The secret to creativity, intelligence and scientific thinking: Being able to make connections 10.3K Flares Filament.io 10.3K Flares × When we shared this image from the @buffer Twitter account recently, it got me thinking. The Tweet resulted in over 1,000 retweets, which somehow was an indication that a lot of people seemed to agree with this statement. There’s a key difference between knowledge and experience and it’s best described like this: The original is from cartoonist Hugh MacLeod, who came up with such a brilliant way to express a concept that’s often not that easy to grasp. The image makes a clear point—that knowledge alone is not useful unless we can make connections between what we know. Lots of great writers, artists and scientists have talked about the importance of collecting ideas and bits of knowledge from the world around us, and making connections between those dots to fuel creative thinking and new ideas. To start with though, I want to look at some research that shows intelligence is closely linked with the physical connections in our brains. 1. 2. 3. P.S.
DDessin {14} | CABINET DE DESSINS CONTEMPORAINS - PARIS Conflict and Design Essay John Thackara An exhibition in Belgium poses a timely challenge: When confronted by such complex issues as an ageing population, resource depletion, migration, or growing impoverishment, how are we to balance the desire to do something positive, with the need to understand the back story before we intervene? The installation (shown above) consists of open books, in different languages, nailed to a wall. Ola-Dele Kuku’s piece features in a design triennial in Belgium on the theme of Conflict and Design. Humanitarian crises caused by resource grabs, or natural disasters, often trigger a wave of support from the public – and a determination, among designers, to do something practical. Any of us wishing to do good, Cole continued, must ”think constellationally, connect the dots, and see the patterns of power behind isolated disasters”. Conflict and Design, the centrepiece of the Flanders Design Triennial, runs at at the spectacularly-converted C-Mine in Genk , in Belgium, until 9 March.
Wood Rings Translated Into Moody Piano Music Wood Rings Translated Into Moody Piano Music Article by Steph, filed under Installation & Sound in the Art category. If trees could play music, what would it sound like? That may seem like a silly question, but artist Bartholomäus Traubeck has found a way to answer it. The appropriately titled ‘Years’ project translates the rings of tree slices into piano music using a vintage turntable, a Playstation Eye Camera and a computer running the software ‘Ableton Live‘. YEARS from Bartholomäus Traubeck on Vimeo. The effect, as you can hear in the video above, is surprisingly somber and haunting. “A tree’s year rings are analysed for their strength, thickness and rate of growth.
5 Presentation Predictions for 2014 I often get asked what is on the horizon in the world of presentations. Surprisingly, a lot has changed, but a lot has also stayed the same. If I quickly glance at the clients we serve at Ethos3, 7 out of 10 presentation design requests are still in PowerPoint. The other three are a mix of Keynote, Prezi, Custom Show or motion. This basic statistic is a testament to the fact that presentations haven’t evolved a whole lot in the last five years. But I’m sure you still want to know the latest and greatest. 1. Whether it is motion design, Prezi or embedded video, people are looking for more visual eye candy. 2. People are finally starting to catch on to the power of presentations as a solid content marketing tool. 3. The media-overload culture we all find ourselves in everyday is causing us to scream for more interaction during presentations. 4. The desktop is dead. 5. The world continues to feel smaller and smaller. Is the above truly groundbreaking? About the Author Related Posts
George Chamoun Joseph Muller-Brockmann’s Typographic Re-boot In the mid 60’s, when I was just learning about design and typography at Yale, Modernism was the style du jour. I was intellectually turned on by the minimalism (one font, usually Akzidenz in just a few sizes), the rules (flush left, ragged right, the logic of the grid) and the idea of a “universal” aesthetic where content of any variety could be accommodated in this rational system. Switzerland was then the Mecca of European Modernism and Joseph Muller-Brockmann, one if its key practitioners, had just published what might have been the first pedagogical book on the subject: The Graphic Artist and His Design Problems. I opened it up and there on page 124 was this amazing poster from 1960: I was jolted, because it seemed to me to represent the irreducible, can’t-get-more-basic-than-this exemplar of Swiss Modernism. Gone are Muller-Brockmann’s geometric illustrations and iconic photographic images of the 50’s.
ICI Montreuil The $74 PVC Mega Awesome Super PVC Table Wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve posted an Ible! I ended up using PVC again for an office project and thought I would share how and what I built with it, since I get so many questions in my inbox about PVC. As the title states, this Instructable will show you how to build an VERY large table out of a hollow core door and PVC pipe and fittings. We built each one for $74. We could have gone to Costco and purchased a bunch of folding tables for $39.99 each, but this one actually looks pretty nice and classy, has a stainable/paintable top and is perfectly smooth. A couple of notes on this Ible: Hollow-Core vs. Capacitor by John Grade Coiled 6m high, Capacitor’s shell expands and contracts according to weather patterns outside. Environmental artist John Grade first debuted the ‘breathing’ installation as part of the Uncommon Ground exhibition – 12 April to 22 September 2013 – held at Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. With corresponding roof-mounted sensors, visitors were treated to a full visceral experience. By handing over the creative process to innate forces, the Seattle-based artist takes time to capture natural decay. In contrast, Capacitor works like an indoor wind vane – immediately transmitting data. Set within Capacitor’s lightweight skeleton – perforated fabric skins stretch over wooden frames – embedded lights intensify based on outside air temperature. Photos John Grade
A Stand-up Desk (Ikea hack) : Kelli Anderson A Stand-up Desk (Ikea hack) Posted by Kelli on Monday, December 30, 2013 · 38 Comments With help from metalsmith-extraordinaire Dustin John and better-half Daniel Dunnam, I got to build my dream desk. Specifically, it is a minimalist convertible standing-sitting desk/storage unit made from Ikea cabinets, a top from Lowe’s and a linear actuator. It isn’t perfect*, but it has been awesome to use… and has practically banished the spiritually-degrading work clutter, which was in abundance (scroll down.) “We shape our tools and thereafter our tools shape us.” —Marshall McLuhan (or, at least, popularly mis-attributed to him) If you’ve ever tried to use Illustrator with the intent of avoiding something that wow, looks just like Illustrator! Exhibit A. That desk—the place where I spent most of my life—was shamefully at odds with my habits. I began the quest with this super-helpful Ikea-hack “fauxdenza” project from the Brick House. Adhesives used: Clear gorilla glue (dries white… boo!) Yeah!