and opportunities, to create artistic and emotional beauty, to craft a satisfying narrative....High touch involves the ability to empathize with others, to understand the subtleties of human interaction..."
— Dan Pink, A Whole New Mind